Capital District (Colombia)

The Capital District of Bogotá, Bogotá, Capital District or simply Bogotá DC is a capital district, subdivision of Colombia and the Department of Cundinamarca where most of the Metropolitan Area of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá and surrounding areas are located. The district presents a diverse climate ranging from the lower and warm plains of Los Llanos to the higher snowy peaks of Sumapaz Snowy Mountain at 4,560 meters over sea level.

The Capital District is treated as a Department of Colombia also functioning as the Department capital for Cundinamarca Department while keeping its hierarchy; administrative and legislative autonomy only sharing the judicial jurisdiction. It is the only district of Colombia with these characteristics in comparison to other districts, which are only named as districts to denote a particular characteristic surrounding the urban area.

Organization

The district is conformed by different levels of entities some centralized and some decentralized (with certain autonomy).

*At a central level: the District Council of Bogotá ( _es. Concejo Distrital de Bogotá, legislative branch) and the Mayor of Bogotá ( _es. Alcalde Mayor de Bogotá, executive branch).

*At a local level: the Local Administrative Juntas (20 in total) and the local mayors, which conform the local "minor cityhalls" (Alcaldias menores). Each neighborhood in these district is governed by Communal Action Junta ( _es. Junta de Accion Comunal).

ubdivisions

The district is subdivided into 20 localities, some part of the urban area and others in the rural area, or mixed. There are five zones within the urban area; the city of Bogotá, Usme's urban area and the corregimientos of San Juan de Sumapaz, Nazareth and Betania.

Mixed localities include Usaquén, Chapinero, Santafé, San Cristóbal, Usme, Ciudad Bolívar, Bosa, Fontibón, Engativá and Suba

Ciudad Bolívar, Bosa and Fontibón are rapidly becoming more urban. The most rural of all localities is Sumapaz with the exception of three of its corregimientos.

Within the urban area of Bogotá are; La Candelaria, Barrios Unidos, Rafael Uribe Uribe, Antonio Nariño, Teusaquillo, Los Mártires, Tunjuelito, Kennedy and Puente Aranda.

History

The Capital District of Bogotá was created as judicial entity in 1955 during the regime of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla when he anexed the metropolitan municipalities of Engativá (Fontibón was then part of Engativá), Suba, Usme, Usaquén and Bosa. It was originally named "Bogotá, Special District" ( _es. Bogotá, Distrito Especial) but was changed after the Colombian Constitution of 1991 which established a new "Territorial Ordinance Plan" ( _es. Plan de ordenamiento territorial).

External links

* [http://www.bogota.gov.co Alcaldía de Bogotá]
* [http://www.bogota-dc.com Información General sobre Bogotá]

ee also

*Capital districts and territories