The present paper is part of an academic research, which evaluates the formulation and implementation processes of instruments of planning and land management in Bogota for the period 2000-2015. This paper evaluates the formal and informal rules, which support the adoption of the “planes parciales”, its contributions in the practice to the development of principles and strategies of land-use planning in the city; as well as its effects on urban structure. From an empirical analysis, which combines qualitative and quantitative information, the processes and results of partial plans are explained through incentives which generate the institutional frame and the strategies of actors involved in that management, especially the public sector through the state apparatus. This analysis contributes a set of evidences, which let reflect and discuss the opportunities and restrictions of planning instruments and urban management for the city construction.