Many Britons will be looking forward to city breaks this summer as they seek to explore new cultures and enjoy the weather.
Tourists often love a city where they can take in all of the main sights on foot – and one city is a surprise contender for the most walkable city on earth.
Colombia’s capital city, Bogota, is a sprawling, high-altitude metropolis famed for its cobblestoned city centre, as well as the neoclassical performance hall Teatro Colon and the Plaza de Bolivar.
In 2020, Bogota ranked among the most walkable cities in the world along with Paris, Hong Kong, and London.
Researchers at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy looked at cities based on a number of characteristics.
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They judged them on closeness to car-free places, closeness to healthcare and education, and the small size of city blocks.
Out of the cities with a population of more than five million, only Bogota ranked in the top five for all three measures.
In Bogota, the researchers found there was a concerted effort to create a city “with more public space for children than for motor vehicles”, by focusing on buses, cycling and walking.
Heather Thompson, the head of the research team, said: “In order to provide safe and inviting walking conditions, it is essential to shift the balance of space in our cities away from cars.”
Taylor Reich, a researcher who worked on the study, added: “Our city streets across the planet are already full of cars.
“If you really want to see the worst for walkability, it is the really sprawling cities of the US. They might have great sidewalks, but everything is so far apart that it’s impossible to practically walk to the grocery store or the school.
“People will use the infrastructure that you give them and because we’ve built cities for cars, everyone wants to drive around. But if we were to start building cities for people to walk in, people will change their behaviour and will live longer and happier lives.”
