Welcome to Brisbane to Bogota!
Brisbane to Bogota is a narration of my journey in search of sustainable cities all across the world. In December 2009 I will be taking a journey from my hometown of Brisbane, Australia across the globe to various cities, including Bogota in Colombia.
On this weblog you can find positive examples of sustainable cities, through stories about cities that have already been transformed, cities that are in the process of sustainable urban renewal, local community groups that are rejuvenating urban space with edible landscapes and green zones. You will find examples of civic spaces that have been rejuvenated and renewed public realms that have enhanced social capital. There will be examples of gardening dissent, local people reclaiming urban space and positive stories about how people all over the world are creating changes and reclaiming their cities in positive, engaging and creative ways.
There are may ways you can use this website. You can use my weblog as a guide to Sustainable City Initiatives or follow my journey by reading the travelog on the blogroll. To find out where I’m going you can click on the Journey Map, which outlines where I am going and what I’ll be seeing.
If you have any tips of places you think I should visit you can post a comment on the Journey Map or Contact Me.
Why Brisbane to Bogota?
I have chosen Brisbane because it is the city that I live in and where I will depart from when I embark on this journey. I have chosen Bogota, because Bogota is an exemplar of sustainable cities. Bogota was transformed between 1997 to 2000 when Enrique Peñalosa the then mayor of Bogota, and a former town planner transformed the once crumbling and crime ridden city into a virtual prototype of urban sustainability.
Before Enrique Peñalosa became mayor there were innumerable problems in Bogota including social issues, crime, corruption, congestion and pollution. Enrique Peñalosa took a unique approach and focused on creating a city where priority was given social equity, community and the environment. He created pedestrianised streets, introduced car free days, created 70 miles of bicycle paths, rejuvenated urban areas, established 1200 new parks and planted more that 100,000 trees, making Bogota more a livable city for its 7 million inhabitants. Enrique Peñalosa focussed on creating urban density, steering away from the suburban sprawl approach to development, he created the extremely successful Trans Milenio a BRT or bus rapid transit system, which is accessible to everyone no matter what their economic status.
Key to Bogota’s success was Enrique Peñalosa’s obvious and genuine concern for the those from lower socio-economic communities, as can be acknowledged in the below statement by Enrique Peñalosa:
“For the poor, the only alternative to television for their leisure time is the public space. For this reason, high- quality public pedestrian space, and parks in particular, are evidence of a true democracy at work.”
You can read more about Bogota in the Sustainable City Series to be published over the coming weeks. (I will also be reporting from Bogota in January 2010.)
About me and why have I chosen to write about sustainable cities?
Brisbane to Bogota was established in 2009 by Christina Snowdon (me). I am a Sustainable Development and Planning student at Murdoch University’s Institute of Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), in Perth, Australia. I have a passionate interest in sustainable cities and I believe that to create a sustainable world that cities will need to be transformed. Cities currently consume, feed people, transport people in ways that are not sustainable, and yet they continue to increase in population and size.
According to the United Nations 2008 became the first year in history that over 50% of the worlds populations lived in cities, this trend is predicted to increase, in fact between 2007 and 2050 urban populations will increase from 3.3 billion to 6.4 billion. To accommodate these increased populations cities will need to be resilient, robust and sustainable.
Mass urbanisation will not occur only in mega-cities but also in minor cities, that do not have always the resources to manage the increases in population. Of the greatest concern is the standard of living that the worlds urban dwellers can expect. Presently it is estimated that worldwide 1 billion people live in slums and that this will increase in the coming years.
To ensure that cities are just and livable places, political, economic and social changes must take place, to create these changes government, community and individuals will need to collaborate.
I believe there are some key Sustainable City Disciplines that individuals, communities, governments and businesses are focusing on. These disciplines are creating more sustainable cities and have inspired various sustainable city initiatives.
Key including sustainable city disciplines that can be found on this weblog are urban design, transition towns, placemaking, community supported agriculture, urban renewal, urban agriculture and city farms.
This weblog will provide articles about sustainable city initiatives from Brisbane to Bogota and every where in between.
I hope you enjoy this weblog and I look forward to your feedback.
