Guillermo Peñalosa: “For the last 70 years we have built cities thinking more about cars than about people’s happiness” | climate and environment

Many cities seem to exclude a large portion of their residents: traffic lights that take just seconds to cross, small-cart-proof sidewalks, large steps that are difficult for the elderly. Before them, Cities 8-80 emerge, which propose that the entire urban area be adapted for children between 8 and 80 years old. The creator of the concept is Guillermo Peñalosa (Bogotá, 66 years old), who worked in the nineties as the person responsible for parks in the capital of Colombia – where he promoted innovative public spaces such as Simón Bolívar Park – and now in the world. Advise on urban planning to make 350 cities across the world more sustainable.

Ask. What are cities built for?

Answer. Over the last 70 years we have built cities thinking more about cars than people’s happiness: they are not good for mental or physical health, climate change, equality and sustainability. That’s why we have to make cities completely different. Now 15-minute cities are fashionable: 100 years ago, before the advent of cars, all cities were 15 minutes away. Until people moved to the suburbs (residential areas). The expansion of cities was an environmental, economic, health disaster…

Why. What do we do then?

R. All urban development must take place in the existing urban area, the already built up area, because if we continue to expand cities the problem will become bigger. Over 30 years, the population of Mexico’s large cities has increased 2.5 times, while the urban area has increased 11 to 20 times. It is impossible to expand public transport, water, sewage at that rate… Where cities are growing, it is necessary to impose a limit to densify them, so that more people can live in the same area. Melbourne (Australia) has a metropolitan area of ​​5 million inhabitants which it plans to double; Its architecture chief has conducted a study which shows that simply by densifying the major arteries with buildings of five to eight storeys they can double the population without increasing the current urban area, and without touching the parks or recent buildings. . There are no cafes, restaurants, meeting places in residential neighborhoods, and that is why people do not walk and there is no good public transportation. If density increases in those corridors, all the houses in between can move up to those corridors.

Why. But the growth of residential areas does not stop.

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R. It is horrifying to think that the North American model of dispersed residential areas is being followed (suburbs), which has already proven to be a disaster. In Canada, 80% of urban areas are individual homes; The federal government wants to change the laws to allow people to split their homes into multiple parts and rent them out: this would allow more people to live in areas where there are already services. This can also be done with infrastructure, which can have multiple uses: the school can be for students every day, but at night and on weekends it can be a market, or a place for activities (dances, cards, games). Can become a collective space…). In the last five years there has been a trend to create school roads (or school roads), closed roads where no private cars pass: more than 230 have been built in Paris and 500 in London already.

Why. What can 8-80 cities contribute?

R. We need to stop building cities as if everyone is 30 years old and an athlete and build cities for everyone. Our lives as seniors already account for a third of our lives, but most cities do not take care of this group. We have to do such things so that people remain less alone. Older people can do wonderful things volunteering, in Arizona I went to a botanical garden in the desert, where they have 450 volunteers over the age of 55, and it changed their lives: there they make friends, socialize. and make plans together. If people have a purpose, have social interactions and are physically active, they live better lives. On the other hand, subsidies for senior citizens should be ended: they should not have to pay less for public transport or cinemas that were built 50 years ago when they were much poorer. Today we should give subsidy not on the basis of age but on the basis of need.

Why. And for children?

R. In residential areas, where public transportation is poor and there are no bike lanes, children depend on their parents to show up to their friends, go to the movies, or play soccer. A 10 or 12-year-old child should be able to get anywhere in the city on foot, bike or public transportation without relying on an adult. are in the united states soccer mom, soccer moms, who are ultimately taxi drivers, and there arise many conflicts; These are signs of a bad community. It is even worse for young children under the age of four, who usually do not have access to playgrounds in parks, as almost all games are for older children.

Why. How has the pandemic changed our cities?

R. There were changes that seemed very expensive and were made quickly: London or Paris built kilometers and kilometers of bike lanes in 10 days, showing that this was not a technical or financial problem, but a political problem. In Oakland (California), the mayor built slow streets in 24 hours that only residents could access, and children began playing on those streets; In San Francisco, he converted two golf courses into public parks. Plus, the pollution disappeared in four days without cars, as if God had sent us a sign. Do you want clean air? This is the solution. One of the serious problems is that many cities are returning to 2019: instead of coming to 2024 with new ideas, they are returning to the past because they feel more comfortable in that past.

Why. Why do changes in mobility generate so much resistance?

R. Change is difficult everywhere, but the common interest must prevail. Why is the general public not interested in car parking and expanding footpaths? The cost of doing nothing is too high. I suggest the mayor focus change on the benefits: if they want to promote cycling, don’t talk about cycling, but talk about mental health, physical health, air quality… cycling means Yes, this is not the end. Another idea is to do a pilot very quickly to show what the outcome will be: in a weekend you put up some bollards and some benches and say that if it doesn’t work in a year you can will remove; After four or five weeks people forgot the cars were there, and the next year you can put the money to do something big.

Why. Is the same thing happening with bike lanes?

R. This is more complicated, because you have to create a network for them to work. If you only do two kilometers that don’t connect to anything, they won’t be used: it’s like building a football field and only building one goal. In Seville, where almost no one used bicycles (0.6% of trips), 150 kilometers of lanes were built in a legislature and many people moved on their bikes. In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has built hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes, while in Spain I have seen many cities eliminating them.

Why. You promoted Sunday bike lanes in Bogotá. what does that involve?

R. There was a small program – and only in wealthier areas – whereby 15 kilometers of roads were closed to traffic on Sundays and holidays. I wanted to take it to poor areas and empower rich and poor alike: in four years we turned it into the world’s largest temporary park, with 121 kilometers of roads closed to traffic, where 1.3 million people Used to go out. Every Sunday, they walk, use bicycles, run, talk, shop… It is important that cities are entertaining but it is also a program of social integration, where all children, youth, adults , old people, disabled people are included. The rich and the poor meet. , and they meet equally. Bicycles don’t differentiate and neither do shoes. I’m taking this idea to other cities: in Toronto they call it summer streets, and in Guadalajara (Mexico), they call it recreational streets. When I started trying it in India it didn’t exist and today it is made in more than 50, and it is also in many capitals of Latin America.

Why. What do you think of Barcelona’s superblocks?

R. They’re brilliant, they’re changing the city. Additionally, Barcelona created a study center so that other cities around the world can see what is being done and adopt it. Cities need to be open-minded, showing others what works so they can learn and copy it. For example, one of my brothers (Enrique Peñalosa) was mayor of Bogotá from 2016 to 2019 and he planned to light 1,160 neighborhood parks. The police and a university conducted a study and showed that safety in those areas improved and drug consumption and gangs decreased. It is important to count the impact of these types of measures.

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