Enrique Peñalosa sees urban transportation not as a matter of convenience and economics but as a matter of justice, of equality for every resident. In his own city of Bogotá, Colombia, where he served as mayor from 1998 to 2001 before being elected again in 2015, he proudly says that more than 350 km of protected bicycle ways have been created.
Peñalosa has worked as a consultant on urban strategy, advising officials in cities all over the world on how to build a sustainable cities that can not only survive but thrive in the future. He was president of the board of directors of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, an organization promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide.
“While mayor, Peñalosa was responsible for numerous radical improvements to the city and its citizens. He promoted a city model giving priority to children and public spaces and restricting private car use, building hundreds of kilometers of sidewalks, bicycle paths, pedestrian streets, greenways, and parks.” — Big Think
“I don’t think protected bicycle ways are a cute architectural feature. They are a right, just as sidewalks are,” says Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia, in today’s talk. “Protected bikeways also are a powerful symbol of democracy, because they show that a citizen on a $30 bicycle is equally important to one […]
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