Christian
Both formal and informal developments are loaded with patterns, from materiality and morphologies, to growth and sprawl. My first observations of Bogota were infused with just that. The brick utilized as the local construction material creates natural hues and shades, which makes a construction typology, and at the end results in a pattern of urban growth.
Miranda
Bogota called to mind questions of what exactly creates vibrant public space. My preconceived notions about informal housing offering residents exactly what they need because it has grown organically did not prove consistently true. It was easy to critique many social housing projects, but it was not as simple as that. Not all the social housing projects were empty and devoid of activity. These communities varied in safety and vitality, but there was no formula for what made certain places work as lively active public space and others look like ghost towns.
Shin
Far away from distance, Bogota looks as if a pink tinted blanket happened to be positioned between two mountain ranges by the wind, shining in the crisp beautiful sunlight amid sky, mountains, and hills. Low small brick buildings closely packed together on the uneven surfaces of mountain and hill sides are like fallen dominoes in different sizes sparkling and casting shadows in the sunshine, a peaceful harmony of nature and an unorganized beauty of human structures. However, walking deep into the beauty, you witness its transition to chaos, a maze of materials comprising one or two story brick houses densely covered. Their fences and makeshift walls are made of pieces of tin, wood, plywood or metal mesh, and disconnection between these fences and walls makes entrances to houses. Inside these fences and walls are minimized living spaces enveloped by assorted walls of cement, brick, or discarded wood and by a collage of roof elements of pieces of tint, wood, or cloth and holding stones and bricks on them, sheltering the inhabitants from harsh weather conditions. Dust from cars running on the dirt roads and their exhaust fumes find their ways into the houses through gaps between walls of different materials as well as covering up surroundings outside with dust and fumes. Surprisingly, in the unfinished, unorganized, and unplanned part of the city its residents greet a stranger like me with their perfect smiles.
Zenon
I chose this image because it first represents a city of security or should i say insecurity and second a city of contrast. -This picture is of the Julio Mario Santo Domingo building at Universitad de Los Andes and it was one of the first sights on our tour of the downtown. When we past the building not only did we see this bare facade with nothing on it but a security camera, but our group was also promptly confronted by an armed guard that warned us of walking in the adjacent area. This building also represents the expansion of the private university and subsequent gentrification of the existing neighborhood.
Gabriel
People of Bogota is one of the issues that raised my attention the most. During our conversations, sightseeing visits and walks, I could experience the different “authentic faces” of “bogotanos” as the city stretched from its historic center to the outskirts of Usme. Not only the appearance of people impressed me, but also the countless ways that they use, create and adapt jobs to enter the local market. Bogota’s informal market, as in the whole of South America, is a great example of how creative and diverse “bogotanos” can be. The ability of comprehending the importance of this informal market to the city and people and learning ways to accommodate this demand of commerce in the formal city in a natural and effective way will be a key aspect in our understanding of the city.
Robin
Witnessing the physical evolution of an informal settlement from nine months to 30 years showed that the initial structures built by inhabitants are thought to be temporary - at least in form and material - and over time permanancy is created and additional height added. Some social housing examples that we saw do allow for small additions or changes over time, but these projects are still pre-determined to a great extent by a plan laid in place from the start. What should be the balance between pre-planned dwelling and organic evolution by inhabitants? What makes a house become a home? What makes an area where people live become a community?
Kelly
As the city of Bogotá continues to expand exponentially, the informal settlements are in demand for necessary infrastructures. Stemming from neighboring older legalized portions of the city, utilities are drawn to sites of a younger organic community struggling to create a basic quality of life for their inhabitants. This image shows electricity taken illegally from a neighboring community that has existed for nearly thirty years and has since been “legalized”. The informal community stealing the utilities has only existed for nine months and is plugging in to the neighboring water and electrical supply. What type of system has allowed a structure like this to perpetuate? What solutions can we pose as alternatives to provide these necessary infrastructures?
Jenny
What stood out to me at the beginning of my visit to Bogota was how inconsistent the streets were. Ground-watching is almost a requirement while walking in order to avoid the dips and rises on the sidewalks, broken or missing concrete and bricks, uncovered drains and manholes, and randomly placed bollards. There is an interrupted fluidity of individual streets and also of the collection of streets of Bogota. These images show the priority of uses of the residents living there and a timeline of settlement into these places. It also draws attention to the rough seams of a socio-economically divided city and the attempt (or non-attempt?) of standardization.
Drew
Bogota is a city of walls. There is a perceived necessity in partitioning the city at a range of scales. These walls could be manifested as exclusionary political separations between social classes or a simple barbed wire fence to claim a small, scarce piece of neighborhood property. Regardless of the reason, there is an inherent culture of claiming and demarcating space. I intend to investigate this phenomenon in order to inform decision making about place, identity, and connections with the land at the human, community, city, and regional scales.
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