Equality and the City: Urban Innovations for All Citizens

In Equality and the City, Enrique Peñalosa Londoño draws on his experience as mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, as well as his many years of international work as a lecturer and consultant, to share his perspective on the issues facing developing cities, especially sustainable transportation and equal access to public space.

As mayor of Bogotá, Peñalosa Londoño initiated development of the TransMilenio Rapid Bus Transit system, among the largest and most comprehensive public transit systems in the Global South, which carries 2.5 million passengers a day along dedicated bus lanes, bike paths, and a rapid metro line. The system emphasizes accessibility for the entire population. 

Peñalosa Londoño’s efforts to create public space were similarly ambitious: over the course of his two terms, more than a thousand public parks were created or improved. Underlying these policies was a conviction of how cities should be—a compelling humanistic philosophy of sustainable urbanism. For Peñalosa Londoño, city design is not just engineering; it defines human happiness, dignity, and equality. “An advanced city is not one where the poor own a car,” Peñalosa writes, “but one where the rich use public transport.”

Equality and the City provides practical criteria for conceiving and constructing different and better cities, describes the obstacles that are confronted when doing so, and identifies ways to overcome them.

"Enrique Peñalosa Londoño has been a powerful advocate for making better cities; cities that embrace the human experience and equality for all citizens. As Mayor of Bogotá, Peñalosa Londoño made that city inviting and accessible to people of all incomes through transformative achievements in public transport, green infrastructure, and neighborhood civic institutions. In this brilliant book, Peñalosa Londoño demonstrates how a vibrant pedestrian realm is at the heart of a healthier, more livable and truly equitable city."
—Amanda M. Burden, former New York City Planning Commissioner

"For the last twenty years, Enrique Peñalosa Londoño has tirelessly campaigned for equitable cities. His message has been transformational at many levels, not just in his native Bogotá, but in cities worldwide. This book offers a charismatic mayor’s insights into how a city’s DNA can be shaped to promote greater social inclusion, environmental equity, and human well-being at a time when cities are at the frontline of planetary change."
—Ricky Burdett, London School of Economics