Looking at the center of the Bogotá city

Abstract

The growth of cities implies an extension of the metropolitan space. New subcenters appear which guarantee the provision of goods and services throughout the metropolitan space without daily population displacements. However, this type of development could either reinforce the hegemony of the main city centre or lead to its decline. When a strong centre exists, and it is maintained, is easy to organize an efficient network of public transport which guarantees contact among all the social classes and avoids the segregation of certain minorities or lower income groups. This paper analyses the specific case of the main Colombian city, Bogota. The data show an important decline of the centre of Bogota coupled with the development of new peripheral centers of the metropolitan area.