SOCIAL URBANISM IN MEDELLIN – INTEGRATION OF LANDSCAPE, LIFE, AND CULTURE

Abstract

Over the last 50 years, the city of Medellín, Colombia has experienced a drastic urban transformation. The drug war and armed conflict in the late 20th century expedited urbanization as people were forced to leave their rural homes and seek shelter in major cities. However, the infrastructural capacity of larger cities has been unable to accommodate the basic needs of the growing population. As a result, people had to build habitats in the peripheries of the cities. These “informal settlements” were born out of necessity, with limited resources, and often under unsafe conditions. Nonetheless, these self-built neighborhoods are “the most common form of urbanization on the planet,” and as such, the processes behind “informal city making” are key to understanding the potential for development, innovation, and integration of a city. This paradigm shift regarding informality intends to bring visibility to the perseverance and creativity of migrants under limited resources, to challenge policies that shape urbanization and to explore alternative methods to address population growth.