The Mayor’s Office of Bogotá in conjunction with and the Mayor’s Office of New York announced in the last hours of the launch of the network of 24-hour cities in collaboration with City Possible, an initiative of the financial multinational Mastercard.
The purpose of the new global network will allow city leaders to meet and share their experiences and best practices, for the promotion of innovative solutions, that address the challenges facing cities at night, and ensure that the economies of the world’s cities are geared towards 24-hour operation.
“The participation of Bogotá represents an opportunity to strengthen the strategies and actions aimed at the internationalization, positioning, promotion and cooperation of the city. The fact that a city has economic activity 24 hours a day, translates into an increase in productivity that boosts the economy and that, in the long term, will generate enormous benefits for everyone,” said the Secretary of Economic Development of Bogotá, Alfredo Batman.
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For his part, the director of Inclusive Innovation and International Cooperation of the New York Office of Technology and Innovation, Oscar J. Romero Jr., assured that “there is no single solution that addresses the economic, security and community challenges in diverse New York City boroughs. Each borough requires innovative, responsive, and culturally competent policies to thrive.”
How will the 24-hour Cities Network work?
The idea of a network of 24-hour cities was originally devised by Latin American leaders last fall, who discussed strategies for activating the night-time economy and shared good practices in a first workshop led through the cities of Bogotá and New York, which will continue throughout this year. Both cities share a deep commitment so that cities can meet the diverse needs of their population 24 hours a day.
It is important to integrate all stages of urban life, for a successful development of the city 24 hours a day, Therefore, the network will focus on aspects such as transit, infrastructure, security, mobility, racial equity, nightlife and its economic activity..
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Advances in Bogota
In 2021, the Bogotá 24-hour strategy benefited nearly 5,009 businesses in 11 locations in the city distributed in 13 zones, with an estimated 24,000 visitors at three city events: Macarenazo Festival, Candelaria Camina and Open San Felipe, spaces that positively impacted the economic sectors of art, fashion, gastronomy and the furniture and wood sectora.
In this 2022, the Ministry of Economic Development seeks to consolidate night management, together with the instances that formalize the articulation of actions and supply, for the development of economic activity in non-conventional hours, and advance in the identification of incentives and actions that allow the creation of areas classified as Creative Districts, with commercial offer and services in non-conventional hours..
