Bogotá, a Megacity in the Making: An Institutional and Contextual Assessment of Decentralization in Developing Countries

Abstract

This thesis investigates whether megacities are ideal urban phenomena for developing countries, using Bogotá, Colombia as a case study. The research highlights the contextual and institutional governance challenges that hinder megacities from adequately meeting the needs of its inhabitants. A mix-method approach was used to gather and analyse the data. Key findings indicate that residents of Bogotá are drawn to megacities for perceived employment opportunities, yet they have a strong preference for living in smaller cities; that Bogotá is a city of contrasts and impacted by its context; that governance is more complex in megacities; and that megacities necessitate two layers of decentralization. This research invites policymakers and academics to re-evaluate megacities while increasing efforts for small city development and to re-think how we understand democracy, to radically improve citizen's experience of the urban governance process.