Colombia. Mayor Enrique Peñalosa's proposal to allow the construction of high-rise buildings in areas such as the NQS and Calle 80 took some Bogota by surprise. The announcement was made by the president recently.
This will be applied with a decree that will be issued to work on the issue of urban renewal that aims to authorize this type of construction in exchange for 20% of public space. This includes platforms of up to 12 and 13 meters, bicycle routes and arborization. "The most sacred thing about a city is pedestrians. The only place we can be safe is on the platforms," he said.
However, the president's announcement goes against what he himself said while campaigning for mayor. Peñalosa, it is worth remembering, said at the time that he opposed high-rise constructions and one of the first actions he took at the beginning of his government was to repeal Decree 562 of 2014 that allowed these works because they were constructions in areas where there was no infrastructure to support them.
The area covered by Decree 562 was between Calle 127 and Avenida Primero de Mayo, and from Avenida Circunvalar to Avenida Boyacá, excluding the industrial zone of Puente Aranda and Fontibón, the assets of cultural interest and conservation in points such as La Candelaria, Quinta Camacho, Teusaquillo and La Merced.
Peñalosa assured that the NQS and Calle 80 were chosen for these projects due to the lack of public space and did not rule out the use of bollards on the platforms for their protection.
