The Urban Renewal and Development Company of Bogotá (Empresa de Renovación y Desarrollo Urbano - ERU) was selected by the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Municipal Governance Project, executed by WSP in El Salvador, to exchange expertise on urban revitalization in the Historic Center of Bogotá.
The USAID project promotes the transfer of knowledge related to cooperation mechanisms between public and private actors that have proven successful at the local and international levels to generate conducive environments that attract investment and revitalize social and economic centers.
One of these activities in the Colombian capital will be the international study visit that begins on April 17, led by the ERU's Manager, Juan Guillermo Jiménez Gómez, the Deputy Manager of Urban Management, Giovanna Spera Velásquez, and a team of architects from the Company. This activity will begin with the presentation of the Company's role as an Urban Operator, the institutional framework and regulations that support urban renewal projects carried out in Bogotá and will conclude with the legacy that will be left for the city.
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Then, the visit will continue with a tour of the city, where they will experience the result of the renewal in the center of Bogotá with projects such as Tercer Milenio, Bronx Distrito Creativo, and San Victorino. These visits will allow them to learn about different models of urban projects led by the ERU, as well as to visit ongoing and development-stage projects. All of these projects aim to contribute to the city's economic recovery, offer more and better public space, and locate social housing and new facilities in sectors close to the new mass transportation systems.
The Salvadoran Commission will be composed of officials from the central government and municipal governments, as well as representatives from the business and community sectors linked to the revitalization processes of the three historic centers of El Salvador: San Salvador, San Miguel, and Santa Ana.
On Tuesday, April 18th, the visit will continue at the Cable of Ciudad Bolivar District and the renewal of its surroundings to recognize the impact of this public initiative on the economic, social, and cultural development of the area through the construction of social infrastructure. Then they will continue on to San Bernardo, a project that seeks to benefit the community in the area and restore the social fabric through urban and social interventions.
Finally, they will move to the San Felipe Creative District where they will have the opportunity to learn about the Calle 72 project related to Lines 1 and 2 of the Bogotá Metro. In San Felipe, they will experience the initiatives promoted by private actors that promote cultural, creative, and gastronomic activities.
This international visit will provide an opportunity to learn how to generate opportunities for the population, as well as investment and economic integration, to promote greater equity in the distribution of opportunities in the cities, and to improve security and governance, in order to reduce migration and uprooting processes in the three historic centers of El Salvador.
These processes of revitalizing historic centers require strengthening local institutions, but also the involvement of social organizations and the private sector to achieve citizen legitimacy.
