Radical new city living
The streets of the people
In Bogotá, Columbia it is nicer to bike around the city than to drive. Rather than invest in highway expansion or fixing up the roads, they poured money into building beautiful and safe bike lanes throughout the entire city.
The effect is highly democratizing. Biking is affordable, so both rich and poor share the benefits of bike infrastructure. “We can have a city that is very friendly to people, or one that is very friendly to cars, but we cannot have both,” says former mayor Enrique Peñalosa.
“A protected bicycle path is a symbol that a citizen on a $30 bicycle is equally important as one in a $30,000 car.”
Ciclovia — car free Sundays
Now Bogotá is banning driving once a week. On Sundays, families come out to cycle, walk, or skate together safely on car-free roads. The streets are full of all ages, enjoying the opportunity for shared living and physical activity. There are free exercise classes, sports, food vendors, and the opportunity to meet people.
The movement is spreading. LA, San Francisco, Oakland and NYC all now have some version of a Civlovia.
This short film by Streetfilms.org captures the feeling of the event beautifully.
Former mayor of Bogotá was interviewed in the 2011 documentary Urbanized.
We have a long way to go in the before biking in a US city would be safe for a child. While major US cities are seeing the growth of bike lanes, they are often blocked up by double parked cars or other obstructions, forcing bikers to swerve into car traffic.
We need separated bike lanes with parked cars acting as the divider between fast moving cars and bikers. While this might not always be a infrastructural possibility, cities like London are devising bike lane strategy guides that help city planners choose the best possible bike lane for each street.
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