Territorial Ordering Plan (POT) of Bogotá 2022-2035 "The greening of Bogotá"

On September 2021, the mayor and the District Planning Secretary presented the proposal for the Territorial Ordering Plan (POT ) 2022-2035. The plan incorporates four pillars, including sustainable mobility, greening and a care system for women and sustainable economic economy. The plan has as a main vision the recognition of the importance of the conservation and restoration of the natural elements of Bogotá as a key actions to address challenges related to climate change. Activities targeting the greening of the city focus on conserving intact ecosystems (also identified as the Principal Ecological Structure / EEP), strengthening the ecological connectivity, restoring natural and urban green areas, and implementing Nature Based Solutions (NBS). The focus on NBS aims to support the mitigation of climate related risks and to improve the provision of multiple ecosystem services, such as water quality. The plan was formulated based on an extensive participatory outreach: over 9,000 activities led to over 35,000 contributions.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Urban planning mechanisms

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Watershed restoration/water quality
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Social cohesion
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The plan identifies NBS as key actions to contribute to the conservation and preservation of the main ecological structures as well as to reducing the impact of extreme weather events in Bogotá. Outlined NBS include, inter alia, ecosystem corridors in the Capital District, disaster risk reduction (Eco-RRD) measures to increase the resilience of ecosystems and ecosystem-based adaptation measures to address the effects of climate change. According to the plan, disaster risk reduction measures should preferable be addressed via NBS, unless it is technically not possible.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

City hall of Bogotá

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The plan was established based on a broad participatory process: via 26 channels and with over 9,600 activities, it reached community initiatives, NGOs and universities, as well as different groups of people, such as women, children and people with disabilities, among others. In total, the process generated 37,900 contributions, of which 17,000 were incorporated within the POT.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private sector, corporate, business

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Coalition

Type of actor involvement:

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys

meetings with pupils; curso virtual; mapa virtual; digital feedback loops via mails, social media, facebook live; feedback via submitted documents; hearings with official local managing board; and many more.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The implementation of the instrument was planned for 2022. Nonetheless,, by the time of this research, a legal order by the judicial authorities temporarily suspended the implementation of the plan.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen councils or consultation for co-planning (e.g. workshops, surveys)

Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Public local authority’s budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

According to statements of the mayor of Bogotá, the infrastructure projects planned in the POT are going to be financed 70% by national funds and 30% by municipal funds

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

The Article 584 of the POT aims at creating a system of follow-up, monitoring and and evaluation. With regard to monitoring, the plan, along with its objectives, describes six programmes of obligatory action. These programmes contain concrete sub-programmes that are equipped with tangible indicators. The status of implementation is planned to be monitored via open data that can be accessed by be public, with visualisations and maps.

Did an evaluation take place?:

Yes

The Article 584 of the POT is aimed at creating a system of follow-up, monitoring and and evaluation.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

no outcomes yet

Success factors and lessons learned:

it is important to highlight the prioritization of NBS strategies as a key pillar of the greening of Bogotá, as well as a key action course to reduce climate related risk. In the plan, there is a clear prioritization of NBS over other "grey" measures that are traditionally preferred in the context of disaster risk reduction measures in the country. During this research, no further information on the plan implementation was available.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

City Hall of Bogotá (2021). POT - Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial, Bogotá Reverdece 2022-2035, Bogotá, pp. 494.

City Hall of Bogotá (2021). Conoce, en detalle, el articulado del POT radicado ante el Concejo de Bogotá, https://bogota.gov.co/mi-ciudad/pot-bogota-reverdece-2022-2035/articulado-del-pot-bogota-reverdece-2022-2035 (accessed 06 July 2022).

City Hall of Bogotá (2021). POT - Bogotá Reverdece 2022-2035, https://bogota.gov.co/bog/pot-2022-2035/#pilares, (accessed 06 July 2022).

La República (2019). Bogotá tiene cómo financiar los planes de infraestructura que necesita la ciudad, https://www.larepublica.co/economia/bogota-tiene-como-financiar-los-planes-de-infraestructura-que-necesita-la-ciudad-2934892, (accessed 06 July 2022).

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://bogota.gov.co/bog/pot-2022-2035/

Photos

@ Unsplash