Bogota is a city of about seven million, according to the census that was done last year, but 50 years ago Bogota had barely a million residents. That’s a lot of growth. Compare to New York City, with a population of about eight million that was, 50 years ago, about eight million. There are lots of reasons for the growth, and most of the new residents, of course, are poor and tend to live in the south and the west of the city, but the mostly upper class north part of town has also grown explosively. With the center of town being the Plaza Bolivar at approximately Calle 7 with Carrera Septima, as you head north, the city becomes more and more modern.
Some people live in houses close to the mountain or in a few of the older neighborhoods, 
but the vast majority of the population in the north live in red brick apartment buildings that are anywhere from brand new to maybe 15 years old. Whole families live in apartments, just like in Manhattan, but the suburbs are very thin–that sort of lifesyle has not caught on here.
The apartment buildings here are usually between five and ten stories high, and if a building is more than ten years old, it’s considered out of date. There is an occasional stucco building that might be 40 or 50 years old, and an even more rare old colonial house that used to sit alone out in the country and has somehow managed to survive the wrecking ball. New midrises are under construction just about anywhere there’s 100 or more square meters of space or more.
There are some strata six neighborhoods a little bit out west, but for the most part, being as east as possible is the goal. The most elaborate and expensive buildings are close to the foot of the mountain and going up the mountain as far as is safe to build. This means good views, of course, but the buildings that are a few blocks up the mountain also tend to not really have neighborhood conveniences that are accessible without a car. There are always domicilios, and maids and drivers to do the running around, but I think it’s kind of defeating the purpose of living in the city if you have to get in a car to do anything at all outside of your house.
Apparently brick is cheap in South America, since all the raw materials are so plentiful. Also, the temperature in Bogota rarely dips below 55 degrees F and rarely goes above 70 degrees F, so there are basically no places built with heat or air conditioning. Most apartments, however, have fire places for when it gets a little chilly at night. And some 
people buy space heaters, but I have gotten by two years with no space heater and without ever using my fireplace for a fire (it has candles in it, instead).
This all means no duct work is necessary, so buildings can go up faster and cheaper than in places with seasons. It also means no insulation to protect from noise pollution, though.
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