Bogotá has long been a pioneer in green initiatives in Latin America. In February 2000, Mayor Enrique Peñalosa enacted the city’s first car-free day. Legitimized by a public referendum, the car-free day has become an annual occasion. Beginning in 2014, Bogotá expanded the day to an entire week of no car usage, which just wrapped up on February 13th.
In the city of 7 million people, roughly 600,000 cars were left idle each day during car-free week. Mejor en Bici (Better on Bike) is a local bike organization that pushed for the extension of the car-free day. The organization also organized a system of bike routes throughout the city. The environmental impacts were a good enough incentive, but the social impacts were also highly important. Bogotá residents lose roughly 22 days per year sitting in traffic, and in 2013, 570 of these residents were killed due to automobile accidents.
Quality of life in Bogotá has undeniably improved during the first car-free week. The air is cleaner, the streets are quieter, more people are engaging in physical exercise, and more time is being reclaimed due to not experiencing traffic. Bogotá should be an example to developing nations, demonstrating that green initiatives do not have to compromise efficiency and economic vibrancy.