"Dream Team' in Bogota

A delegation led by Martim Smolka, director of the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean, traveled to Bogota late last month to provide expert advice on land policy for the new city administration. The new secretary of planning, Maria Mercedes Maldonado, has had a long association with the Lincoln Institute. The visit was noted in the newspaper El Espectador, with the headline: "Petro (the new mayor) assembles a 'dream team' of experts."
     Among the big issues discussed were how to increase the provision of affordable or social housing, to be located predominantly in the so-called expanded inner city; and a commitment to minimize environmental risks for lower income families. The challenges, says Smolka, include finding both suitable land and resources to augment national funds available for social housing. Value capture is seen as an important pathway for the extra funds needed for land procurement, but altering the system regarding building rights will be a tough sell, Smolka says.
     "Our team stressed the importance of transparency in this transition with clear indications of the purpose and procedures," he says. The value capture system in Sao Paulo sets a good example. The experts, which included Francisco Sabatini, Daniel Rodriguez, Paulo Sandroni, and Alfredo Garay, also suggested taking stock of existing public land that could be used for demonstration projects. The idea of building massive social housing complexes in distant areas with high transport costs is no longer seen as a viable option. The bottom line, the team suggested, was that as Bogota grows, the city must maintain its concern for "social sustainability" accompanying new development.