Medellin: Social Urbanism

When Alejandro Echeverri Restrepo became Medellin’s Director of Urban Projects in 2004, the city was trying to recover from years of violence visited upon it by cartels and militias whose near-unchecked reign of terror had torn it apart. Echeverri and his team quickly realised that a better, more integrated and accessible transport system would be vital.

Catalina Ortiz, now an associate professor at University College London’s Development Planning Unit, had just graduated from a local university and was inspired by the momentum she saw in the city. But, like many, she was equally hopeful and skeptical and had multiple concerns about the many changes she saw in her adopted city and some of their impacts on poor communities. 

In this episode, Alejandro and Catalina explain the decisions that were made and share the concerns they had along the way.