Colombia's Economy
Medellín's Transformation
How Medellín went from the world's most violent city in the early 1990s to a model of urban innovation with cable cars, escalators and libraries in poor neighbourhoods.
Medellín transformed itself.
The past
In 1991, Medellín had one of the world’s highest murder rates.
Social urbanism
City leaders invested in poor hillside neighbourhoods:
- Metrocable cable cars (from 2004) linked them to the metro.
- Outdoor escalators in Comuna 13 (2011).
- Library parks and schools.
Results
Violence fell sharply, and the city became a tourism and tech hub.
Innovation award
Medellín was named the most innovative city in a 2013 competition.
Challenges
Inequality and gang activity persist, and gentrification raises rents.
A worker from a hillside neighbourhood rides the Metrocable to the city centre in minutes instead of an hour.
Public investment in poor areas helped.
- Medellín was extremely violent in 1991.
- Social urbanism invested in poor areas.
- Cable cars and escalators connected neighbourhoods.
- Violence fell sharply.
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