An unusual calm on Bogota’s streets. Photo by Pattoncito from Flickr.

On Thursday, February 7 Bogotá held its 8th annual car-free day during which 14% of the population left their private cars at home and walked, cycled, and took mass transit to get around Colombia’s capital city. The car-free day is a bold effort to give people the chance of experiencing how nice the city could be without the 1.2 million private vehicles that ply Bogota’s streets every day. Following Bogota’s lead the car-free movement is spreading throughout the world, but still, this Andean city is the only one of its size that actually enforces its efforts, slapping $118 fines on any vehicle breaking the ban.

The Colombian newspaper EL TIEMPO reported a 45% reduction in carbon monoxide, an improvement attribute to the absence of private cars. This reduction, while important, was overshadowed by a 42% increase in particulate matter. Particulate matter is inorganic particles caused by diesel engines, brake and tire friction, wood burning factories using heavy fuels and coal, and forms indirectly in the air from SOx and NOX. Particulate matter has serious effects on the human respiratory system, and is especially harmful to children, the elderly and people with breathing problems. It is also one of the leading causes of bronchitis and asthma. At typical concentrations, particulate matter has approximately the same impact on human health as carbon monoxide. However, per equal mass emitted, it has between a 10 times (if its from brakes and tire friction) and 1000 times (if its from diesel engines and SOx) greater impact on human health than carbon monoxide.

For Bogotá, the really important question is whether the particulate matter which increased during car-free day was from brakes and tires or from diesel engines. If it was from breaks and tires then it will be removed quickly from the atmosphere, and we could argue unequivocally that car-free day improved human health. However, if it’s from diesel engines and Sox - as it is believed to be in the case of Bogota - then the increase in particulate matter may have outweighed the benefits from reduced levels of carbon monoxide. Read the rest of this entry »

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São Paulo is a city of walls erected on a foundation of fear, with it’s 11 million residents, or at least the subset that can afford to, hunkering down in gated condominiums, strolling in private parks, playing soccer on private fields, and driving private vehicles, all to keep out the storm of crime and violence that has pummeled the city. As the wealthy and middle classes retreat from public space and seek security behind walls, the urban poor have been left to fend for themselves in the neglected and decaying public space.

As is the case in many large cities, the poorest residents – those who are most dependent on mass transportation - live on the city’s periphery where jobs in the formal economy are scarce and basic infrastructure, like mass transit, plumbing, and electricity are utterly lacking. As Sociedad do Automovel so successfully shows, the public transportation system is not nearly adequate to meet the needs of these people, many of whom commute more than two hours just to get to work each day, an indignity that only increases the social exclusion of the urban poor.

With the quality of public transportation so low – and fear of assaults so high – people of means opt for private transport, like cars, which provide a veneer of protection. Yet it’s hardly clear that cars make people safer; cars are an indicator of wealth and many robberies happen to people who are locked in their cars: “lightening” kidnappings, muggings at traffic lights, and car heists.

But fear is a powerful feeling, and coupled with the desire to be part of middle and upper classes, a desired inextricably linked with car ownership, people continue to buy cars. And at an astounding rate: on average, 800 new vehicles are added to Sao Paulo’s streets every day! According to Irineu Gnecco Filho, of the 5.4 million cars circulating daily on the highways, only 3 million are traveling at the same time simply because there isn’t enough space for them all. As anyone who has visited Sao Paulo knows, the traffic congestion has become out of control. And with it, the air pollution has become lethal; the pathologist Paulo Saldiva estimates that as many as 7 and 10 people are dying daily in Sao Paulo because of air pollution. Read the rest of this entry »

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Although slightly long, this video by the good people at StreetFilms has a lot to offer the urban enthusiast. Long-considered a dangerous country plagued by narcotics and violence, Colombia is actually at the forefront of the worldwide movement to develop innovative solutions for sustainable cities. Bogotá has become an urban gem in recent years, and this video explains how the seemingly simple act of shutting down over 70 miles of city streets every Sunday to motorized traffic in favor of bikes, skates, skateboards, runners, walkers and aerobics enthusiasts has helped create this transformation. As one gratified user says, ¨the Ciclovía (or bike path) is the best thing that Colombia has invented.¨ For new ideas on how to improve quality of life in our cities, watch this video!

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