Against this background, ARCAM is showing an exhibition about the regeneration of Bogotá. Some twenty years ago, the Columbian capital was in the same seemingly hopeless state as the cities that are currently undergoing rapid growth. In that relatively short space of time, Bogotá has managed to deal with the problems caused by its growth.
The exhibition begins with an introduction to Bogotá. This is followed by the story of how the city’s transformation was launched, with ambition, public-private initiatives and administrative reorganizations in order to bring the spatial interventions closer to the city’s – now proud – inhabitants. A large number of photographs and maps show these interventions. These include: new public spaces, the realization of social housing, a new transport system, the reorganization of streets, the renovation of the old city centre and the realization of public buildings with a special focus on architecture. It is not a blueprint of a process for cities which, within a short space of time, have more new inhabitants than they can cope with, but the exhibition does offer hope and inspiration.
Bogotá
The proud revival of a city
The most newsworthy fact of 2007: more than half the world’s population now lives in cities. The explosive growth of cities worldwide is receiving enormous media attention – with alarming views and images of the social, economic and spatial consequences of this growth.
