Planning for urban renewal: Public/private initiatives in Bogota, Colombia, 2000–2014

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of planning in large-scale urban renewal projects in Bogota, Colombia. Drawing on three case studies from 2006 to 2014, it focuses on the impacts of the strategic plan on implementation and public benefits delivered by each project. The research methodology is based on comparative case study analysis using quantitative and qualitative data collected through planning documents, press articles, interviews and field research. It concludes that, in spite of the significant legislative reforms enacted and public works executed to encourage urban renewal, the lack of articulation between planning scales, imbalances in incentives provided and difficulties in assembling lots hindered project implementation. The paper illustrates the material expression of strategic planning by analysing the evolving role of public agencies and land-use regulation in urban renewal. It also evaluates public instruments of land readjustment and public value-capture used in urban renewal projects. It suggests that the interdependence between public policies for urban renewal, real estate markets and local communities should form the basis of successful strategies and proposes policy formulations to improve the ‘public return’ of large-scale urban renewal projects.