Designing Transportation For People, Not Cars

"For decades Bogotá has been inundated by urban problems typical of a major city in a developing country. Pollution from cars and buses shroud the city, much of it trapped by the surrounding mountains. The city's population has boomed?more than 140,000 people move to Bogotá each year... But Peñalosa pressed ahead with his transportation reforms. And as the city became easier to navigate, support for his efforts grew. The city built 70 miles of bicycle routes and closed several streets to cars and converting them into pedestrian malls. More drastically, the city began to restrict car use during rush hour, banning each car in the city from the downtown area 2 days a week, based on the license plate number. The results were dramatic: the average commute time dropped by 21 minutes, and pollution was reduced significantly."