Bogota residents hardly proud of their city: Report

Bogota's Monserrate church (Image credit: Oscar Payan)

Residents of Bogota, Colombia’s capital city, express high levels of dissatisfaction and pessimism with their city, according to a report on the quality of life in the country’s 11 largest cities.

The report, based on interviews and polls with residents of each region, indicated that only 46% of Bogotans feel pride for their city, while a similarly paltry 48% expressed satisfaction with the quality of life in Bogota.

In comparison, over 80% of residents in Medellin, Manizales and Barranquilla reported pride for their city and satisfaction with the quality of life.

Colombia city pride

The study sought answers to a wide variety of questions focused on the subjective experience of the residents of each city, including what their daily life is like, the sense of community they feel with a given neighborhood, their relationships with their neighbors, if they are employed, and how easy transportation is.

Bogota was particularly poorly rated on security, with only 17% of residents indicating that they felt secure in Bogota.

A recurring theme in the interviews was also the concern that private transportation is replacing public transportation. It was significant for interviewees because they viewed it as a potential contributor to more traffic problems in the future, traffic problems being a main criticism of Bogota as it is.

Despite general dissatisfaction with the livability of Bogota, the study revealed that 84% of residents participate in some form of sports, recreation or cultural activity, indicating that Bogota maintains a cultural advantage over other cities in the country.

The organization that conducted the study, Como Vamos, hopes that the results are not only considered an exposition of facts, but a catalyzer of the debate on how best to improve cities in Colombia.

Sources

Related posts

Former top Petro aide jailed amid corruption probe

Former Medellin Cartel boss te return to Colombia on December 12

Colombia’s police raid 11 prisons in attempt to curb extortion