The Canadian organization New Cities confirmed that Bogotá is among the five finalist cities for the ‘Wellbeing Cities Award 2021’. A nod is given to cities that make the general well-being of its people a central part of their policy.
Since 2018, The Wellbeing Cities Award has acknowledged more than 40 cities on five continents for their philanthropic approach. In this year’s edition of the award, the city of Bogota was chosen for its tireless efforts toward gender equality and overall well-being of its residents, as per the District Development Plan (PDD) 2020-2024, ‘A New Social and Environmental Contract for the Bogotá of the XXI Century.’
Bogotá made it to the closing stages of this event for its role in ‘The District Care System.’ As stated by the organizers, “Bogotá promotes a new social and environmental contract with its citizens, which focuses on closing inequality gaps, prioritising the cracks in our demographic where the most vulnerable have fallen. Historically, some groups have been more affected than others -- for a myriad of reasons – women, elderly, disabled, and households well below the poverty-line have found themselves institutionally disadvantaged. The implementation of this mandate is an attempt to make Bogota a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable city. "
Other cities that have made it to the endgame include Chennai, India for their ‘Stride Initiative’, in which they collect and publish data to facilitate mobility on foot and by bicycle in response to the transportation challenges posed by the pandemic. Ramallah in Palestine proposed ‘The Experience Forum’, a project whose objective is to encourage the elderly to participate in more outdoor activities mitigating the difficulties of aging in an urban environment. The city of Strasbourg in France with the initiative ‘Sport for the Inclusion and Citizenship of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers’, in which sport is used as a facilitator of exchanges between refugees and local residents to help soothe tensions within the social mix. And finally, Vancouver in British Columbia for the ‘Places for People Programme’ where people can take ownership of historic downtown public places through outdoor activities designed jointly by the community.
According to the organisers of ‘The Wellbeing Cities Award 2021’, the objective of this recognition is to applaud the humanitarian efforts being made by cities all over the world who have placed the overall well-being of its people at the heart of their policy and planning. The winning city will be announced in the next few days.
