Mi Teleférico and Sustainable Urban Development

Transportation projects are often judged by how much time they save. But according to economist María Osorio, Mi Teleférico's greatest achievement may be something much larger: changing how the cities of La Paz and El Alto function together. Osorio, a tenured professor at the Universidad Privada de Bolivia and a specialist in sustainable development, environmental economics, and urban management, explained how she views the cable car system through the lens of urban planning, sustainability, and regional development. 

 

To start the interview, Osorio described how the Teleférico works to create one connected metropolitan area. She argued that interconnection is the bigger story, not reductions in travel time. She illustrated how the cable cars create this connection through things like predictable wait times, reliable transportation, and a network that covers much of the metropolitan area. 

 

By creating a connected metropolitan area, Osorio explained, the cable car system reduces socio-spatial segregation. She discussed how the geography of La Paz and El Alto inherently creates inequality, with El Alto sitting on the rim of the canyon, thousands of feet above the city center of La Paz. Prior to the Teleférico, El Alto was extremely isolated, similar to how hillside communities in Medellín and Bogotá have been historically isolated and impoverished. However, with the Teleférico, residents of El Alto gain access to the opportunities of La Paz, thus allowing a decrease in the spatial segregation. For Osorio, reducing socio-spatial segregation isn't simply about making travel time shorter, it’s about making the city itself feel less divided. 

 

We then discussed the cable cars in the context of Osorio’s recent article about urban sustainability. Osorio explained first how La Paz has very limited room to expand. She discussed the mountainous terrain, municipal boundaries, legal disputes over land, and scarcity of developable land. Because of these constraints, La Paz cannot simply continue spreading outward. 

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Mi Teleférico matters in this context, because instead of creating more land, it allows the existing metropolitan area to function more efficiently. For example, workers can live in one city and work in another, businesses can recruit workers from a larger labor market, and economic activity becomes less dependent on municipal boundaries. Although La Paz cannot expand outside of its set boundaries, the cable car system allows for continued sustainable growth both economically and physically, through connection with the city of El Alto. 

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Osario explained that transportation can shape economic development. She based this idea in both her discussion of sustainable economic growth and also her personal observations as a resident of the area. She noted the commercial activity that is constantly present around stations and the organized retail spaces inside of stations, transforming them into mini-commercial hubs. She also acknowledged the informal vendors that congregate around stations and that tend to attract economic activity. Finally, she observed that certain neighborhoods have been further developed because of the presence of the cable car system. She did not attribute the entirety of neighborhood development to the system, but she noted it as a contributing factor. Transportation infrastructure doesn't simply respond to urban development—it can also help shape where development occurs.

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Osorio ended the interview by discussing the importance of integration throughout the transportation networks in the metropolitan area. She argued that Mi Teleférico should become the official backbone of the transportation system and that other transportation should connect into it. However, she also recognized the institutional and political challenges with these reforms. 

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Throughout the interview, Osorio consistently returned to one central idea: Mi Teleférico's greatest achievement cannot be measured only in minutes saved. By connecting neighborhoods, encouraging more efficient land use, supporting economic activity, and laying the groundwork for an integrated transportation network, she believes the system has fundamentally changed how La Paz and El Alto function as cities. The challenge now is ensuring that the rest of the transportation system evolves alongside it.