Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub, and other major cities include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. Colombia covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), and has a population of around 52 million. Colombia is one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America. The urban population is estimated to be 76% of the total and 72 cities have populations of 100,000 or more.

National and local governments have implemented a series of strategies to rethink urban mobility in the country’s fourteen largest cities, with a clear focus on mass transit, active mobility, road safety, and improved traffic management. The successive plans have been widely recognized for their comprehensive and ambitious nature, making Colombia a laboratory of urban transport innovation that has inspired many developing countries.

In contrast to many other Latin American countries, Colombia is not dominated by a single “primate” city. Though Bogotá is clearly the largest and most important city and dominates the Central-Eastern zone of the country, the regional importance of Medellín (Northwestern Colombia), Cali (Southwestern Colombia) and Barranquilla (Carribean Coast) has resulted in a balanced constellation of cities, complemented by various smaller regional centres such as Villavicencio, Cúcuta and Neiva. Each city is strongly integrated with its surrounding region, however, transport links between regions have often proved more challenging. Colombian cities are highly socially segregated, with high and middle-income residents concentrated in a few exclusive areas, generally close to centres of high-income employment (CBDs or office districts), shopping and restaurant districts, and key amenities. Lower-middle income housing is located in less attractive areas, often much further away and with poorer transport links, while the lowest incomes are concentrated in peripheral “slum” areas, often on poorly accessible mountain slopes. Mixed uses are very common across all areas, with small shops and local restaurants located in most neighborhoods; however, key “central” functions such as office districts and government facilities are generally concentrated in the urban core. Colombian cities are generally very densely populated compared to similar cities in the region and feature relatively little suburban sprawl. In theory, higher population densities shorten travel distances, facilitate sustainable mobility and make travel by car less attractive. Indeed, most urban Colombians are within close reach of services and basic goods. However, the most densely populated neighbourhoods are largely low-income with poor transportation links to employment centres, while residents of richer neighbourhoods within walking or cycling distance prefer private automobiles nonetheless. The urban poor thus face major obstacles to commuting to work, often forced to travel for hours and spend large shares of their income on transport.

Urban mobility in Colombian cities remains dominated by public transport and active modes, though ownership and use of motorized vehicles and particularly motorcycles is increasing rapidly (fig. 6). The characteristics of public transport can vary from city to city, with major cities featuring formalized systems that have successfully expanded capacity, speed and reliability (though parallel informal services continue to exist). Smaller cities with less established systems will tend to rely more on collective taxis and informal motorcycle taxis for public transport. Similarly, walking remains a very important mode, though conditions are generally poor and pedestrians form the main victims of road crashes.

Facing poor public transport provision and severe congestion, many citizens have responded by increasing use of motorcycles. Motorcycle usage varies by region, with cities in the Caribbean region and smaller towns and rural areas having very high usage shares (up to 34% in Montería), while larger Andean cities such as Bogotá and Medellín have recently seen steep increases. This trend has significant consequences, such as an increase in transport related emissions and informality, and has an important negative impact on public transport ridership in these cities and deteriorating road safety.

Another common characteristic among Colombian cities is the poor state of pedestrian infrastructure. Sidewalks are often non-existent, of very poor quality and/or occupied by illegally parked vehicles, street vendors or business activities. Most sidewalks are built and rebuilt in an ad-hoc manner by the owners of adjacent buildings, leading to a patchwork of uneven and discontinuous infrastructure. Safe pedestrian crossings are similarly lacking, and governments have relied on pedestrian bridges along many arterial roads, creating unsafe conditions. However, progress has been made in terms of pedestrianization and improvement of sidewalks in certain commercial districts. Cities have differed more in terms of implementation of cycling infrastructure, with leading cities such as Bogotá, Cali and Montería boasting city-wide (albeit not complete) networks, while other cities have lagged behind. Such infrastructure only appeared as recently as the 90’s, and much technical progress has been made in addition to quantitative expansion. For many years, the preferred location for such infrastructure has been the sidewalk, leading to frequent conflict with pedestrians and uncomfortable conditions for both modes. However, leading cities such as Bogotá and Montería have recently experimented successfully with on-street cycling lanes, though political opposition has been heavy to perceived reductions of road capacity. 

Source: Sustainable urban mobility, rural accessibility and interurban connectivity: Colombia’s 21st century transport challenges | CLIMATE-CHANCE | 2021