Bogotá

The city of Bogotá lies in central Colombia, 2,640 metres about sea level in the Northern Andes Mountains. It is the capital and largest city of Colombia covering an area of 1,775 km2 with a population of almost 7.5 million people. The city has recorded significant growth for a number of years and is still growing at a rate of 2.65%, this is largely due to internal migration.

Bogotá is a world leader in sustainable mobility. In recent decades it has prioritized public transportation and cycling over private cars. The city administration is committed to ensuring the flow of people, goods and services while simultaneously creating a climate safe city.

The city’s BRT system, TransMileno, opened in 2000 and has a current fleet of 6,000 buses. The buses have their own lanes on wide boulevards which makes it one of the fastest systems in the world. The BRT system transports an average of 2.5 million passengers per day.

In 2000, Mayor Enrique Peñalosa implemented Car-free Day. This initiative, which residents approved by referendum, takes place on the first Thursday of February each year and is a day without cars and motorbikes: the circulation of all motorized vehicles is prohibited from 5:00 am to 7:30 pm.

The Cicloruta is the most extensive bicycle path network in Latin America with 300 km of cycling paths. The Cicloruta connects with public transportation and provides access to several destinations in the city including schools, recreational facilities, and places of business.

La Ciclovía is a much-loved program with about one-quarter of the city’s population making use of it. From 7am to 2pm every Sunday, the City of Bogotá shuts down 75 miles of streets and highways and the citizens come out to cycle, jog, skate and walk along the car-free roads.

As one of the world’s most successful mass recreation events, La Ciclovía has inspired similar initiatives around the globe. Ciclovías are now operating in many countries, including Peru, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Mexico, India, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

At the core of Bogotá's cycling plan is 'Plan Bici', a 4-year plan running from 2016 - 2020 to promote cycling, and forms part of a vision plan to make Bogotá the cycling capital of the world' by 2038 (the 500th anniversary of the city's founding). Plan Bici's main objective is to double the mode share of cycling to 10% of all trips by 2020.

Below are 3 case studies form the City of Bogota focussed on sustainable mobility.

1. TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit System
2. Quinto Centenario Cycle Avenue
3. Children First

 Bogotá is a Metropolis member:  https://www.metropolis.org/member/bogota

 

The Mayor

Carlos Fernando Galán Pachon  was born in Bogotá in 1977. He graduated from Georgetown University as a Foreign Service Professional. He is a Specialist in Government, Management and Public Affairs from the Externado de Colombia University.

Galán comes from a prominent political family - he is the son of Luis Carlos Galán, a Colombian liberal leader and presidential candidate who was assassinated in 1989. Following in his father's footsteps in public service, Carlos Fernando has had an extensive career in journalism and politics.

He has worked as a journalist for several Colombian media outlets, including serving as director of the influential news magazine Cambio. He has also been a columnist for El Tiempo newspaper and has participated in various television news programs.

In politics, Galán has served as a Senator of Colombia (2014-2018) and as a member of the Bogotá City Council (2016-2019). He was one of the founders of the Nuevo Liberalismo party, which was originally created by his father and was later revived.

On October 29, 2023, Galán was elected mayor of Bogotá, following a campaign focused on security, mobility, and social issues. He was sworn in as Mayor of Bogotá on January 1, 2024, succeeding Claudia López.

 

Bogotá on the use platform

The City of Bogotá is an active member of the use platform. Below is a selection of initiatives being implemented by the city’s administration that demonstrate effective metropolitan governance, sustainable citymaking and the localization of the SDGs.

1. Using SafetiPin to build safer cities for women
2. HabitARTE
3. Citizens’ Observatories in Bogota, Colombia

 

City Profile

The City of Bogota and Cundinamarca (the regional central government) are in the process of creating a metropolitan area, decreed by a Legislative Act adopted in July 2020. This act certifies Bogota - Cundinamarca Metropolitan Region as an "administrative entity of associativity under a special regime, with the aim of supporting the implementation of plans and programmes for sustainable development and the timely and efficient provision of services which it is responsible for".

For a detailed profile on Bogotá including population demographics, administrative structure, industry and economics, click on any of the above case studies and then select "City information".

To find more case studies and to connect to city makers from Bogotá, click here.

 

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