From Intolerable to Idyllic
Dr. Enrique Peñalosa was Mayor of Bogotá, Columbia from 1998 through 2001. He inherited a city in crisis. Entire sections of his 8-million-strong metropolis were considered off-limits by families because of smog and sky-high crime rates. Quality of life in Bogotá essentially had ground to a halt.
Mayor Peñalosa realized that a new approach was the only way to go. He knew that automobiles were facilitating suffocating rates of smog, drive-by shootings and kidnappings. Cars, while important, of course, had become the enemy of his once pedestrian-friendly city.
His solution? Dr. Enrique Peñalosa pondered the early success of Bogotá and other Latin American cities before the mass-production automobile. Then, he closed his eyes and envisioned Bogotá as a pedestrian paradise.
Today, this ancient city has reduced its crime rate significantly and added to its streets hundreds of thousands of cyclists and pedestrians who used to feel forced to choose between driving and self-imposed confinement. How was this accomplished? Mayor Peñalosa realized that he needed a grand vision, one of a car-free city. Even though such a position would be impractical and rejected by many citizens and members of the business community, Bogotá came close, banning all automobile traffic on Thursdays.
Initial Resistance becomes Enthusiastic Acceptance
After an initial period of extreme resistance, residents of Bogotá by and large not only have accepted the changes in favor of bicycle and pedestrian traffic but have come to prefer the new arrangement. What’s more, most any city can follow the lead of Bogotá. The process begins with understanding the vision of Enrique Peñalosa. Now a visiting scholar at New York University, Mayor Peñalosa has spoken extensively on the subject of how the success of Bogotá can be replicated. Here are select excerpts.
“A city is really only a means to a way of life. We have had cities for 5,000 years. So for 5,000 years, all streets were for people, were pedestrian streets. A child could walk 10 blocks without fear of being killed.
There is a conflict between a city that is friendly to cars and a city that is friendly to people. The essence of the conflict today really is cars versus people. That is the essence of the whole discussion. We can have a city that is very friendly to cars or we can have a city that is very friendly to people. We cannot have both.
A protected bicycle path is a symbol that a citizen on a $30 bicycle is equally important as one in a $30,000 car.
We cannot continue to deceive ourselves that to paint a little line on a road is a bike way. A bicycle way which is not safe for an 8-year-old is not a bicycle way.
Mathematically, it is totally impossible to solve the transportation problems of a city using cars.”
Dr. Enrique Peñalosa
Former Mayor
Santa Fe de Bogotá, Columbia
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