The independent online academic resource Planetizen has named Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa on their 100 list of “Most Influential Urbanists” of all time.
With names and achievements dating back centuries, Peñalosa joins the prestigious who’s who of urban developers and architects, that includes Lewis Mumford (1895 – 1990) architectural critic for The New Yorker magazine for over 30 years and author of The City in History; Jane Jacobs (1916 – 2006) a pioneer of community-led planning; Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965) father of modern urbanism; Robert Moses, the “master builder” of mid-20th century New York City; John Muir (1838 –1914), naturalist and advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States.
The Bogotá mayor is ranked 25th on the list for “overseeing major transportation and public space projects in the Colombian capital.” Three term New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg ranks 23 and Prince Charles, “a commenter on matters of the built environment,” ranks 27.
The publication also highlights Georges-Eugene Haussmann, Frederick Law Olmsted, Thomas Jefferson and Rosa Parks for their contributions to the construction of urban environments in the world. By refusing to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, on December 1,1955, Park’s disobedience changed America and opened up egalitarian civil rights in public transportation. Parks is ranked at 30. The enigmatic Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) who began his artistic career with graffiti on New York City streets is also on Planetizen’s “Most Influential 100”.
This is the second time Peñalosa has made Planetizen’s list.
