Urban regeneration of Medellin: an example of sustainability

Abstract

The city of Medellin has suffered a chaotic urban growth since early twentieth century, caused by the echoes of industrialization suffered in its historical fabric and by the migration of people from the countryside to the city. As a consequence, the central areas were abandoned and numerous peripheral pieces were built which drowned the traditional city. In this way, the regular and orderly original city became composed mainly of disconnected peripheral tissues, lacking in organization, infrastructures and minimum services, unhygienic fabrics with inhuman living conditions on which delinquency and marginality also grew, becoming the most dangerous areas of the city. The urgent solution to the problems unleashed brought with it the realization of a series of urban and social reforms. The construction of a new way of transport was a definitive agent in the sustainable regeneration of the city. At this point we have the purpose of this research that aims to highlight the role of metro-cable in the process of urban regeneration, transforming Medellín from being one of the most dangerous cities in Colombia to an example of sustainability.