Medellin Flashcards
Who came up with the concept of library parks?
Sergio Fajardo
What was the purpose of the library parks?
- Introducing a positive state presence into the most violent and deprived areas of the city
- Medellin could be seen as an example of ‘social urbanism’
- Centre of cultural and social development
How did Medellin’s transformation begin?
- Early 2000s Medellin saw high unemployment, inequality and a lack of infrastructure
- The city’s academics, business people and civic leaders came together to try and solve the issues
- This vision got attention when Sergio Fajardo was elected as mayor (2004-2007)
What did the Medellin ‘government’ want to do to the city?
- Increase opportunities for employment and business generation
- Reduce social inequalities
What architectural projects are included in the process of healing Medellin?
- Parks, libraries, modernisation of schools
What were peoples responses and thoughts on the libraries?
- 1000-2000 people use them daily
- Brings groups of people together, e.g. a group of activists convinced city hall to close the street for a few weeks to create an area with a volleyball court, beach chairs and a playground.
What is the metropolitan green belt?
- A barrier of mostly natural materials stopping urban sprawl
- A string of these parks aim to add green space to the city whilst acting as a barrier to sprawl
- Counteracts chronic pollution
- Should experience a growth from 4 square metres of green space (2014) to 15 square metres of green space (2030)
What are the 3 main forces of change on Medellin?
Pablo Escobar, USA and city mayors
What impacts did pablo escobar have on Medellin?
- Responsible for most illegal substance imports and had 6.7% of agricultural workers employed
- Cartel funded projects such as education and sport
- He took advantage of the poorly educated to start a huge crime businesses in Medellin and Colombia
What impact did the USA have on Medellin?
- USA and Colombian government shared similar goals: Fighting communism, war on drugs and threat of terrorism
- Since 2000, the USA has provided $9.4bn in aid to colombia, $6.4bn of that spent on the military and police assistance
- Killed Escobar in 1992
What impacts do the new cable cars have on Medellin?
- Decreases travel time
- Makes getting healthcare easier
- Increases productivity
- Links the most deprived areas of the city to the city centre
- It goes 1,300ft up!
How has Medellin changed since the 1990s?
- ## Murder rates decreased by 80%. There were 6,349 killings in 1991, 380/100,000 people
Give a lived experience of someone in Medellin before the transformation
‘I was a baby when Pablo Escobar was killed and have no recollection of it. However, the violence in Medellin didn’t stop all of a sudden after his death, it was a slow and progressive change. This means that, as a young child, I actually got to live in a time where Medellin was the target of some terrorist attacks from the narcos.’
‘Pablo Escobar was an assassin, murderer and one the baddest person on earth. Just imagine that you have to go to bed, with your kids and spouse, and there is a high possibility that a bomb will explode in front of your house killing all or some of you. We lived that for many years.’
Give a lived experience of someone in Medellin post transformation
‘Medellín by day feels more familiar and comforting, and contrary to its reputation, it’s pretty safe and wealthy.’
‘Colombia’s first Metro line and cable car network carry thousands of people between remote comunas and the city centre. Medellín is interesting, unpretentious and engaging and if it wasn’t on your must-see places to visit, here are 10 reasons why it should be.’
How was social inequality reduced with WI-FI?
- Pregnant mothers no longer have to spend all their earnings going to the doctor to ask simple questions, they can instead search it up
- One of the most violent cities in the world, now a hub for technology. Innovation has homicides cut by 80%
