Parks, Bikeways & Open Space in Bogotá

Gil Penalosa, Executive Director of 8-80 Cities and former Commissioner for Parks, Sports and Recreation in Bogota Colombia, leads Clarence Eckerson Jr. of Streetfilms, Karla Quintero of Transportation Alternatives, and Aaron Naparstek of Streetsblog around Bogota's parks, streets and trails. Residents discuss the social integration and economic boom that has resulted from Bogota's transformation into a city that focuses on pedestrians, cyclists, and public space. Today, Penalosa says, a person could not be elected to the smallest ward of the city without making parks, open space and bicycles and pedestrian issues a major part of their campaign.
Made by StreetFilms (9:58 min)

Articles

A Comparative Analysis of Park Access in Seven Major Cities: No Place to Play
Close your eyes and picture a happy memory from your childhood. Whether you’re playing with friends, enjoying a picnic with your family, or sitting on a bench basking in the sunshine of a warm afternoon, there’s a good chance you’re imagining something that involved a public park.
And that’s no surprise. Kids love parks. And kids need parks…to get fresh air, exercise, and just to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.

Ciclovia: the Car-free Zone
Daniel B. Wood writes an inspiring article illustrating the growth of car-free days all throughout America, in where the city closes down the streets to cars, in order to allow pedestrians and cyclists to exclusively enjoy the outdoors. This concept is very popular in many places around the world including Bogota, New York, and Paris. Alongside, many cities such as New York and Atlanta are now prohibiting the entrance of vehicles into the city’s public parks.

Active Living Research- Making the Case for Parks
Regular physical activity increases longevity, well-being, helps children and adults maintain a healthy weight, and can reduce the risk for obesity and its related health consequences. Parks and playgrounds provide a wide variety of opportunities for physical activity and have the potential to help many Americans lead a more active lifestyle. The collective body of evidence suggests that parks and playgrounds encourage physical activity, although the data are not entirely consistent. Research also indicates that the capacity of America’s parks could be further leveraged to promote opportunities for helping diverse populations achieve recommended physical activity levels. This synthesis summarizes the growing body of evidence concerning the role of parks in shaping active lifestyles across a variety of study populations, including children, seniors, lower-income families, specific racial and ethnic groups and other populations at high risk of being inactive.

Measuring the Economic Value of a City Park System
 In 2003, the Trust for Public land’s Center for City Park Excellence gathered 24 park experts and economists in Philadelphia to analyze the economic benefits that arise from park systems. From the reunion, they gathered 7 major factors, which provide a city with direct income, direct savings, environmental savings, as well as qualitative benefits.

Trust for Public Land: The Health Benefits of Parks
The Trust for Public Land launched its report, titled Parks for People, in order to encourage the idea of putting a park within easy reach of every family, in order to reduce some health issues based on inactivity, as well as increasing social benefits. Studies have shown that when people have close access to parks, they exercise more and reduce car-usage within short distances, therefore removing great potential for these diseases.

The Happy City- From Bogota to Paris
Although parks improve our lives economically, environmentally, and physically, it is evident that one of the most remarkable effects that they impose upon us relates to our well-being. Cities such as Paris, Bogota and Hangzhou have clearly demonstrated this trend, confirming that it is the interaction, eye contact and experiences that we gain when we walk or bike that generate overall happiness. Creating meeting places, parks, and pathways, we promote a sense of equality and balance that allows people to feel happy.

Comprehensive Plan: Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board holds a vision for the future eliciting the preservation of land and emphasizing the idea of connecting people to nature, as well as to each other.  A comprehensive plan was set forward, including feedback from residents, visitors, staff and elected officials, and as a result, the community-desired outcomes will be prioritized from short term to long terms ready to be implemented.

Downtown Minneapolis Park Space Initiative: Final Report
Almost every major successful city in America has a downtown signature park that serves as a central public gathering place, a point of local pride, and a reflection of the city’s public heart. The City of Minneapolis has a variety of smaller downtown parks; however, they are inclined to pursue the idea of creating a central park that would be financially viable. The following report seeks to outline the general framework from cost benefits and tax revenues, to appropriate location, size, connectivity, and visibility.

Price Tags: Paris 2008
Over many years, Paris has transformed into a city that is tying itself together through overlapping modes of movement, building new kinds of infrastructure to make connections among its great public spaces. From creating a city for strictly cars, Paris has re-invented a new sense of life, in where parks are created for people. Events such as the Paris-Plage or the Simon-de-Beauvoir provide a fantastic sense of life for citizens and visitors.

Active Living by Design: Parks Trails Greenways Factsheet
Active Living by Design establishes and evaluates innovative approaches to increase physical activity through a more suitable infrastructure, in order to increase health. The report provides a list of promotions, policies, projects, and programs that are being implemented. Programs range from promoting bike safety, to creating after school and summer program to enhance physical activity.

World City Bike Collaborative
The World City Bike Collaborative Program offers assistance in screening and preparing city projects generated around the concept of sustainable cities, which includes place-making, parks, as well as pedestrian and cyclist-friendly infrastructure. Help is offered at 4 different levels and is guaranteed to plan, design, and advice projects that will create and connect phenomenal communities.

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association : A national voluntary-sector organization dedicated to realizing the full potential of parks and recreation services as a major contributor to community health and vibrancy. Their members are parks and recreation professionals represented in over 2,600 communities in Canada.

International Federation of Park and Recreation Administration : A federation that works to promote parks, recreation and open spaces.

Ontario Parks Association : Established to enhance civic beautification and protect parks, open spaces and the natural environment.

Rails to Trails Conservancy : Create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.

Videos

	8-80 Cities hosted the "Great Streets, Healthy Cities" Public Meeting and Panel Discussion about Car Free Sundays on February 2, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Great Streets, Healthy Cities event highlighted the best practices of planning and implementing Car Free Sundays from the foremost international program examples. Three leading Car Free Sundays/Ciclovias experts from New York, San Francisco, Bogota and Guadalajara provide a unique perspective and a diversity of implementation tools and models used to make these programs world class examples.
	Streetfilms goes to the Ciclovia in Bogota, Colombia Every Sunday from 7:00 am until 2:00 pm some of the busiest roads in Bogota, Colombia are shut down to cars and open to people – allowing citizens, residents and tourist the chance to walk, bike, skate, dance and enjoy the city's roadways. See how the Ciclovia began, how it is operated and how it is enjoyed by 1.5 million people every Sunday. Includes an interview with Gil Penalosa who oversaw the extension of the Ciclovia from 13 km to 113 km during his term as Bogota's Commissioner for Parks, Sports and Recreation. Penalosa, Executive Director of 8-80 Cities, says that the Ciclovia is “like a party that everyone attends.” Made by StreetFilms (9:41 min)
	Melbourne: A Pedestrian Paradise Melbourne is repeatedly cited as one of the most liveable cities in the world. Watch interviews with Robert Adams, Director of Design and Urban Environment Melbourne, Eliot Fishman from the Institute for Sensible Transportation, Gilbert Rochecouste the Director of Village Well, Kevin Luten from Urban Trans and Jan Gehl founder of the revolutionary architecture firm Gehl Architects to see how this city doubled its pedestrian traffic and transformed into a vibrant community through restricting car access, and giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists, and public space. Made by StreetFilms (9:54 min)
	Parks, Bikeways & Open Space in Bogotá Gil Penalosa, Executive Director of 8-80 Cities and former Commissioner for Parks, Sports and Recreation in Bogota Colombia, leads Clarence Eckerson Jr. of Streetfilms, Karla Quintero of Transportation Alternatives, and Aaron Naparstek of Streetsblog around Bogota's parks, streets and trails. Residents discuss the social integration and economic boom that has resulted from Bogota's transformation into a city that focuses on pedestrians, cyclists, and public space. Today, Penalosa says, a person could not be elected to the smallest ward of the city without making parks, open space and bicycles and pedestrian issues a major part of their campaign. Made by StreetFilms (9:58 min)
	Summer Streets 2008 (NYC) Streetfilms follows New York City's first Summer Streets event that saw 6.9 miles of the city's streets, stretching from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, closed to cars and open to people. Aside from the walking and cycling that took place, art activities and aerobics classes were held along the route. Interviews with Aaron Naparkstek of Streetsblog, Mark Gorton, Executive Director of Open Planning Project, Noah Budnick of Transportation Alternatives, and Janet Sadik-Khan, New York City's Transportation Commissioner who spearheaded the project, discuss the benefits and success of the event that was so well received one participant said “every day should be summer streets!” Made by Street Films (4:37)
	Video on vancouver.ca This video presents a vision concerning how inclusive planning – that puts on walking and cycling – can create world class cities such as Copenhagen, Denmark, and Amsterdam. Due to its recognition as one of Canada’s greatest cities, Vancouver is now striving to compete with these cities, and become one of the best places to live in the world. By creating a complete grid of safe bicycle and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, as well as public places for people to enjoy, Vancouver will be able to showcase the opportunities and benefits that can come from focusing city planning around active transportation.
	Where the Hell is Matt? Matt travels to hundreds of cities throughout the world to dance in public spaces with perfect strangers. A window into the boundless potential of public spaces to foster creative thinking and a community atmosphere. Read more about Matt at www.wherethehellismatt.com Running time (4:29)
Articles
	Broadway Is Busy, With Pedestrians, if Not Car Traffic & Not So Broadway Under Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, Broadway has been transformed from a grand avenue that ferried automobiles on a scenic route through Midtown to a narrow passageway with barely more room for cars than a sleepy street in Greenwich Village. In as little as two years, the city has transformed Broadway making the street more palatable to pedestrians and bicyclists, improving traffic and accommodating thousands of more people. In some spots, automobile traffic has dropped by one third, and dozens of parking spaces are gone and replaced by bicycle lanes and pedestrian picnic areas making Broadway more of a local street with increased access.
	World Class Streets: Remaking New York City's Public Realm This report is part of an ambitious and far reaching effort to place New York at the forefront of urban development. It builds on two previous plans: PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s comprehensive sustainability plan, and Sustainable Streets, NYCDOT’s strategic plan. While the previous reports were comprehensive in scope, this document focuses solely on the NYCDOT public realm strategies listed at right.
	Trust for Public Land: Growing Smart In creating sustainable communities, many political leaders tend to struggle between choosing economic growth or open space protection. Will Rogers thoroughly clears up this confusion in the following article, indicating that new parks and open spaces in fact increase business in downtown markets and neighbourhood economies, as well as increasing the community’s health, stability, beauty and quality of life.
	Price Tags: Paris 2008 Over many years, Paris has transformed into a city that is tying itself together through overlapping modes of movement, building new kinds of infrastructure to make connections among its great public spaces. From creating a city for strictly cars, Paris has re-invented a new sense of life, in where parks are created for people. Events such as the Paris-Plage or the Simon-de-Beauvoir provide a fantastic sense of life for citizens and visitors.
Associations and Links for Public Spaces
Ecology Action Centre : Based out of Nova Scotia, EAC is an activist organization working to build a healthier, more sustainable province.
Environment Canada : A Department of the Government of Canada which works to preserve Canada's natural environment and conserve its resources.
Great Streets : An organization which works to create great streets across the U.S.
Project for Public Spaces : A central hub in the placemaking movement. PPS uses a variety of methods to create great communities and beautiful public settings.
The Trust for Public Land : A national, U.S. based non-profit organization that works to conserve land and ensure liveable communities for many years to come.