Bogotá gets makeover with mayoral beautification offensive

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[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ayor Peñalosa is sending out volunteers Saturday to paint colonial houses and storefronts in the Las Cruces neighbourhood, adjacent to historic La Candelaria. The beautification offensive in one of the more “rough” areas of the capital is part of a citywide initiative to rid walls of spray vandalism and return some sense of decorum to residents, as well as tourists, who venture south of the Carrera 8 between Calles 2 and 3. The embellishment project is a joint collaboration effort between the District Institute of Cultural Heritage (IDPC) and Habitat for Humanity Colombia (HPHC).

In the north of the city, the Special Administrative Unit of Public Services (UAESP) is lighting up the streets and parks of Cedritos – Calle 145 with Cra 9 – in order to restore confidence in the neigbourhood after years of dark and neglect. The mayoralty has modernized more than 500 street lights in the capital over the last two months, including those in parks San Andrés, Voto Nacional, Ricaurte and Virgilio Barco. The modernization plan over the next six months includes at least illuminating an addition 15 parks.

If you are visiting Bogotá or spend time dashing between La Candelaria and Las Aguas TransMilenio station, you’ll see the Republican square, Parque de los Periodistas, much cleaner and free of street vendors. More than 500 cachivacheros who were selling every type of trinket and knickknack, from dope pipes to broken hardware in this invaded square have been moved to a nearby parking lot used on Sundays for the vintage flea market Mercado de las Pulgas.

The decision to move the peddlers, vendors and amateur acrobats came after a petition from the park’s neighbours who were tired of having to swerve sidewalk between blankets filled with junk and rows of hallucinogenic instruments. Even the amateur tightrope walkers who swayed between the fledgling wax plans in this transited space, will get suitable ground for their stunts.

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