THE MANAGEMENT OF THE 'ECO-URBANISM AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDING' SCENARIO IN BOGOTA

At the beginning of the 2000’s, the Environmental Agency of Bogota made a management plan by scenarios, which identified a network of people for each of these scenarios and destined small teams of professionals for their... [ view full abstract ]

At the beginning of the 2000’s, the Environmental Agency of Bogota made a management plan by scenarios, which identified a network of people for each of these scenarios and destined small teams of professionals for their management; one of such scenarios was called Eco-urbanism. Today, after many actions by the people involved, the city has a Public ‘Eco-urbanism and Sustainable Building’ Policy and it is preparing for its implementation. Bogota has almost two decades working for improving its urban environmental sustainability from the urbanism and building perspectives amongst other scenarios for its management. The city has a strategy, whose results are not very well known, but some outstanding elements allow to note some changes. It is necessary to recognise the existing practices, the relationships promoted between different actors and their possible results in order to help the city to redirect its management efforts and allow other cities to compare, review and modify their schemes. The aim of this paper is to offer an overview of the process that has happened in Bogota over the years in terms of environmental urban sustainability using the ‘Eco-urbanism and Sustainable Building’ scenario. This is done from the perspective of people who have followed such process, who have belonged to the Environmental Agency and who have taken part of the teams in charge of this. The research is done using qualitative research methods such as case studies and participatory observation in order to collect data about the process of environmental urban sustainability in the city. This, with the aim of identifying milestones in such process, analysing opportunities, challenges and their changes and to evaluate if the city had a strategy and has kept it. In addition, it analyses if the management and the benefits of the ‘Eco-urbanism and Sustainable Construction’ scenario in Bogota have been inclusive.