From bicycle-only days to smoke-belching buses, street performers to sustainable (and unsustainable) growth, Guardian's blogger of the week offers an insider's tour of the Colombian capital

Traffic congestion in Bogotá, Colombia

Bogotá has a strange location for a big city. It's neither near the coast nor on a major river, and it's at a high altitude. That's because the Europeans who founded it weren't looking to trade, but to find gold and a temperate climate. As a result, Bogotá hasn't grown along a corridor, but spread west across a plain from its Eastern Hills. So, Bogotá's got a nice setting, although nothing dramatic.

Despite being near the equator, Bogotá's 2,650-metre altitude gives it a moderate climate, meaning that homes don't require heating or air conditioning. But, beyond that, it suffers from the same problems of other big, developing world cities: too much trash, too many cars and too much pollution. Irregular law enforcement and inconsistent urban planning mean that those problems don't get dealt with.

I moved to Bogotá in part because of its reputation for innovativeness in transit and urban planning, particularly for cycling. In the last few years, the city's lost some of that pioneering reputation. However, it retains a lot of the spirit, with its Sunday holiday Ciclovía, when they shut down many avenues to cars (nicknamed 'the world's longest street party') and its network of bike lanes, although many have been sadly neglected.

Another nice thing about Bogotá is the plethora of outdoor cultural and athletic activies. Theatre and aerobics in the parks, street fairs, street performers, parades and even protest marches all give the city life and ebullience....Continue Reading

> via The Guardian