Enrique Panalosa is said to have declared war on private cars in his first defining act as mayor of Bogota, Colombia.

He is quoted as saying, “A city can be friendly or it can be friendly to cars, but it can't be both.” Those are strong words.

Strong words are needed because even a mayor is small fry in the face of the persuasive powers of the global motor vehicle and petroleum industries. In order to succeed the mayor has to be unequivocal and persistent in his message.

Panalosa was successful enough for Bogota to be featured in the book ‘Happy Cities’ by Charles Montgomery.

The mayor increased fuel taxes and scrapped highway expansion plans, which might have made vehicles unhappy, and instead pushed for pedestrian plazas and parks, which are proven to induce happiness among people.

It goes without saying that any human being would by happier to see green and clean spaces as opposed to roadside garbage or onrushing motorcycles.

Is there anything more important to a mayor than the happiness of the people in his city?

The people of Kuala Lumpur await a radical change in the perspectives of the powers-that-be.