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Transforming the Urban Environment
Belo Horizonte created its Movimento Nossa BH,
thus joining the Brazilian Social Network for Fair and Sustainable Cities,
inspired by the Bogotá Cómo Vamos project. |
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The city of Bogotá was once known
for its violence, crime and poor quality of life. Bouncing
back from decades of urban decay, its quality of life can
now be compared with that in Latin America’s most successful
cities. The project “Bogotá,
Cómo Vamos” (Bogotá, How We Are Doing) is a ground-breaking
initiative carried out by its citizens that involves a permanent
forum for evaluating key indicators in the Colombian capital.
Bogotá’s success has led to replication of its model in the
towns of Cartagena, Cali, Medellín and Barranquilla, cities
that now make up the Colombian network of “Cómo Vamos” with
support from AVINA and other Colombian organizations and companies.
The Bogotá experience has attracted the attention of other
Latin American cities whose citizens and business sector had
begun to lose faith in their ability to halt the downward
urban spiral. Projections indicate that cities will continue
to grow at a rapid rate over the coming decades, which adds
urgency to the search for models that encourage successful
management of the urban environment. For this reason many
cities are creating and experimenting with new and innovative
ideas. AVINA sees the experience of Bogotá and other cities
as an opportunity to contribute to the transformation of Latin
American towns and cities and to respond to the immediate
and future needs of the region’s burgeoning urban areas.
As city leaders and citizens exchange their experiences, some
common elements have begun to emerge as critical to transforming
cities and preparing them for the future. To start with, it
is important to mobilize opinion leaders within the city around
a common vision that represents a consensus shared by a diversity
of stakeholders. This type of consensus requires the mobilization
of citizens from the city’s many different strata, overcoming
economic divides and facilitating dialogue among traditionally
under-represented sectors of the community. Inclusion is key
to future success.
Another fundamental element is the adoption of objective indicators
that measure the city’s performance in terms of quality-of-life
indicators important to its inhabitants. A monitoring process
that involves citizens in measuring these indicators in an
objective and public format is key, with ample and on-going
support from the media. Ideally the city plan should incorporate
or be linked to these indicators and legally require authorities
to periodically report to citizens regarding their performance.
Creating forums in which citizens are able to participate
in overseeing public administration is also important. Finally,
city management needs to urgently take action to halt and
mitigate environmental degradation and face the realities
of climate change, both in terms of controlling emissions
and adapting to changes that are already happening.
In early 2007 AVINA started supporting an exchange of experiences
and methodologies among leaders of various Latin American
towns and cities. Over the last two years cities such as São
Paulo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Mendoza, Rio de Janeiro, Belo
Horizonte and Lima have been inspired by Bogotá’s “Cómo Vamos”
methodology. With AVINA’s support, these cities have now established
an exchange network with the active participation of more
than 40 urban areas throughout the continent. In 2008, dozens
of cities in Brazil launched their own Brazilian
Social Network for Fair and Sustainable Cities. An indicator
of the initial success of this urban mobilization is the pressure
brought to bear by citizens and private enterprise in the
cities of São Paulo, Ilha Bela and Teresópolis. This pressure
has changed municipal laws to compel their mayors to present
public and transparent quarterly reports on performance. AVINA
will continue to work with leaders in the public and private
sectors and civil society to promote more successful cases
of cities where quality of life is on the rise.
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