The Longitudinal Western Avenue was intended to build a superhighway along western Bogota. The proposal consists of a highway of four lanes and about 100 meters wide for its development. The construction of this highway would allow the passage of heavy load trucks and vehicles through it, with the advantage that they would not enter the city, as this is a peripheral highway. This would result in a high-speed vehicular flow inside the city that would allow citizens to get through Bogota from end to end in about an hour.
Despite this being an important solution to the serious problem of mobility in Bogota, it is vital to rethink the design strategies of the proposal because if it were to be constructed based on the original layout, it would cause serious environmental, economic and social problems in the city.
While the LWA has many advantages over vehicular mobility issues, it is also necessary to mention the serious environmental problems this great highway could generate in the city’s ecosystems. The original layout of the LWA proposes that this route passes over three of the most important wetlands of Bogota. This situation would create an irreparable damage to fauna and flora of each of the wetlands, leading to the disappearance of native species and the environmental system of the mountain range the Andes.
This were the project ideas presented to the competition.
THE GREEN NETWORK main goal is to redesign the original layout of the LWA taking in to account that the highway does not pass over wetlands, and by this preserve existing ecosystems. Besides this project would generate a natural network of public space, as an integrator system, which seeks to invite nature into the project. A key point of our project includes controlled orchards and crops over public spaces; in addition we propose training centers for this activity because we are aware that the social part of the project is vital for its development.
Another environmental management strategy has to do with buildings, for this we propose that the surrounding buildings have a water collection system and wastewater treatment. Additionally we propose large green corridors throughout the project with native vegetation, seeking for the security and existence of these species in Bogota.
