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In my neighborhood, when the jack hammers and tractors get rolling at 2 a.m. you know they won’t stop until well after 5a.m. I try to ignore it, just bury my head under my pillow a little deeper, until I muffle all the sound. I’m not too light of a sleeper, but some nights these past two months, it got hard to sleep. Here’s why. And for that, I’m not trippin.
That is to say … I know that sound.
It’s not just an annoying 10 ton clatter that makes its way up and down Cuauhtémoc Ave. It’s more than that.
It’s the sound of progress. Road infrastructure, public transit, just .38 cents and you’re home.
It’s that Westside extension putting a hole in Beverly Boulevard. And it’s something like the Metro Rapid in the Valley, except out here you MUST pay to get on.
It’s also the extension of the Metrobús in Mexico City.
Which brings me to this week’s GVP. I picked the documentary, Bogotá: building a sustainable city, not because Brad Pitt narrates it, but because it’s about Bogotá, Colombia. Maternal lands.
You see, Colombia, along with Brazil were the forebearers to the style of bus service called BRT that Mexico has been recently using. It started out as a model of sustainable design, and now is a way of life that’s growing and costing lots of money. Colombia’s Transmilenio was the first BRT I ever rode on back in 2006, when I visited.
So, check out the video, below, and learn what Bogotá can be like. I’ll be fighting mucho ruido trying to hold on to at least a few hours of REM sleep. All in the name of progress.
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channibalsmith.com 