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The Bogotá neighborhood of San Felipe is the bohemian and cultural area par excellence of the city. And, four years ago, when the Open San FelipeIt is also a safe bet to spend the night surrounded by galleries that close after 10 pm, live music and outdoor exhibitions (weather permitting). For Carlos Andrés Guillermo, a plastic artist under the pseudonym Mörski, it is also a business window. On the first weekend of November, he exhibited his works of painting, drawing and sculpture at the event, as he had done for three years. He sold a dozen pieces, valued at more than 60 million (about $12,000). “People at night have a different energy. It is a fantastic opportunity, ”he says. The workflow is such that he has hired three art students part-time during this nightly festival. “In Bogotá we are very hungry for events like this. We don’t want the night to be just rumba”.
This emblematic meeting is a catalyst for the cultural and economic agenda of the city, in which more than 70 businessmen, artists, actors, chefs and singers are invited every three months to extend their hours until late at night. Traveling theatres, concerts in the open air and dozens of businesses that find in this event a perfect ecosystem to increase their sales. Johana Morales, creator and organizer of the cultural event, explains that free admission is one of the pillars of the event. “We are societies that need to shorten the class gaps that exist around art. What we need is, rather, to raise awareness that this is a way of life in all its aspects and for all audiences. That is why the entrance is free, we want it to be accessible to everyone. Thus, the streets are lived with freedom, with appropriation. Our countries need it.”
The Open San Felipe is one of the more than 15 activities promoted by the District Department of Economic Development and private actors, within the framework of Bogotá 24 hours. This pilot initiative has generated 2,375 additional jobs and an increase of close to 20% in sales, on average, since 2020. “Our challenge is to go from pilots to really having an area that operates normally with extended night hours,” explains Alfredo Bateman, economist and Head of the District Department of Economic Development. “There are dozens of activities that can be more efficient at night: financial services, logistics, supermarkets, notaries… It’s time to change the chip and to think that the city does not go to sleep at 5 pm”.
This scenario is the one that Andreina Seijas, a Venezuelan researcher and PhD in nighttime governance from Harvard University, has been studying for years. For a decade she has focused on Latin cities and what they are doing in this area. “The objective is to invite cities to think strategically. Until recently, commercial activities had been separated from residential and leisure activities, they must be integrated”.
One of the challenges of rethinking the night, highlights the founder of Night Tank, an international consultancy specialized in this new field of study, is dealing with insecurity and the permanence of political positions focused on nighttime governance. In the world there are 60 cities with ‘night mayors’ or similar titles. “In the region there have been several, such as Cali (Colombia), San Luis Potosí (Mexico) or Valparaíso (Chile). But they change with each new legislation. Examples like that of Bogota are encouraging. Planning just for the day forgets the opportunities of the other 12 hours of the day.”
The Colombian capital is clear that this is the beginning of a long road. And having all the actors in the city is essential. Neighbors, companies, government, organizations… The design and management of the other half of the day has to be articulated collectively so that the bets and the implementation of the projects are sustainable. Morales, creator of the Open San Felipe, speaks of building bridges as the key to success. “From the beginning we approached the neighbors. In the exercise of going door to door to explore the neighborhood, we realized that older adults predominate and they have witnessed the transformation of the neighborhood. They are great allies of ours and participate in our agenda. And the same goes for the public. When they visit the more than 80 spaces that we have, they want to be part of this”.
Ignacio Gallo, co-founder of Plan-IN, was also director of the diagnosis and strategy study for a 24-hour productive Bogotá in 2017. Then, his research showed that the city employed 627,000 people (more than 14%) in the 6-hour period. p.m. to 6 a.m. However, after 9:00 p.m., there are barely 150,000, mainly in the retail trade sector and the manufacturing industry. “This shows that the impact is still low. Promoting activities at night can generate a lot of employment, especially in promising sectors such as tourism, education, food and drink, and culture.” Following the investigation, they mapped 78 polygons with strong potential to boost night-time economic activities. “It is not advisable to open the entire city, but to concentrate efforts in strategic areas.”
“The idea is not to copy what they do in Europe”
The concept of night governance is not new. Although it began to be studied in the eighties, it was always conditioned by the mistrust of those who thought it would be a torment for the neighbors. Changing that prejudice was difficult until the arrival of the pandemic, which altered the order and timing of almost all activities. The main referents of this management have generally been promoted in European cities such as Amsterdam. But the replica is not the goal.
“The idea is not to copy what they do there,” insists Seijas. “The concept is for each city to carry out an analysis of its assets, to define what makes it different from the others and, from there, draw up a strategy. There’s a whole universe to explore.”
Although each metropolis is different, one of the common priorities is security. In a region that is home to 38 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world, according to Insightcrimeand in which more than 40% of Latin Americans feel somewhat or very unsafe in their cities, it is difficult to convince its citizens to explore its streets after sunset. That is what the Venezuelan refers to by “tropicalizing” the concept: “Current spaces, as they are organized, are preventing a large part of society from getting involved at night, from being afraid to do so. Insecurity cannot be an obstacle, but rather a motivation to change the paradigm”.
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