Medellín – Model for urban innovations

29 April 2016

Explore how Medellín used bold transport and social projects to transform itself into a model for urban innovation and equity.

This article has been migrated from an earlier version of the site and may display formatting inconsistencies.

Medellín implemented a series of social innovation and public transport initiatives to pursue social equity and improve living conditions for its people, contributing to its urban transformation. Click through for a visual walk-through of some of the city’s most innovative urban interventions and social projects.

The City of the Eternal Spring

Medellín is Colombia’s second largest city after capital city Bogotá, and is located in the Aburrá Valley. Despite being near the equator, the city is located 1,500m above sea level and as such it has a pleasant spring-like climate all year round and is often referred to as the 'City of the Eternal Spring'.

Aerial view of a dense city with skyscrapers, red-roofed buildings, roads, and mountains in the background.

Colombia’s second largest city © Pepe Navarro

Unique topography

Medellín has a unique topography due to its valley locale. Over the years, the city was faced with and has overcome the challenges of uncontrolled urban expansion at its mountain edges due to rural-urban migration.

Aerial view of a large city spread across a valley surrounded by green mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

Medellín's unique topography © ACI Medellín

The Metro system

Medellín’s Metro system is one of the first urban interventions that kick-started the city’s dramatic transformation. The Metro system first started operations in 1995, and some 20 years later, it is today still the only mass rapid transit system in the whole of Colombia. In comparison, capital city Bogotá’s subway system will only commence operations in 2021.

Aerial view of a busy city with palm trees, an elevated train, historic buildings, skyscrapers, and mountains in the background.

Medellín’s Metro system © ACI Medellín

The MetroCable

The MetroCable system is the world’s first cable car system used for daily commuting, connecting remote hillside residents of Comuna 1 Santo Domingo to the Metro system and the rest of the city. Today, the MetroCable serves at least 38,000 passengers daily.

Multiple Metrocable gondola cars suspended on cables above a dense urban cityscape of red-roofed buildings.

The MetroCable © ACI Medellín

Community spaces

Public spaces are integrated at the base of the MetroCable pylons, an example of the multiple use of space in the city.

Aerial view of a busy urban plaza with people, trees, buildings, cable car towers, and green mountains in the background.

Community spaces © ACI Medellín

Escalators at Comuna 13 San Javier

A set of escalators at Comuna 13 San Javier – once the most violent neighbourhood in the city – helped to improve mobility in the hillside neighbourhood. This is coupled with upgraded footpaths and roads, as well as pocket parks and wall mural artwork, and improved the quality of life in the neighbourhood. Guides (bottom photo) are also employed from the local community at Comuna 13 San Javier to ensure a safe ride on the escalators for everyone.

Aerial view of a dense hillside city with orange-framed escalator structures and colorful mural in foreground.

Two men near outdoor escalators under a decorative canopy, one walking and one standing by the entrance.

Escalators at Comuna 13 San Javier © Damien Woon

Library Parks

The stunning Spanish Library Park or Parque Biblioteca España designed by Architect Giancarlo Mazzanti in 2007 is one of many library parks in Medellín built in the poorest neighbourhoods, providing easy access points to learning and information for the local residents.

Two dark angular geometric buildings beside a hillside neighborhood of brick homes under a clear blue sky.

Spanish Library Park © Damien Woon

Life Articulated Units

The Life Articulated Units or Unidades de Vida Articulada are community spaces built around existing water tanks in the city to return these previously under-utilised spaces back to the people, allowing many communal activities and festivals to take place.

A glowing red circular structure surrounded by crowds at dusk, with a lit hillside city in the background.

Life Articulated Units © ACI Medellín

Circumvent Garden

At the urban-rural edge, the Circumvent Garden or Jardin Circunvalar de Medellín provides communal spaces, such as the ‘Walk of Life’ pedestrian footpath pictured here, while limiting urban expansion.

Two people stand on a hilltop stairway with metal railings overlooking a sprawling city below.

Moravia Garden

In another part of the city, a former waste dump and barren landfill was transformed into Moravia Garden, a botanical “garden of life” managed by members of the community.

Aerial fisheye view of a dense urban hillside with terraced green gardens and colorful crops amid city buildings.

Citizens’ empowerment

The citizens are empowered to use up to five percent of the local budget for community uses, such as the Good Start Programme centred on early childhood education to develop the youngest segment of the population.

A smiling girl sits on a floor covered with colorful handprints, surrounded by other children painting.

Metro Culture

Local students are employed as Metro guides to foster a 'Metro Culture' by inculcating good social behaviour on the Metro system as well as public spaces.

Two people stand on a subway platform beside a white and green train with colorful advertisements.

Information on the go

The 'Running Words' initiative (top photo) is an open bookshelf located at Metro stations, allowing commuters to take a book for free, read on the go, lend it to a friend or family member, and return later. Small libraries (bottom photo) here are located conveniently in Metro stations, allowing commuters access to information on the go.

A person points to a Spanish-language book donation kiosk labeled "Buzon" mounted on an orange circular sign.

Two people in a room with tall shelves filled with colorful books and a wooden table in the foreground.