Struggles for Sustainable Urban Development in Cochabamba, Bolivia

sustainable development in Bolivia. In addition, Cochabamba has organised popular
‘pedestrian and bicycle’ days, where the city centre has been closed from traffic. Most of
these changes were initiated under Manfred Reyes Villa’s term as the Mayor of Cochabamba
(1993-2001). He implemented public works programs and innovative policies to increase
participation in policy making (Singer & Morrison 2004).
However the changes initiated so far have been mostly cosmetic. The most important
issues of air pollution, traffic congestion, and waste management have not received much
improvement attempts. Whether it’s because of the difficulties discussed above or because of
lack of commitment by the authorities is difficult to say, although there seems to be
increasing awareness of these problems. In their studies on Latin America and the Caribbean,
Mac Donald et al. (1998) argue that ‘As citizens have perceived these problems, management
of the urban environment has taken on great political importance’. The only concrete
initiative on these problems is the network of cycling routes, but if it is expected to seriously
combat traffic congestion then it’s ambitious indeed. It is also important to notice that
promoting cycling is a policy that is relatively easy to implement in Cochabamba and unlikely
to face opposition from any sector. Ison and Wall (2002) noticed that instead of ‘sticks’,
‘carrots’ such as walking and cycling routes are seen as most acceptable by the local
authorities in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, the water sector, due to its urgency,
has been a target of relatively radical, though mainstream, solutions. The outcome - a total
disaster - certainly does not encourage the authorities to try major changes in other sectors.
Connelly & Smith (2003) discuss the stages that a local authority goes through while
developing its response to the principle of sustainability. Cochabamba seems to be on a
phase they call ‘superficial tokenism’ and where ‘The council will normally act on high-profile
issues such as cycle paths and wildlife protection, seeing these as vote winners’. The city is
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