The daily journey to school is an essential part of childhood. Yet, across Brazil, this seemingly routine experience continues to carry unacceptable risks. In 2023, 878 children and adolescents lost their lives in preventable road crashes, according to DataSUS.
Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, illustrates the urgency of this issue. In 2024, in addition to the devastation of historic floods, 224 children and teenagers up to 17 years of age were recorded as victims of road crashes. This represented an 11% increase from the previous year and underscored the compounded vulnerabilities of urban populations exposed simultaneously to climate and traffic risks.
A la luz de esta cuestión, Fundación Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga, Translab and iRAP, with support from FedEx Brazil, launched the Caminho Seguro (Safe Pathways to Schools) project. The initiative seeks to transform the environments surrounding schools into safer, more inclusive, and more resilient spaces by combining evidence-based road safety assessment, community engagement, tactical urbanism, and advocacy for permanent change.
The intervention targeted the area around E.M.E.E.F Prof. Elyseu Paglioli and Colégio Estadual Elpídio Ferreira Paes, two schools in the Cristal neighbourhood that serve children and adolescents with disabilities. The location was strategically chosen given its concentration of vulnerable road users. In addition to the schools, the area includes a day care centre, a health unit, residential housing, and commercial activity, resulting in high pedestrian flows and elevated exposure to risk.
Image credit: Fundação Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga
The project followed a structured, participatory process. In March 2025, students took part in workshops to reflect on their daily commutes, identify risks, and learn key principles of road safety. Their school environments were also assessed using the iRAP Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) methodology, which provides a standardized measure of the safety of road infrastructure for pedestrians. The baseline results were alarming: the key intersection near the schools was rated only 2.1 stars out of 5, indicating unsafe conditions driven by high operating speeds, insufficient signage, and poor pedestrian crossing facilities.
Image credit: Fundação Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga
“For almost 30 years, the Fundação Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga has been dedicated to saving lives on the roads. This partnership enables us to broaden our impact and ensure that children have safer routes on their way to school,” said Larissa Gonzaga, Institutional Coordinator of the Fundação Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga.
Community perspectives further shaped the intervention. A survey of 181 residents, parents, teachers, and students revealed that nearly 75% of school journeys are made on foot or by public transport. These findings highlighted the centrality of active mobility and the critical need to design safer environments for child pedestrians.
Building on these insights and informed by studies from UniRitter architecture students and data from Porto Alegre’s Public Transport and Circulation Company (EPTC), Translab developed an intervention plan using tactical urbanism, a low-cost, rapid, and community-driven approach to improving pedestrian infrastructure.
Following approval, the intervention was implemented in July 2025, with active participation from FedEx Brazil volunteers, who also engaged residents and local merchants through informational outreach. The physical transformations included:
- Sidewalk accessibility improvements;
- Planting of new vegetation;
- Narrowing of street corners to reduce vehicle speeds;
- Installation of benches in front of schools and the health unit to provide resting spaces for pedestrians;
- Colorful street paintings to highlight crossings and high pedestrian areas;
“Through our global engagement program, FedEx Cares, we join forces with nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life in the communities where we operate. We also encourage our team members to take an active role through volunteering. Road safety is one of the priorities of this work, reflecting our commitment to connecting the world in a safe and responsible way,” said Claudia Rostagno, Communications and Marketing Director for FedEx.
FedEx volunteers supported the implementation of tactical urbanism interventions (Image credit above and main image): Fundação Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga)
The project is already delivering promising results. The safety rating of the intervention area improved from 2.1 to 3.9 stars, moving closer to the 5-star standard that represents the safest conditions for pedestrians. Additionally, the proportion of vehicles traveling at or below 30 km/h has risen by 39%. Beyond its immediate impact on child road safety, the project also incorporated green infrastructure, generating co-benefits for climate resilience and community well-being. These features carry particular significance for Porto Alegre, which continues to recover from the unprecedented flooding of 2024.
Importantly, this initiative is the first tactical urbanism project featuring educational street art in Porto Alegre. Community feedback has been positive, with strong calls to replicate the model in other school zones across the city.
As Leonardo and Isadora from Translab reflected, “Building safer streets and more resilient neighborhoods requires many hands, including students, families, community members, and partners like FedEx. Together, we are transforming the path to school into a space of safety, dignity, and hope."
By bringing together multiple stakeholders, the project reinforces a simple truth: the right to education must begin with a safe journey to school. The initiative also demonstrates a model that can be replicated to advance road safety, equity, and resilience in Porto Alegre and beyond.
View more project photos aquí.
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