Distrito Nacional: Una Ciudad Hostil

Abstract

The Distrito Nacional confronts serious challenges in terms of planning, urbanism and mobility, which affect the quality of life of its residents. The traffic congestion and the insufficiency of public transport constitute the main problematic, being this the most critical aspect in the city’s development. The sloppy urbanism has brought with it numerous consequences like the proliferation of informal settlements, where according to the study “Metodología para la Identificación de Tugurios en el Distrito Nacional”, prepared with data from the 2010 national census, 42.9% of the country’s population live in this type of settlements characterized by the shortage of public spaces and the lack of adequate infrastructure as a result of historically poor urban planning. Edmund Bacon affirmed that the city is an act of will. Under this supposition we could state that the Distrito Nacional is the outcome of a sequence of actions which have compromised its habitability. To be able to transform this hostile city into a more habitable and efficient one it is essential to implement continuous and sustainable betterments in public transport, develop an urbanistic master plan that includes urban elements and assure a participative and transparent planning. This exercise is the analysis of a city which has uncontrollably grown in a spontaneous manner, covering how its planning has evolved with discretionary instruments and with little to no control from the municipal authorities, thus enabling the city to expand and develop under its own particular criteria of self-produced spaces based in individualistic needs and unilateral solutions which go to the detriment of the sense of common-unity, and which solutions adapt best to convert this inhabitable city into a friendly environment for the citizens.