Bogota and Copenhagen - Essay Example

Bogota and Copenhagen What specific architectural and urban planning concerns are discussed for each city by the film? How have specific projects in each city worked towards addressing transportation and mobility issues in dense urban centers? Are either/both democratic (and what does this mean)? Why? In your opinion, are these projects effective? Why or why not? Would a similar project(s) work in a city that you have lived in? Explain in detail. Has the film impacted your view of Tampa? If yes, in what way?

The specific architectural and urban planning concerns discussed in each city by the film is transportation architecture and urban aesthetic design. In each city, the use of alternative mode of transportation is discussed such as riding a bicycle instead of the regular cars. Riding a bicycling however is more pronounced in Copenhagen where as much as 37% of those who go to work rides in bicycle. In Bogota however, the city government is exerting effort to popularize the use of bicycle more by putting up good cycling infrastructure especially dedicated to bicycle riders to make the use of bicycle more socially acceptable among commuters.

At some point, the city mayor was even riding a bicycle and showed that bicycling lanes have better roads compared to cars to illustrate their seriousness in promoting bicycling lane. With regard to aesthetic design, the city planners of Copenhagen was conscious that beyond 100 meters horizon, the lookers would no longer be comfortable looking at it so they made the city compact. They also design the city so that the dwellers could own it such as putting movable chairs around where the users can move it.

In Bogota, there were architectural designs that were put up in the city that were not only functional but beautiful as well. The specific projects in each city that worked towards addressing transportation and mobility issues in dense urban centers were the popularization of the use of bicycles and dedicated bus that works like a train. Copenhagen is already popular for the use of bicycle as bicycle lanes were part of the urban design and integrated in the city. Bogota is still in the process of promoting bicycle use among its population.

There is however one project in Bogota that differs from Copenhagen and that is the use of dedicated buses. This concept is borrowed from Brazil where there are buses that works like a train where it have its own lane and stations. These projects are definitely democratic. In Copenhagen, the use of cheap bicycles is already embedded in the society’s fabric. Efforts has been done in Bogota to raise the social status of using bicycle so that nobody would be embarrassed in using a bicycle.

But more than the use of bicycle, the city government of Bogota makes sure that the use of public transportation would allow its passenger to arrive at its destination in the same time as the use of private cars. This would remove the distinction between the two modes of transportation thereby democratizing mobility. These efforts are both effective because it has achieve its objective of removing the time difference in arriving at their respective destinations. Similar projects would work in the city that I lived in.

All it takes is a political will. It is not difficult to put dedicated bicycle lanes and to put dedicated lanes and stations to buses. The film has not impacted my view of Tampa because the concept of democratizing transport and mobility is universal. Reference Hustwit, G. (Director). (2011). Urbanized [Motion picture]. Plexifilm :.