Bogotá celebrates World Habitat Day with the "Habitat Festival: Our City, The Best Home", held for the first time in the Colombian Capital, in partnership with UN-Habitat. This event aims to promote and reaffirm policies, plans, programs, initiatives, and technical solutions related to housing and habitat, all geared towards the well-being of its residents and the strengthening of resilience.
The Festival is part of 'Urban October 2023', a month of events, dialogues, and global gatherings focusing on urban challenges and the sustainable development of cities, with the theme: "Resilient Urban Economies: Cities as Engines of Growth and Recovery."
Mayor Claudia López participated in the festival's opening ceremony and emphasized the critical importance of working towards sustainable human development: "We are on the verge of half the world's population living in cities. Saving the planet literally depends on two factors: stopping deforestation in areas like the Amazon and building great cities. The survival of humanity depends on it. So, it is essential to relearn and reevaluate; these spaces are wonderful for such reflection," highlighted the mayor.
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The Festival will feature both national and international experts sharing lessons learned and best practices in transforming urban environments through comprehensive habitat improvement. These discussions will be complemented by practical workshops and city tours.
In her presentation, Mayor Claudia López highlighted the unique characteristics of Bogotá's location: "This is a truly unique city. We are over 500 kilometers from the nearest port, nestled between three mountain ranges, and situated more than 2,600 meters above sea level. Our climate is temperate, amidst all sorts of wetlands and mosquitoes—this is paradise. Bogotá is a magnificent city of 10 million people, surrounded by an incredible ecosystem, with 75% of our land being rural. Investing in rural land to protect water sources and ecosystems was a wise decision," Claudia López added.
The Festival centers its discussions on sustainability and the future. Therefore, the mayor explained that the city's government is working to lead in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the city. To achieve this, six SDGs were prioritized, addressing the city's most pressing issues: Goal 1 (End Poverty), Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), Goal 13 (Climate Action), and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). "I have the privilege of knowing this city from end to end, from border to border. Making this city inclusive means achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Unfortunately, we've been informed that these goals won't be met unless we either extend the timeline or accelerate our efforts. I'm an advocate for speeding up our progress," reiterated the mayor.
Instruments such as the City Development Plan, the Master Plan, and public policies have adopted, incorporated, and implemented actions aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. "I want to reaffirm that by 2030, there will be a podium for the cities that have made the most progress towards achieving the SDGs, and Bogotá will be there," affirmed the mayor.
This Administration's commitment to the city's most vulnerable households is unprecedented in history. In 2022, Bogotá reached a historic low in the Multidimensional Poverty Index, with an incidence rate of 3.8%. "Today, three years later, Bogotá has also recovered jobs, which speaks highly of the city's productive capacity. Just as we rescued hospitals, we also supported businesses. I inherited a city where the economy was growing, but so was multidimensional poverty," pointed out the mayor.
In this post on the X social network, Mayor Lopez gives more details about the recovery of jobs in the city:
Bogotá pasó por el peor choque de pobreza de su historia: la pandemia. Perdimos en 6 meses 1.100.000 de empleos, la pobreza extrema se triplicó y la monetaria pasó del 25% al 40%.
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) October 2, 2023
Hoy, tres años después, Bogotá no sólo recuperó todos los empleos, sino que tiene 300 mil más que… pic.twitter.com/7CDA7KGgTK
Another attendee at the opening ceremony, the Ambassador of Sweden to Colombia, Helena Storm, also highlighted the collaborative work they have undertaken with Bogotá, leading to the development of crucial policies for the capital. "I am thrilled to accompany the Bogotá Mayor's Office on days like today, witnessing how they have become an international benchmark in sustainable urban innovation in recent years. Together, we have worked on initiatives such as 'Care Blocks,' 'Plugin,' and the launch of a concept called 'Bioblitz' to map the city's biodiversity," stated the Ambassador.
The Festival, which will run until October 3rd, aims to foster the exchange of experiences with partners and different cities that have successful cases in the field of resilient urban economies, prioritizing cities as engines for growth and recovery.
