Challenges for the balanced growth of the Bogota city. The decline of the center and the negligence of the meridional periphery

The growth of cities implies an extension of the metropolitan space. New sub-centers appear which guarantee the provision of goods and services throughout the metropolitan space without daily population displacements. However, this type of development could either reinforce the hegemony of the main city centre or lead to its decline. When a strong centre exists, and it is maintained, is easy to organize an efficient network of public transport which guarantees contact among all the social classes and avoids the segregation of certain minorities or lower income groups. Certain political decisions, such as intra-metropolitan decentralization or infrastructures which provide incentives for private vehicle use, could lead to the loss of hegemony of the main centre. As a consequence, some very important cities in the world are very complicated to manage. This paper analyses the specific case of the main Colombian city, Bogota. This is a very relevant case because some of the policies of this city are an example to other cities of Latin America. The data show an important decline of the centre of Bogota coupled with the development of new peripheral centers of the metropolitan area. Our analysis of the capital of Colombia could be useful for other similar Latin American