The causes of social inequality in Medellín:

• Civil war and political instability (La Violencia 1948-1958, 200,000 deaths)
• FARC (formed in 1964 to protect farmers from the military)
• Mass migration to cities due to FARC taking over rural communities

Mayor Sergio Farjardos wanted the social opportunities that he had as a child to become the norm, so he...

• developed slums
• built cable cars to connect the slums to the city
• improved public services such as rubbish collection
• built communal spaces

Library parks (10 built from 2008-2011)

• surrounded by green space
• promote integration, participation and community empowerment
• striking architecture to attract attention

Green belt

• adds green space and acts as a barrier to urban sprawl
• in 2014 there was 4 metres squared of public space per resident, in 2030 there will be 15
• kitchen garden plots

Technology and innovation

• raised $200 million for innovation
• programmes to improve quality of life eg. 150 public areas with wifi/computer access

Referred to as "the most dangerous city in the world" due to its connection with Pablo Escobár (drug lord and narco terrorist). In his prime he smuggled 80% of all cocaine to the USA.

Negative articles

• "Neighbourhoods controlled by local criminal gangs so violent that even police feared to go there"
• "Murder capital of the world"
  Positive articles
• "Model of urban social integration"
• "Greatest success story of Latin America"

Lived experiences

• They gave the impression of overwhelming fear, randomly occurring violence, psychological trauma associated with growing up in Medellín.
• Now it is a great place to live but recalls danger, violence and fear.

International tourist arrivals increased by 34% in 2015 (8 times the world average!)
Murders down by 90%, poverty by 60%

Tourist information

• Lively city, full of culture, divine food, exquisite food and unique nightlife.

Things that need to change in Medellín:

• high crime
• high unemployment
• poor cross-city transport "psychological barrier"

"Nueva Jerusalén" is one of the newest, rapidly growing informal settlements. New migrants pay gangs for land/protection.

The biggest change in Medellín was the integrated transport system with a tap in and out payment card, including...

• two metro rail lines
• two metro bus lines
• five cable car lines
• a tramline
• escalators
• 200 feeder buses, connecting surrounding neighbourhoods with metrorail

Metro de Medellín FACTS:

• It serves 553,000 passengers a day
• "EnCicla" is a public bicycle sharing programme
• In Comuna Trece there is a 385 metre long escalator
• It takes passengers up steep mountainsides which used to take hours to walk and was dangerous
• The first line to Santo Domingo reaches 230,000 inhabitants

Environmental impact of the metro:

• It saves 175,000 tonnes of CO2 every year
• It has created 320,000 sq m of green space