Territorialidades cívicas : espacio público y cultura urbana en Bogotá, Colombia

In the last two decades an increasing debate is taking place in Latin America about public spaces and their importance in the improvement of the social and cultural environment in major cities. Special attention has been given to the role played by public spaces in generating sociability and facilitating intercultural exchanges, as well as their contribution in constructing a democratic and inclusive urban culture. This study aims to contribute to this debate by looking at the main institutional and socio-cultural transformations which in the past two decades have been taken place in both the public spaces and urban culture in Bogota, Colombia. It shows that the local government, academic circles, and several sectors of civil society in Bogota have become increasingly involved in the formulation of public policies on public space and the creation of educational and cultural programmes aimed at reconstructing the urban public domain. This dissertation also show that the process of implementation of public policies and the use of cultural programmes directed to regulate the collective behaviour in the public space have in a sense enable the existence of playful and spontaneous expressions of citizens’ engagement with their city that enrich the present-day urban culture of Bogota.