>
>http://www.environmentaldefense.org/pressrelease.cfm?ContentID=2609
>NEWS RELEASE
>01/14/2003
>
>World's Leading Urban Reformer Shares New Way to Build Cities
>Former Mayor Enrique Peñalosa Brings "Bogotá Model" to Africa
>(14 January 2003) Within three years, former Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa
>transformed his city from a congested and dangerous mess, where many
>citizens did not have access to transportation, into the world's leading
>model for sustainable urban design.
>Now, on the BUILDING A NEW CITY TOUR, Mr. Peñalosa will share this
>inspirational story and describe how Africa's leaders can follow "The Bogotá
>Model" for livable cities.
>The two-week tour begins January 15 and will bring Peñalosa to four of
>Africa's leading cities: Dakar, Senegal; Cape Town and Pretoria, South
>Africa; and Accra, Ghana.
>Traffic congestion, inadequate public transportation, poverty and poor
>access to jobs and services are increasingly problematic in each city and
>local leaders have asked for help in replicating Bogotá's success.
>"The people of Bogotá spent years hating their city," said Mr. Peñalosa, who
>is currently a Visiting Scholar at New York University and is writing a book
>on a new model of development for Third World cities.
>"Now, the people of Bogotá feel proud and have hope that their lives will
>continue to improve. This is the story we are bringing to cities across the
>world."
>Under Mr. Peñalosa's leadership from 1998-2000, innovative transportation
>strategies such as a successful busway, bicycle paths and restrictions on
>private car use were used to equalize all citizens' access to mobility and
>began to relieve the traffic congestion and air pollution that was choking
>Bogotá. His administration also built parks, planted trees and promoted the
>use of public space.
>"In Bogotá, we chose to build a city for people, not for automobiles," said
>Mr. Peñalosa. "Cities built for cars' mobility suffer from congestion and
>unsafe street conditions and leave many residents with poor access to jobs.
>Instead of these problems, we gave our citizens enjoyable public spaces and
>unprecedented mobility."
>Bogotá now boasts:
>* Latin America's largest network of bicycle ways, 150 miles long (250
>km)
>* A world-class Bus Rapid Transit system of dedicated bus lanes called
>TransMilenio
>* The world's longest pedestrian-only street, spanning 10.2 miles (17
>km); and hundreds of miles of sidewalks, many through the city's poorest
>neighborhoods
>* The planet's biggest Car-Free Day, during which private vehicles are
>not allowed to enter the entire city of 135 square miles (35,000 hectares)
>"Typically, when we judge a city's success we talk about skyscrapers,
>superhighways and parking spaces," said Mr. Peñalosa. "The experience of
>Bogotá shows that cities can prosper by focusing on a new model for success,
>one that is centered on the needs and contentment of all the city's
>residents - not just those that own a private car."
>The Building a New City tour was organized by the Institute for
>Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) <http://www.itdp.org>, an
>organization dedicated to improving mobility in developing nations and
>promoting sustainable transportation policies worldwide. ITDP co-chairs the
>United Nations Transport Caucus
><http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/partners_entr_csd9.htm> and is based in New
>York City. Environmental Defense and several other groups are co-sponsoring
>the speaking tour.
>The tour will help officials from Africa's leading cities build momentum for
>improving ublic transit and providing more bicycle and pedestrian corridors.
>The tour will also enable Mr. Peñalosa to work with local planners and
>elected officials to devise strategies best suited to each unique urban
>area.
>"Sustainable transport is something we must develop in Senegal," said
>Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, who met with Mr. Peñalosa during a
>trip to New York City in September of 2002. In addition to making
>transportation a high priority in his inaugural agenda, President Wade is
>responsible for implementation of the Transports, Energy and Environment
>sectors for the New Partnership for African Development, a coalition of
>African Heads of State.
>
>"Accra's worsening traffic congestion is an issue of great concern to the
>Ghanaian government," said Solomon Darko, Mayor of Accra. "We see the
>development of a bus system as a critical component of an overall
>sustainable transport strategy that would also include measures to restrain
>motor vehicle traffic and promote non-motorized transport."
>Already, ITDP and its local partners in Africa have advanced the planning
>and construction of bus routes and bicycle networks, brought modern and
>affordable new bicycles to a wider market and organized transit workshops
>and bicycle events to improve access to jobs, schools and health care.
>"In African cities, traffic congestion and poor alternatives to private
>motor vehicles preclude access to basic services and cause serious health,
>safety, and environmental problems," said Michael Replogle of Environmental
>Defense's Living Cities Program. "Peñalosa brings a Southern success story
>that resonates with African decision-makers who are facing tough choices
>about the future of their cities."
>Since the end of his mayoral term in December of 2000, Mr.Peñalosa has
>traveled to Mexico City; Panama City; Lima, Peru; Guangzhou and Hong Kong in
>China; Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Surabaya in Indonesia and New Delhi in India.
>Many of these cities are now pursuing Bogotá-type Bus Rapid Transit systems,
>bicycle and pedestrian paths and Car-Free Days.
>Building a New City Tour Schedule
>Jan. 17 - 21, Dakar, Senegal
>Jan. 22 - 23, Cape Town, South Africa
>Jan. 24, Pretoria, South Africa
>Jan. 25 - 30, Accra, Ghana
>###
>
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