Medellín’s transformation a leading example at World Urban Forum

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    Project update May 2014 – Urban integration of an informal area, Medellín, Colombia

    Project update May 2014 – Urban integration of an informal area, Medellín, Colombia

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    Comuna 13 fills with many colors as “Medellín se Pinta de Vida” color day on March 15 progresses.

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    Beautification works will continue across all households in the neighborhood.

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    Transforming Comuna 13 through “Pinta de Vida”.

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    Medellín has one of the most ambitious urban renewal plans in Latin America – a process that has taken decades to be implemented, but is yielding results and earning the city international recognition.

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    Project update May 2014 – Urban integration of an informal area, Medellín, Colombia

    Medellín se Pinta de Vida – Comuna 13 : visual transformation echoes social improvement.

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    The Comuna-wide program of mural painting increases social inclusion and the quality of life of the residents.

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    Residents in the sectors adjacent to the escalators actively engaged in beautifying their homes.

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    Programs to plant gardens along pathways were conducted with residents to encourage a sense of ownership of the public works and upgrades.

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    Project update May 2014 – Urban integration of an informal area, Medellín, Colombia

    This brightly-colored peacock mural is part of a neighborhood-wide effort to increase social inclusion and the quality of life of the residents of the Comuna.

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    Vivid murals create a visual transformation that reflects the tangible changes across Comuna 13.

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    The recently-constructed system of escalators with public squares and balconies addresses serious problems regarding connectivity, security and coexistence.

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    The community benefits from the sense of their ownership and engagement in the urban integration project.

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    A group of 13 young people from the municipality under the guidance of plasma urban artists images full of symbolism to enrich the visual heritage that will remain in this area.

The 7th World Urban Forum (WUF7) held in Medellín during April 2014 was attended by a record 22,000 people. The city was selected as host since it successfully introduced and implemented an approach to reducing slum formation in the urban context by alleviating poverty, providing education and improving environmental sustainability.

Last updated: May 02, 2014 Medellín, Colombia

The 7th World Urban Forum (WUF7) held in Medellín during April 2014 was attended by a record 22,000 people. The city was selected as host since it successfully introduced and implemented an approach to reducing slum formation in the urban context by alleviating poverty, providing education and improving environmental sustainability.

The Integral Urban Project (IUP) in the north-eastern precinct of Comuna 13 illustrates the city’s exemplary broad scope and its strong contributions to the fulfillment of Medellín’s ambitious Millennium Development Goals. During WUF7 the site visits (Medellín Lab Tours) to Comuna 13, formerly described as the city’s most violent neighborhood, showed the efforts to increase social inclusion and the quality of life by creating public space and infrastructure in practice. The installation of public infrastructure including escalators enhances inclusion by giving residents a physical connection to the rest of the city.

Urban transformation builds progress towards sustainable development

At the closing event of WUF7, Mayor of Medellín Anibal Gaviria explained that “ten successive governments have been very supportive of the transformation of Medellín, and I urge other cities that want to achieve similar positive changes to come to us for advice,” he said.

Alluding to the successful intervention against gangs and drug cartels in the region, Governor of Antioquia Sergio Fajardo noted the significant challenges of addressing corruption which undermines and depletes the potential of urban communities. “Corruption is harder to fight than guerrillas,” he said, noting that through determination, the city and regional authorities have seen the image of Medellín and Colombia changed from that of destruction to transformation.

IMG_0910.JPGProject receives Green Prize in Urban Design

The Integral Urban Project (IUP) won the Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design in August 2013, together with Eduardo Souto de Moura’s Metro do Porto in Portugal. Established in 1986, the biennial Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design honors two projects that demonstrate the potential for the planning and execution of mobility infrastructure to transform a city and its region through carefully articulated design interventions.

When commenting on the significance of the two prize-winning projects, jury member Michael Sorkin stated: “If there are lessons to be drawn for urban design from Medellín and Porto, I think the broader lesson has to do with the disruption of the segregation of the disciplines in the design field. Historically we have understood that Landscape Architecture sits in one place, Architecture in another, and Urban Design and Planning [in another, with all three disciplines] in constant conflict about their territorial rights. One of the things that is revolutionary about the Medellín project is that distinguishing among the disciplines is no longer possible.”