Here’s an accompaniment to your Tuesday morning coffee: a TED talk from Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá (that’s the capital of Columbia), asking us to realize that the way we respond to the “conflict for space between those with cars and those without them” in our cities “is a matter not just of sustainability but of equality.”
Peñalosa went about reorganizing his city based on the premise that a bus with 80 passengers has a right to 80 times more road space than a car with a single passenger. He paints a beautiful picture of equality with bus lanes that allow buses to “zoom by” while “expensive cars are stuck in traffic.” I challenge you not to get excited about his dream for cities where kids can walk out their doors and go for miles in green spaces, on foot or bike, without fear of cars.
The best thing about the talk is that his dreams are a potential reality. To see what I mean, give it a watch:
Think people should hear about this?