Ecobarrios entre el discurso institucional y la practica comunitaria estudio de caso en el barrio la perseverancia, Bogota d.c.

Abstract

This research analyzes the relationship between the institutional discourse of urban sustainability and the territorial dynamics of community appropriation in the case of the La Perseverancia eco-neighborhood, located in the city of Bogotá. The study begins by recognizing that eco neighborhood have been promoted as urban planning strategies aimed at strengthening environmental sustainability, citizen participation, and community-based territorial management. However, in practice, the implementation of these initiatives often faces tensions between institutional approaches and the social realities of the territories where they are developed. The objective of this research is to understand how the institutional visions of the eco neighborhood are articulated, contested, or contradicted by the ways in which the community of La Perseverancia experiences, perceives, and transforms its territory. To achieve this objective, a qualitative methodological approach with elements of territorial analysis was adopted. The methodology included the documentary review of public policies and regulatory frameworks at different scales (international, national, and district levels), heuristic analysis of institutional instruments, interviews with community and institutional actors, field observation, and the development of a participatory social cartography exercise. In addition, the analytical framework of the territorii method was used to interpret the territory through three dimensions: the projected territory, the lived territory, and the materialized territory. The results reveal that, although there are important convergences between some institutional objectives of the eco neighborhood project and the community practices present in the neighborhood—particularly in relation to social organization processes, the use of public space, and certain environmental initiatives—there are also tensions and contradictions between the technical vision of the eco neighborhood proposed in public policy and the everyday dynamics of the community. The participatory social cartography exercise made it possible to identify key community meeting spaces, as well as persistent environmental issues, particularly those related to waste management and the use of public space. The analysis concludes that the La Perseverancia Eco neighborhood cannot be understood solely as an institutional project of urban sustainability, but rather as a territorial process under construction, in which multiple actors, social practices, and community dynamics interact. In this sense, the study highlights the importance of strengthening participatory and territorial governance approaches capable of more effectively articulating public policies with local realities and community knowledge, as well as the formulation of strategies aimed at improving community appropriation and the territorial implementation of the Eco neighborhood model.