Enrique Peñalosa on Why Equality in Cities Begins with Sidewalks

"Nowadays, it seems to be much clearer what ideal environment for a happy gorilla looks like than what it is for a happy child,” says Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia.

During his lecture at reSITE, Enrique focuses on what cities should look like in order to create equality across the urban. Such equality can be achieved through the creation of cities that allow citizens to move freely and safely throughout the city. He suggests we need to learn from the mistakes of 20th-century urbanization, which he believes will be remembered as a disastrous. Most notably, a failure to create cities that are good for vulnerable citizens and where people can connect with nature. By interventions such as the expansion of highway systems, we should start building pedestrian and bicycle highways that would not only make the cities safer and healthier but also further increase in quality of life.

Enrique Peñalosa is the former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, serving two terms (1998-2001, 2016-2019). Under his first term, Peñalosa was instrumental in the transformation of Bogota from one of the world's most violent cities, focusing on the expansion of public services and institutions. This included the now-famous TransMilenio bus system, expansions of public parks and libraries, and expansion of bike paths. Peñalosa further tried to limit automobile congestion via limitations on rush hour traffic and often clashed with wealthier residents in the city in order to prioritize the expansion of public spaces. During his second term, he expanded the TransMilenio network and oversaw a number of other major infrastructure projects, including numerous new public schools and public hospitals.

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