Talk with Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-based Walkability advocate Andiel Galván

Talk with Santo Domingo-based sustainable urban mobility advocate Andiel Galván as he shares insight on the state of walkability and public transit in his city of residence. We also recently welcomed Andiel as our Dominican Republic Walkability Correspondent here at Pedestrian Space!

We started the talk off with learning about Andiel’s experiment of going car-free once a day (on Fridays) during the week. He noted:

“In personal terms, it was really enriching. It was a fun day. I waited for this day every week because it was a day I felt freedom. You are free when you don’t have the car and you’re also on equal terms with most of the people in the city. But through this experience, I also saw many obstacles in the city. I saw many people suffering from these obstacles, for example, small sidewalks or trash cans regularly on the sidewalks and also cars parked on sidewalks. This experience really gave me a direct sensation of what it is to walk in the city of Santo Domingo and to remember why every person here seems to need a car. There is no public transportation system with dignity and there are many obstacles and risks for people who walk. “