Care System in Bogotá

👉🏽 This story is developed as part of the Doughnut Economics for Policymakers guide.

Bogotá's Care System recognises care and caregivers as essential to the economy while also addressing gender inequality. Launched in 2020 and embedded in city law by 2023, the system transforms urban design through Care Blocks that provide accessible services for caregivers and their dependents, while breaking down administrative silos by coordinating across government, households, communities, and businesses. 

Overview

Cross-government and multi-sectoral coordination units were established in Bogotá to design, deliver and monitor the system. They aim to break down administrative siloes, deliver holistic care and foster collaborations among city, national governments, households, communities and the private sector. Some government units and departments also experimented with gender-sensitive budgeting, appointing ‘care liaisons’ to improve collaborations, and developing an information system to better understand and respond to caregivers’ needs. 

An important part of the system are "Care Blocks": physical hubs strategically located in high-poverty neighbourhoods where caregivers and their dependents (children, the elderly, and people with disabilities) can access diverse services within a 20-minute walk. Services include daycare, schools, laundries, supermarkets, vocational training, gyms, and psychological and legal counselling. For those who live in areas that lack the infrastructure needed for developing Care Blocks, the city government provides mobile Care Buses or in-home services. 

The initiative, which builds on decades of feminist mobilisation, gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic when care work became highly visible, and was championed by Bogotá's first female mayor, Claudia López.

Implementation

The City Council launched the Care System in 2020 and integrated it into the city's Master Land Use Plan in 2021. In 2023, new legislation secured long-term institutional commitment and annual operational funding.

Other cities around the world have experimented with — and adopted — diverse strategies to centre care in urban governance. These include Iztapalapa and San Pedro Garza García in Mexico, and Madrid in Spain.  

Impacts

As of 2025, Bogotá operates 25 Care Blocks with plans to expand to 45 by 2035. Most Care Blocks are created through adaptive reuse of existing urban infrastructure. As of July 2023 over 260,000 women have accessed services, with research showing increased wellbeing among beneficiaries. 

The model has inspired cities across Colombia (Medellín, Cartagena, Cali) and internationally (in countries including Peru, Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Sierra Leone, the UK and the USA).

Challenges

• Insufficient investment: Without improved public transport, pavements, and safety measures, access barriers will persist, particularly for caregivers with disabilities. Furthermore, funding instability disrupts services; for example, the effective though expensive at-home assistant programme was suspended in early 2025 due to lack of funds. 
• Under-resourced coordination: Cross-sector collaboration requires dedicated funding for coordination and capacity building across government agencies, which remains severely inadequate. 
• Limited multi-stakeholder engagement: Despite stated principles of shared responsibility, involvement from the national government, businesses, and civil society remains minimal. Some community organisations feeling marginalised rather than treated as equal partners. 
• Political vulnerability: Changes in mayoral leadership have caused funding delays and deprioritisation, requiring renewed civil society pressure despite the system being embedded in city law. 
• Narrow focus on physical infrastructure: Emphasis on Care Blocks has overshadowed the social and ecological dimensions of care, including community bonds, connection with nature, and collective support systems essential for wellbeing.

Reference and further reading

• Rachel Cohen Booth's story in Vox. 
• Observatory of Public Innovation’s story 
• UNDP’s case study
• Research by Guevara-Aladino P. et al. (2024) reflects on impacts and challenges.
• Research by Ortiz C. and Franco I. D. (2025) explores the origin, the institutional design and implementation. 

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