Bogata's rise in the 1990s

The video above is a story about the City of Bogota, Colombia and how the city transformed in the 1990s. This transformation took place under the leadership of two mayors: Antanas Mockus and his successor, Enrique Penalosa. Mockus was committed to reducing crime, violence, corruption, traffic congestion and fostering an ethic of citizenry and respect in society.

Peñalosa used the momentum of Mockus to bring about drastic changes to the city through urban design; this involved the creation of parks, public spaces, affordable housing, efficient and well maintained public transportation. The youtube video runs for about 60 minutes. I highly recommend it not least for its inspiration, but how two leaders collectively changed a city through building a sense of citizenship and through urban planning.