production for Community & Culture Project Reference e 2 design episodes Bogotá: Building a Sustainable City and Affordable Green Housing.

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1 Community & Culture Project Reference e 2 design episodes Bogotá: Building Sustinble City nd Affordble Green Housing. 1) Red the bckground essy nd discussion questions for e 2 design episodes Bogotá: Building Sustinble City nd Affordble Green Housing. Wtch the episodes nd discuss the post-viewing questions. 2) For one week crete community nd culture journl- tke time to be more wre of your surroundings. Write down ll your observtions bout your town or city s you go to school everydy, spend time in your neighborhood, go out t night, tke trnsporttion, etc. Be specific in your notes. Questions to consider include: Wht types of public plces re vilble, including bike pths, prks, public trnsporttion, etc? Are they being used? Are they sfe? Clen? Wht types of people re using the public plces (e.g., young, old, children, students, fmilies)? How mny people re out wlking round? Inside crs? Do people drive lot or tke public trnsporttion? Wht bout bikes? Wht re some of the plces within wlking distnce of your home nd school (e.g. stores, prks, theters, community centers)? Wht types of people (e.g., young, old, students, etc.) re present in the plces you go outside school? Do you feel there is sense of diversity? Do you feel sfe in your town nd community? Why or why not? Who re your neighbors? Do you spend time tlking with them? Is there prticulr culture to the people or buildings you observe? Are the buildings you spend time in inviting? Is there diversity in the design? Do you spend most of your time indoors or outside? 3) After noting your observtions, prtner up with one other person or in groups to discuss your notes. Did the journl exercise mke you think ny differently bout your interction with other people nd your environment? Were you more wre of the thred of culture possibly present? Do you wish there were more or less public plces? Wht bout the design? Hve you spent time in nother city tht ws very different from your own? If so, wht did you like nd not like bout it? 4) Write n essy bout your findings nd responses to the journl exercise bove, including your discussion nswers in #2. Wht would you design or re-design in your city or community (e.g., trnsporttion, public spots, neighborhood)? How nd why? Include wht you currently enjoy bout your city nd community, nd ny chnges you

2 think you could mke to interct more with the nturl environment nd the people in your community. 5) Exchnge your essy with clssmtes nd techers. Shre your essy with your peers nd community through the school newspper, locl ppers, nd/or blogs.

3 e 2 design Bogotá: Building Sustinble City Bckground Essy As few s 10 yers go Bogotá, Colombi ws chrcterized by drug crtels, senseless violence nd 30-yer civil wr. Every three hours someone ws kidnpped. Every 15 minutes someone ws murdered. At one point there ws not n upper- or middle-clss Colombin fmily tht did not know somebody who hd been bducted. Tody s you move round the city you ll see meg-librries, greenwys, 1,000 prks, over 70,000 trees nd stte-of-the rt trnsporttion system clled the TrnsMilenio, mening trnscending the millennium. The TrnsMilenio is n lterntive to the chotic, independently operted bus service tht dominted the city in the pst. Along with this infrstructure, you ll see people from ll wlks of life out of their crs, enjoying their city spce- prents strolling with their kids, co-workers eting lunch outside, neighbors meeting nd tlking with one nother. How did this remrkble trnsition hppen to the city of Bogotá? It cme out of the vision tht Enrique Peñlos, Myor of Bogotá from 1997 through 2000, hd for his city. He wnted to reverse the decdes-long norm of poverty, drug crtels nd violence nd mke citizens proud of the metropolis in which they lived. Peñlos believed tht cities should encourge wlking nd biking, which would in turn promote community nd mke the streets sfer for children. With these ides in mind he reformed public trnsporttion, dded greenwys, built meg-librries nd creted the longest stretch of bike-only lnes in the world. Peñlos s commitment to getting people out of their crs even led to progrm clled the pico y plc ( pek times nd license pltes ) tht gretly restricts the use of privte utomobiles t pek times. This episode highlights the story of how one mn s vision trnsformed one of the most chotic cities in the world into shining model of urbn plnning, community development nd public trnsporttion. Although by his own dmission there is more work to be done, the trnsformtion tht hs tken plce thus fr is remrkble nd hs been luded s n exmple for the world to follow. For more informtion bout Enrique Peñlos, visit

4 e 2 design Bogotá: Building Sustinble City PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. Wht types of public spces exist in your town (e.g., bike pths, prks, public trnsporttion)? Are they being used? If so, by who primrily? Are they sfe? Clen? 2. Wht issues do designers need to ddress when thinking bout urbn plnning? Where do interest groups nd policy mkers come into the picture? Wht chllenges nd influences do they hve on urbn plnning designers? POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. How did the reforms mde by Peñlos unite the poorer nd more ffluent citizens of Bogotá? 2. Wht risks did Peñlos tke in regrds to public interest nd policy? 3. Wht ws the link Peñlos mde between creting wlking nd biking lnes nd fighting violence? 4. Do you think your community nd policy mkers would be hppy to build more wlking nd biking lnes in your town/city? Do you think they would invite policies to regulte crs on certin streets during certin times? Why?

5 e 2 design Affordble Green Housing Bckground Essy While the modern definition of community focuses on the commonlities between its members, the scientific definition puts more emphsis on the vriety of the individuls living within the community. Jonthn Rose, third-genertion New York developer, hs built his philosophy round the concept tht the diversity nd complexity of community is wht provides its strength nd ultimtely its sustinbility. New York City is known for its diversity, which is probbly why there re so mny strong communities in the city, but this diversity hsn t lwys been reflected in its low-income housing. In n effort to provide s much housing s possible t the lowest cost, ffordble housing projects hve often ignored the socil nd culturl spects of the community. Jonthn Rose hs been striving to crete different pproch by rethinking wht ffordble housing could nd, in his opinion, should be. The mission of Jonthn Rose s compny is to repir the fbric of communities. He ttempts to ccomplish this gol in mny wys, only one of which is by building ffordble housing projects tht respect the nturl environment round them, the people who will live within them nd the existing communities tht will welcome them. This episode follows Mr. Rose through three neighborhoods in which his sustinblydesigned housing projects re chnging people s perception of wht ffordble housing is. The projects explored include the Burnhm Building in Irvington, New York, the Joyce nd Dvid Dinkins Grdens project in Hrlem, nd the s-yet-to-be-built mixed-income development Vi Verde tht will ultimtely find its reliztion in the South Bronx. To find out more bout Jonthn Rose s compnies, visit

6 e 2 design Affordble Green Housing PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. Wht do you think of when you her the term ffordble housing? Wht imges come to mind of both the buildings nd its tennts? 2. Wht mkes neighborhood community? List some of the elements in your opinion tht re essentil to community. 3. Do you live in n re/community tht is mixed-income or level income? Do you think much bout it? If you experienced the opposite how do you think it would influence you? 4. Wht re some plces within wlking distnce of your home (e.g., stores, prks, theters, community centers)? Wht re some plces you would like to hve nd not hve within wlking distnce of your home? Why? 5. Do you lern more when you tlk to person tht is more or less like you? Wht bout when you visit plce tht is more or less like your hometown? Why? POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS 1. According to Jonthn Rose, how does diversity strengthen community? Wht different types of diversity does he tlk bout? 2. Why does Jonthn Rose believe tht community is more likely to be sustinble if it s diverse? Do you gree with him? Why or why not? 3. How cn rel-estte developer repir the fbric of communities? Wht types of buildings contribute to the fbric of community in positive wy? In negtive wy (e.g., homogeneous vs. heterogeneous popultion, commercil vs. residentil, shred spce vs. privte spce)?