Bogotá is one of the "World’s Greatest Places": TIME Magazine

Bogotá is one of the "World’s Greatest Places": TIME MagazinePhoto: Screenshot from TIME magazine.
TIME magazine recognized Bogotá as the city with the most cyclists and that most promotes sustainable mobility in South America.
Publicado:
19
Jul
2022
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U.S. magazine TIME has chosen Bogotá as one of the best places to visit in the world due to its important advances in mobility, sustainability, and extensive cultural offerings.

"The immense Colombian capital is making headlines this year for its efforts in sustainability and its first-class culinary offerings," says the magazine, which compiled a list of 50 recommended cities in the world to visit.

The Colombian capital is highlighted alongside iconic world cities such as Seoul (South Korea), Miami (United States), Doha (Qatar), Marseille (France), and Toronto (Canada).

These are the bicycle routes most used by citizens to get around Bogotá.

The following is a tweet in which Mayor Claudia López refers to the recognition received by Bogotá from TIME magazine:

 

The renowned U.S. media outlet mainly highlighted the city's positive developments in sustainable mobility and bike infrastructure.

"Bogotá added 52 miles of bike lanes to the existing 370 miles during the pandemic, and the city's altitude (8660 feet) provides cool temperatures year-round, making it one of the most bike-friendly places in South America," the media outlet highlighted.

One example of the new 52 miles of bike lanes referred to in the magazine is the 13th Street bike lane, which features a pedestrian strip, benefits more than 7,400 cyclists, and is featured in the video below:

These advances are part of the city's roadmap that seeks to fully implement clean mobility and aims to ensure a modern, clean, and dignified transportation infrastructure in Bogotá-Region. Based on these ideas, sustainable mobility will bring to Bogotá:

  • 170 hectares of pedestrian public spaces 
  • 400 hectares of facilities, local roads, and public service networks
  • 415 km of cycling and micro-mobility infrastructure paths 
  • 40 km of bicycle lanes

The results are already being seen, as evidenced by the bicycle sharing system that is currently in the early stages of implementation and will begin operations on August 6.

Below is a photo of the bicycles that are part of the shared system, which will be implemented in August:

Bicycle Sharing System

The bike sharing system was also one of the details highlighted by TIME magazine, not only because of its presence in the historic center of the city, but also because it is an initiative that makes Bogotá a more accessible space with more options for people with different abilities thanks to the different types of bikes available.

Within the system there will be 3300 bicycles, which will be divided exactly between:

  • 1500 mechanical (normal) bicycles.
  • 1500 electric bicycles.
  • 150 hand bicycles
  • 150 bicycles with trays

Below is a video with more details of Bogotá's bike sharing system:

On how the list of the best places in the world was put together, the magazine explained that it requested nominations from international correspondents and contributors "with an eye to those places that offer new and exciting experiences."

As the majority of the global population is vaccinated against COVID-19 and global tourism picks up steam again, according to TIME, this list is meant to highlight the most interesting locations on the road to economic recovery.