Inclusive Urban Planning for International Development: The Medellin Transformation

Dea IsmailSRP Spring 2014First Draft

INCLUSIVE URBAN PLANNING FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

THE MEDELLÍN TRANSFORMATION

Introduction

There are two things that have drawn my interest towards

urban development. Last semester I did a service-learning

project with my colleagues in our urban development class

which served as an excellent introduction to Washington, D.C’s

public housing and the possibility of the residents being

displaced. The fact that such thing happens in a country

considered as the most economically advanced in the world is

astonishing to me as an outsider. Secondly, I grew up and have

lived in Makassar, a big city in Indonesia and witnessed

firsthand the many challenges faced by my hometown especially

in accommodating the urban poor into the city living. The two

events really sparked my interest into thinking of ways to

make a city work for everyone of its citizen regardless of

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their socio-economic standing. The idea of inclusive urban

planning came to my mind as an inspirational strategy and

framework for achieving this goal. My idea is that through

planning, a city could set a direction for how and where they

would like to progress as opposed to having unplanned

development.

The world is now characterized by rapid urbanization.

Literatures regarding urban development present two common

themes. First is the prediction that the majority of the world

population will live in cities within the next few decades.

Secondly, based on such prediction there is an urgency to make

cities more livable for all of their populations. Rapid

urbanization presents a myriad of challenges especially in

developing countries. Within the field of international

development, the attention of practitioners and academicians

alike is increasingly re-directed towards the dynamics within

urban settings.

Since the focus of international development is in

developing countries and the rapid increase of urban

population mostly happens in developing countries, analyzing

what is feasible to be implemented in the context of urban

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setting becomes ever more relevant for the field of

international development. The challenges that international

development practitioners are trying to address such as

poverty, inequality, vulnerability, and many others that are

typically encountered in rural areas are often exacerbated in

an urban setting.

This paper will first delve into the urban context of

international development and then narrowed down towards

inclusivity in urban context. I offer a range of inclusivity

that will help visualize where different types of inclusivity

falls within the continuum. The paper will end with the

discussion of how inclusive urban planning could be

implemented as well as lessons learned from Medellín, a city

that has implemented inclusive urban planning.

The idea of inclusive urban planning presented in this

paper is a holistic approach to address many issues that are

of concern within international development. It is not meant

as the ultimate answer to improve the lives of every citizen

of a city that is essentially the ultimate goal of

practitioners of international development, but it could be a

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step in the right direction to help accommodate increasing

number of urban population especially in developing countries.

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Chapter 1:

Urban Development and the field of International Development

The relevance of urban development within the field of International Development

As the development industry recognized that nearly more

than half of the world’s total population now resides in

cities, urban development is becoming highly incorporated into

the field of International Development. The developing

countries experience higher urban growth rates than those in

the more developed regions of the world. Developing countries

in regions such as Africa and Asia had the highest urban

growth rates.1 However, such growth does not necessarily

portray any increase in the welfare of the citizens in cities

of developing countries but has brought with it urban poverty

and inequality with their many manifestations such as lack of

adequate housing, diseases and other health-related issues,

access to clean water, crimes, etc. within the urban settings.

These are the number of issues that are of concern to

development practitioners.

1UN-HABITAT, State of the World’s Cities Report, (Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2007), 6.

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United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) is

the main international organization at the forefront of urban

development and promoting socially and environmentally

sustainable towns and cities for all as its

mission.2Acknowledging the fact that the developing world is

experiencing rapid urbanization, the organization reaffirmed

its focus towards urban centers in developing countries.

Strategically UN-HABITAT targets cities or urban centers as

elucidated in its agenda that properly planned and managed

urban settlements hold the promise for human development and

the protection of the world’s natural resources through their

ability to support large number of people while limiting their

impact on natural environment.3 Such premise, however, puts a

big responsibility in cities to ensure that all citizens could

be accommodated while maintaining or striving for

environmental sustainability. These ideals are very

challenging for cities in developing countries thus provide

room for development practitioners in order to think of

2UN-HABITAT, UN-HABITAT for a Better Urban Future, http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=103UN-HABITAT, The Habitat Agenda Goals and Principles, Commitments and the Global Plan of Action, http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/1176_6455_The_Habitat_Agenda.pdf, 2.

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innovative and effective ways of addressing the needs in

cities of developing countries.

Other aid agencies representing the more developed

countries also view urban development as something that they

need to address. In recognizing that more than 50% of world’s

total population will live in cities and the potentials of

cities as driver of economic development, Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims to support urban growth for

inclusive and dynamic development, of which they have 6 areas

of focus: developing core infrastructure; creating better

residential environment; creating low-carbon cities; creating

disaster-resistant cities; sound-urban management; and urban

reconstruction.4These focus areas largely cover some of the

most pressing concerns of cities in developing countries.

USAID also recognizes the urgency for urban development based

on the projection of the world’s total urban population in a

few decades as well as the importance of cities for economic

growth.5The organization focuses towards capacity building of

poorly managed cities and basic service delivery such water

4Japan International Cooperation Agency, Urban Growth for Inclusive and Dynamic Development, (JICA, 2013)5USAID, “Usaid’s Urban Policy”, USAID Making Cities Work, http://www.makingcitieswork.org/story/usaids-urban-policy

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and sanitation.6The two organizations discussed in this section

serve as examples of how aid agencies recognize the urgency

for their work in urban settings of developing countries.

Having discussed the urgency for big international aid

agencies to direct their work in cities of developing

countries, we should also look at grassroots movements or

organizations that strive to address various pressing urban

issues thus simultaneously recognizing the works of these

organizations and their members as development practitioners.

On the international level, Slum Dwellers International (SDI)

is a prominent example urban grassroots movement. The

organization is a network of community organization of the

urban poor in 33 developing countries.7Another example on the

local level, the zaballeen is a community of garbage collectors

on the outskirts of Cairo who mobilized to persuade residents

to separate their trash so they could continue collecting

trash, an effort that were started due to formal privatized

waste management in the city threatening their livelihood.8The

6USAID, “Urban Themes and Technical Topics”, USAID Making Cities Work, http://www.makingcitieswork.org/urban-theme/urban-themes-and-technical-topics, accessed April 1, 20147Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI), “What We Do”, Shack/Slum Dwellers International, 2014, http://www.sdinet.org/about-what-we-do/8Mai Iskander, Garbage Dreams, directed by Mai Iskander (New York: Cinema Guild, 2009), DVD.

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efforts of these organizations and grassroots movements serve

specific interest of those citizens who are often left out.

These organizations may have different approach when it

comes to addressing urban issues but they do have a unified

view that the cities present a great opportunity in order to

achieve better lives for their citizens. UN-HABITAT, at the

forefront of urban development, emphasized in its report that

“the struggle to achieve the MDGs will be won or lost in cities” by pointing out

how cities around the world play crucial role in creating

wealth as well as enhancing social development however such

wealth in cities does not lead to poverty alleviation at the

national level or at the city level.9Such discourse puts

pressure for cities to perform well.

Urbanization of poverty that is depicted by many instances

in cities of developing countries such as slum proliferation

and lack of adequate housing, access to clean water and

sanitation, etc. requires both international assistance as

well as comprehensive local initiatives. I have previously

mentioned that big players in international development

recognized the needs to provide assistance in cities which

9UN-HABITAT, State of the World Cities Report, 48-49.9

were shown through their official reports and websites.

However, Stren pointed out that there had been a decline in

the level of public support for urban development and that the

notion of urban development was less popular than those of

other fads within the development industry such as women and

children in poverty, HIV/AIDS, the plight of Africa, post-

disaster reconstruction, and many others.10

In recognizing such tendency as elucidated by Stren, I

think it is imperative for city government to come up with its

own local initiatives as well as enhance its own capacity in

order to facilitate efforts that will be beneficial for all of

the citizens of that particular city. One way that city

government can lead urban development is through planning.

Brugman brought forward the issue of urban strategy as he

argued that so many of the world’s problems now arise from the

poor design, weak governance, and mismanagement of cities thus

it is crucial that we learn how to transform cities into the

center of world’s solution.11 However, putting it in the

context of development, I would emphasize that the “we” in

10Richard Stren, “International Assistance for Cities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Do We Still Need it?” Environment & Urbanization 20, No. 3 (2008): 377-37811Jeb Brugman, Welcome to the Urban Revolution: How Cities are Changing the World, (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2010), 201.

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this argument should be defined as local stakeholders of the

city.

In this paper, I am looking into the notion of inclusive

urban planning as a strategy for stakeholders of a city to

facilitate urban development to ensure the well-being of the

citizens as a whole, creating a more livable city. Thus, the

idea is to put the local initiative at the core of urban

development through planning as opposed to heavily relying on

donor-sponsored projects.

Defining “inclusivity”

Inclusivity is often associated with participation thus it

is often defined through a social framework. Rhonda Douglas,

Global Projects Director for WIEGO (Women in Informal

Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), stated that an

inclusive city is one that values all people and their needs

equally in which all residents have representative voice in

governance, planning, and budgeting processes, and have access11

to sustainable livelihoods, legal housing and affordable basic

services such as water and sanitation as well as electricity

supply.12 Earlier on in 1999, UN-HABITAT launched the Global

Campaign on Good Urban Governance with the theme of inclusive

city. The organization emphasized inclusivity as an important

element in the decision-making process, providing example for

women who were usually excluded from decision making processes

to be involved and heard. An inclusive city according to the

organization is a place where everyone, regardless of wealth,

gender, age, race or religion, is enabled to participate

productively and positively in the opportunities that cities

have to offer.13 Thus, the resounding themes of participatory

decision making, access to opportunities as well as basic

services in the city seem to be the main objectives of

inclusivity.

According to Herrle and Walther, the fundamental parameter

of inclusion is the share of power which requires active,

effective, involvement of impacted communities.14 How such12Rhonda Douglas, “Commentary: What We Mean by ‘Inclusive Cities’”, Next City, January 28, 2013, http://nextcity.org/informalcity/entry/commentary-what-we-mean-by-inclusive-cities, accessed February 18 201413 UN-HABITAT, Global Campaign on Urban Governance: Concept Paper (Nairobi: United National Human Settlements Programme, 2002), 15.14Peter Herrle & Uwe-Jens Walther, “Introduction: Socially Inclusive Cities – New Solutions for Old Problems – or Old Wine in New Bottles?” in Socially Inclusive Cities, eds. Peter Herrle and Uwe-Jens Walther (Piscataway: Transaction

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power is shared in practice will be discussed in the

subsequent chapter. Although, inclusivity has been highly

associated with social inclusion, I would like to invite

towards thinking that inclusivity is not only limited within

social framework. In contextualizing cities as our playing

field, inclusivity can also be spatial.

Spatial inclusivity in a city is associated with urban

design. Inclusive (urban) design means designing products,

services and environments that as many people as possible can

use, regardless of age or ability, sometimes called universal

design or design for all.15 Such definition does have a broad

reach and it needs to be contextualized for it to be

applicable.

There is a tendency for urban projects to focus on profit-

oriented development.16 Such development often lacks proper

consideration for potentially detrimental social impacts. The

objective of factoring spatial inclusivity in designing an

urban space is so that the particular space does not exclude a

Publishers, 2005), 1215 Elizabeth Burton and Lynne Mitchell, Inclusive Urban Design: Streets for Life (Oxford: Burlington Press, 2006), 5.16 Van Den Broeck, “Analyzing Social Innovation Through Planning Instruments: A Strategic-Relational Approach,” in Strategic Spatial Projects: Catalysts for Change, eds.Oosterlynck et.al. (New York: Routledge, 2011), 52.

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certain group within the population or unjustly affect a

segment of the population, usually the poor.

The concern of international development practitioners in

spatial urban planning is perhaps largely focused towards

slums and the living condition in those slums. The

practitioners would be interested in how a city manages or

treat the slums on which there are two policy extremes

regarding slums: complete demolition and

resettlement/displacement and slum-upgrading. It is inevitable

that a segment of the urban population is considered poor and

live in slums with inadequate access to basic services but an

inclusive urban planning is a step in the right direction for

a city to accommodate not only the needs of the urban poor but

also the needs of other segments of the population.

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Chapter 2:

Empirical Background

It is very important for development practitioners to

recognize the possible impact of their efforts. Focusing a

program or project only on one particular group of the

targeted beneficiaries will affect the other segments of the

population. For example, when creating a program targeting

children and/or youth will have impact on adults or require

assistance and buy-in to the program by the adult population.

Therefore inclusive programs are highly desirable including in

conducting urban development.

Inclusive v. Exclusive urban space

Before delving any further into inclusive urban planning,

it is useful to discuss about what inclusive and exclusive

city looks like. The term “exclusive” is associated with a

condition in which a certain group of people can have access

to a favored urban space. Such exclusivity allows for people

who tend to be of homogenous socio-economic background to have15

their own space to live and interact among themselves.

However, this term often specifically refers to higher

economic class in a given society. An example of exclusivity

in an urban setting is easily exemplified as a gated

community. Caldeira refers to such community as fortified

enclaves that she defines as privatized, enclosed, and

monitored space for residence, consumption, leisure, and

work.17 The proliferation of such space in a city leads to the

difficulty of maintaining openness and free circulation among

the citizens.18

On the flip side of that exclusivity is the group of

people who are not able to access such luxury or even the

general benefit of living in a city. Viswanath conceptualized

that exclusion may be based upon race; income; gender;

disability; age; and/or sexual orientation.19 Some of the

segments of the population that are often excluded are the

urban poor who may or may not live in slums, the disabled, and

women. The challenge of ensuring that an urban space is able

17 Teresa P. R. Caldeira, “Fortified Enclaves: The New Urban Segregation,” Public Culture 8 (1996): 30318 Ibid19 Jennifer Cook, Kalpana Viswanath, & Carolyn Whitzman, “Female Friendly Cities: Planning for Inclusivity in our Urban Spaces,” YouTube video, posted by The University of Melbourne, October 3, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jebhb8lXrE8&feature=youtu.be

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to accommodate each segment of the population continues to be

a major challenge for stakeholders in a particular city.

Maintaining exclusivity in urban settings could make

extreme inequality much more visible, something that is not so

much of an issue in rural settings. It is apparent that

exclusivity in an urban setting does not lead to the creation

of a city that accommodates its citizens regardless of their

backgrounds. Caldeira further argues that such segregation

brings terrible consequences for the city and that such method

of planning only promotes conflict instead of preventing it by

highlighting the extent of the social inequalities as well as

the lack of commonalities.20 Thus the goal for urban

stakeholders such as city government and planners as well as

the civil society should be creating inclusive space in order

for the city to function well making it more livable and

ensuring the well-being of the citizens.

The discussion of inclusivity and exclusivity within an

urban setting inevitably leads towards the idea of “the right

to the city”. The right to the city is the right of

individuals living in cities to liberty, freedom and the

20 Caldeira, 32517

benefits of city life which requires transparency, equity and

efficiency in the administration of cities, participation and

respect in local democratic decision-making, recognition of

diversity in economic, social and cultural life, and the

reduction of poverty, social exclusion and urban violence.21

The idea is frequently advocated to be included in creating

urban policies that promote justice, sustainability, and

inclusion in cities.22 Organizations such as UN-HABITAT and

UNESCO support the idea and it has also been included in

Brazilian National Law.23 The objective is to convince

stakeholders to adopt and implement policy which contain the

spirit of the right to the city.

Inclusivity is embedded within the right to the city. UN-

HABITAT lists several useful guiding questions to assess

whether a particular city is inclusive or otherwise that

reflect upon some of the most crucial problems faced by cities

around the world. The guiding questions are informed citizens,

equal access to basic services, attraction of investment,

safety, access of the citizens to their elected

21 Carolyn Whitzman et. al., Building Inclusive Cities : Women’s Safety and the Right to the City (Routledge, 2013), 5 http://www.myilibrary.com?ID=45916122 Mark Purcell, “Possible Worlds: Henri Lefebvre and the Right to the City,” Journal of Urban Affairs 36, no. 1 (2014), 14123 Ibid

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representatives, equal opportunities for all ethnic groups,

involvement of women, participatory decision-making, and

consideration for the poor.24 These components of an inclusive

city need to be constant reminders for stakeholders when

creating and implementing a policy.

Types of inclusivity

We can look at inclusivity in urban settings using two

lenses, spatial and social. Spatial inclusivity is related to

the design of the urban space which aims for that particular

space to be accessible for all. For example, an urban space is

designed not only in order to provide room for new investment

and for the affluent citizens but also to create a decent

space that the poor can live in. Social inclusivity refers to

ways of including different groups or segments of the

population when creating a policy or designing an urban space.

For the purpose of this paper, it is necessary to discuss

these different types of inclusivity and how they can be

included in an effort of implementing inclusive urban planning

24UN-HABITAT, Global Campaign on Good Urban Governance, Concept Paper, 2000 in UN-HABITAT, Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Planning: A Guide for Municipalities, Vol. 1 (UN-HABITAT, 2007), 21

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that will create cities that are more accommodating to those

who usually experience exclusion and livable as well as

improving the well-being of their citizens.

1. Spatial inclusivity

Spatial inclusivity is related to inclusive design in

planning terms. The way that I see it is that it is often an

arbitrary or top-down process that government stakeholders

or planners carry out based on their vision of what the city

should look like. It is often codified in the form of land-

use planning and/or zoning regulations. Ideally the policy

of land-use or zoning should incorporate the objectives that

will lead to the creation of space that is accessible to all

of the city residents.

The top-down approach of land-use planning put a strong

emphasis on the state intervention and control over spatial

development and land-use.25 Oosterlynck et. al. discussed

that such approach crumbled in the 1970s which portrayed the

lack of capacities of central state in directing spatial

development and meeting the objectives in land-use planning

25 Stijn Oosterlynck, Louis Albrechts, and Jef Van den Broeck, “Strategic Spatial Planning Through Strategic Projects,” in Strategic Spatial Projects: Catalystsfor Change, eds.Oosterlynck et.al. (New York: Routledge, 2011), 2

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as well as the lack of attention given to how power

structures as well as conflicting interests shape the plan.26

These power structure and differing interests need to be

addressed in creating inclusive urban planning policy.

One example where spatial planning works in favor of the

affluent segment of the population as well as private sector

interest is demolition of slums and displacing the slum

dwellers in order to create space for new housing

development and businesses. The project may make the city

more visibly attractive but the social impact of such

project is felt by the excluded population. It is necessary

for adequate political will to be mustered in cities in

order to adopt inclusive urban planning that will enable all

of its citizens to have access to decent city living

regardless of their socio-economic background, for this

example demolition of slums and displacement of slum-

dwellers are clearly not within the practice of inclusive

urban planning.

In recognizing the competing interests within a city as

well as the production of space, land-use planning evolved

26 Ibid21

into strategic spatial planning. Strategic spatial planning

is defined as transformative and integrative public sector-

led socio-spatial process through which visions, coherent

actions and means for implementation and co-production are

developed, which shape and frame both what a place is and

what it might become.27 This type of urban planning embraces

inclusivity in a way that it includes social and ecological

considerations. Socially it recognizes the different actors

involved and may be affected. Ecologically it considers the

city’s ecological carrying capacity which is defined as the

maximum number of individuals that a given area, or in this

case the city, can sustain (for food, water, habitat and

other needs) without degrading the natural environment for

present and future users.28

The spirit of sustainable development is embedded within

strategic spatial planning. Oosterlynck et. al. argues that

within the strategic spatial planning, the four principles

of sustainable development which includes physical

27 Oosterlynck et. al, 328 Wackernagel and Rees, 1996 cited in Stijn Oosterlynck, Trui Maes, & Han Verschure, “Strategies for Sustainable Spatial Development: Operationalizing Sustainability in Strategic Projects,” in Strategic Spatial Projects: Catalysts for Change, eds.Oosterlynck et.al. (New York: Routledge, 2011), 179-180

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ecological principle, the economic principle (supply and

demand, including in qualitative terms), the social

principle (social justice and equity, particularly creating

benefits for disadvantaged social groups, and the

institutional principle (the collective responsibility for

the use of land and environmental resources) need to be

ensured that these principles are considered without

favoring one over the others.29 Although such urban planning

is more desirable than the rigid top-down approach, there is

room for improvement by considering social inclusivity in

planning.

2. Social inclusivity

Social inclusivity is essentially putting the people

factor into the effort for inclusive urban planning. It

includes participatory measures from the citizens as well as

targeted towards consideration for segments of the

population who are often excluded as the result of the top-

down planning approach. To have the social aspect within

inclusive urban planning, it is imperative that we

29 Stijn Oosterlynck, Trui Maes, & Han Verschure, “Strategies for Sustainable Spatial Development: Operationalizing Sustainability in Strategic Projects,” in Strategic Spatial Projects: Catalysts for Change, eds.Oosterlyncket.al. (New York: Routledge, 2011), 181

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acknowledge that in order for it to be successful, an

enabling environment such as a well-functioning democracy

coupled with political will of the government should be in

place.

Social inclusion promotes the consideration of putting

the people first and within the framework of urban planning,

it is necessary for stakeholders to put the communities or

the citizens that they are serving in consultative roles.

Their inputs are crucial on any policy that would directly

impact their lives. Such approach is also known as

communicative planning. According to Sager, communicative

planning is seen as an open and participatory enterprise

involving a broad range of affected groups in socially

oriented and fairness-seeking developments of land,

infrastructure, or public services.30 Inherently,

inclusiveness is one of the substantive value principles for

communicative planning in the way that the plan should not

make it difficult for certain groups within the population

to take part in public life, to work, and to access basic

public and private services.31

30 Tore Sager, Reviving Critical Planning Theory: Dealing with Pressure, Neo-Liberalism, and Responsibility in Communicative Planning, (London & New York: Routledge, 2013), 5.31 Sager, 207

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Participation is the main component of such planning.

However participation must not be taken only at face value

because there is so much more to this approach. There are

several levels of participation that we need to be aware of

and the power relations within communities that are at work

needs to be anticipated and addressed. Several levels of

participation as pointed out by Goethert are “none” or no

participation, “indirect”, “consultative”, “shared control”,

and “full control”.32 Goethert further argues that inclusion

is not as “enthusiastically” embraced as expected by

stakeholders such as government, development agencies, and

professionals.33 Although participatory measures are

considered essential parts of a desirable project, power

relations that are embedded within a community needs to be

addressed by the stakeholders thus emphasizing the

importance of genuine political will as well as a

functioning democracy to exist under the enabling

environment to make the process possible.

32 Reinhard Goethert, “Planning with People – Challenges to the Paradigm,” in Socially Inclusive Cities: Emerging Concepts and Practice, eds. Peter Herrle and Uwe-Jens Walther (Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2005), 1433 Ibid.

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Socially inclusive planning addresses the needs of the

different segments of the population as a whole and aims to

create a space that fit the needs of the overall urban

population. The challenge for socially inclusive planning is

to create an urban setting that is accessible to all of

residents. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the

segments of the populations experience exclusion some of

them may include women, children, disabled persons, and the

urban poor typically living in slums and what each of these

groups within the population need out of the city living.

There are many ways that socially inclusive cities could

be planned and implemented. For example, women’s concern

over safety in public transportation is an issue worth

looking into with regards of creating socially inclusive

cities. The sense of lack of safety in public transport

could act as a barrier for women in accessing the

transportation facilities as well as for them to access the

city. The intervention that would create spaces that are

safer for women could be through adding adequate lighting

and other design improvement34 which will improve the overall34 Carolyn Whitzman, “Women’s Safety and Everyday Mobility” in Carolyn Whitzman et. al., Building Inclusive Cities : Women’s Safety and the Right to the City (Routledge, 2013), 5 http://www.myilibrary.com?ID=459161

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safety of the space for all. Another group who is

disadvantaged within an urban setting is the urban poor

living in informal settlements. A socially inclusive

planning would strive to fulfill the needs of these people

such as housing with adequate basic infrastructure through

upgrading of the informal settlement without having to

displace the residents. These are only two examples of how

an urban plan could be socially inclusive.

The range of inclusivity

Considering that there are two types of inclusivity,

social and spatial inclusivity, I include the chart below in

order to better visualize the range of inclusivity within

urban planning.

27

The range of inclusivity as visualized in the previous

page starts from spatial inclusivity towards social

inclusivity. Ideally the combination of both would be more

beneficial to the city residents because it combines the two

types of inclusive planning rather than only championing one

over the other. This approach to urban development puts the

government and planners as the main stakeholders of

development within the city, however there is room for

international development practitioners in carrying out

projects but must respect and adhere to the government’s

overall goals.

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Chapter 3:

Methodology and Methods

Rationale for choosing the topic

The field of international development and the

professionals working in it should increase their attention

towards urban development. The projection that most of the

world’s population will live in cities within the next few

decades has been echoed by many organizations and scholars.

Although cities are engines of economic growth for the country

and provide many economic opportunities, do not translate into

well-being for all of its citizens.

The overwhelming unfortunate reality of urban poverty is

the concern for international development practitioners.

Brugman argues that a city is very malleable thus it can be

transformed into something better by deploying innovative

solution using its many sources against issues such as

poverty, inequity, injustice and environmental degradation.35

Through this paper, I offer an analysis towards a holistic

35 Brugman, 20529

approach of inclusive urban planning in addressing issues in

urban settings that would normally be the concerns of the

international development practitioners, not as a panacea but

as one way that could be ventured into in trying to address

multiple urban issues.

According to UN-HABITAT, small cities with population of

less than 500,000 and intermediate cities with the population

of 1 million to 5 million will absorb most of the world’s

urban population.36 Better urban planning makes sense because

as the city is ever expanding, closer attention needs to be

given towards the small and intermediate cities due to their

potential for rapid growth. Inclusive urban planning could

work well in these cities as they brace for the impact of the

growth. The ultimate goal is achieving a city that is able to

develop without excluding any group within its population.

In the next chapter, Medellín would be discussed

extensively as the subject of the case study in this paper.

The city has been said to have achieved social urbanism

through innovative solutions planned by the city’s leadership.

Urbanism is defined as a way of developing, using, and living

36 UN-HABITAT, State of the World’s Cities 2006/2007, 730

in the city in compatible ways to make its economics,

politics, social life, and ecology coherent with consensus

aspirations and values.37 Not only Medellín was able to achieve

urbanism, the city also managed to transform its previous fate

as a haven for drug cartel and notoriously known as one of the

most violent city in the world. Medellín’s experience could

provide several lessons for other cities in their efforts for

achieving urbanism.

Perspective used in the paper

I choose the case study methodology with the objective of

obtaining a deeper understanding of how inclusive urban

planning can be implemented in order to make cities more

livable for all of its citizens. I will conduct the case study

by purposely focusing on Medellín’s transformation that was

achieved through planning and the implementation of such

planning policy. At the end of the study I would like to

extract lessons learned from the case of Medellín and how they

may be adopted by other cities.

37 Brugman, 20231

This research will be a qualitative secondary research on

which I gather extensive qualitative data on Medellín through

library research. I will analyze how Medellín has been able to

be successful in its efforts to achieve extreme transformation

of the city and suggest several recommendations on how similar

efforts may be successfully implemented in other cities.

The focus of the paper is urban planning and its

application in Medellín. However, I will strive to develop a

deeper understanding of the Medellín transformation by

analyzing the qualitative data that I found using my point of

view as an international development scholar and practitioner.

Thus I will take into account the issues that are of concern

for the practitioners and the multi-disciplinary aspect of the

international development field.

32

Chapter 4:

Medellín’s Inclusive Urban Planning

Background

Medellín was previously dubbed as the most dangerous city

in the world due to the busy drug trafficking activities that

were overtaking the city which led to homicide rate of 381 per

100,000 residents in 1991.38,39 Such alarming figure was able to

be extremely reduced within two decades thus making Medellín’s

transformation very intriguing. The transformation of the city

has had a lot to do with its leadership as well as the

implementation of its innovative urban planning. Before

looking deeper into the inclusive urban planning that the city

has been implementing, I find that it will be useful to have

some historical background of the city.

The city of Medellín is Colombia’s second industrial city

with its early industries growing due to the vast production

38 Francis Fukuyama and Seth Colby, “Half a Miracle: Medellín’s Rebirth is Nothing Short of Astonishing but have the Drug Lords Really Been Vanquished?” Foreign Policy, May/June 2011, Issue 18639 Alvaro Maz, “Social Urbanism – The Medellín Case,” Trending City, 2013, http://www.trendingcity.org/north-america/2013/7/8/social-urbanism-the-medellin-case

33

of gold and coffee.40 The city continued to growth with the

discovery of coal and the establishment of hydroelectric

plants which provided Medellín with source of energy that

fueled the establishment of other industries and companies in

the area.41 The industrial growth of the city brought with it

inevitable impacts such as increase in population.

Medellín’s population follows an increasing pattern ever

since the growth of industrialization in the city. The

increase in industrial growth in Medellín was followed by

increase of the city’s total population. The city population

rose from 60,000 in 1905 to nearly 360,000 in 195142, the total

population grew 6-fold in less than 50 years. Medellín’s

increasing population rate did not stop despite the decline of

the industries.43 Such predicament was due to the growing

violence in the countryside that drove peasants to flee and

settled in Medellín creating informal settlements.44 Currently,

the population of Medellín is approximately 3,497,000.45

40 Holli Drummond, John Dizgun, & David J. Keeling, “Medellín: A City Reborn?” Focus on Geography 55, no. 4 (2012), 14641 Drummond et. al., 146-14742 Drummond et. al., 14743 Veyom Bahl, “Murder Capital to Modern Miracle? The Progression of Governance in Medellín, Colombia,” Unpublished Dissertation, MSc Urban Development Planning, Development Planning Unit, UCL, London (2011), 1644 Fukuyama & Colby45 Index Mundi, “Colombia Demographics Profile 2013,” 2013, accessed April 16, 2014, http://www.indexmundi.com/colombia/demographics_profile.html

34

In conjunction with the soaring population, 60% of the

city was unplanned in the form of squatter settlements and

informal development46 despite the early efforts to control

development in Medellín. In 1913, urban development plans for

the city were drawn up by local business elites with the

intention of providing the city with modern infrastructure

projects, a public utility company and some industrial

development, a plan that was known as Plan Futuro.47 Recognizing

the rapid urbanization in 1950s, local stakeholders in

Medellín which included local government, industrialists,

entrepreneurs, and cultural leaders developed an Medellín

Master Plan, the-top-down planning that incorporated the

expansion of the city, creation of an industrial zone,

canalization of the Medellín River, beautification of river

banks and other parts of the city, and the construction of

soccer stadium and an administrative center.48 However, the

master plan experienced a shortfall in adequately addressing

the city’s issue of informal settlements meanwhile violence in

46 Peter Brand, “Ecologism and Urban Space: Nature, Urbanization, and City Planning in Medellín, Colombia,” Planning Practice and Research 10, no. 1 (1995), 59. 47 Abraham F. Lowenthal & Pablo Rojas Mejía, “Medellín: Front Line of Colombia’s Challenges”, America’s Quarterly, 2010, accessed April 17, 2014, http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/131048 Restrepo, 1981 cited in Drummond et. al., 147

35

the countryside remained rampant which made it even more

difficult to curb the growing population in addition to the

growing level of crime in the city.

Against this backdrop that I would like us to gain an

understanding of the challenges that the city government must

overcome in order to get the city to where it is now. Due to

several interventions conducted by its leadership, Medellín

was able to transform itself into a more livable city for all

of its citizens.

Medellín’s Leadership

Leadership of a city is one of the most important factors

for the city’s transformation. In Medellín, its governmental

leadership has played crucial roles in bringing positive

changes to the city and slowly turns itself around from the

world’s most violent city to the most innovative city.49

Therefore, it will be beneficial to discuss the leaderships

that have contributed towards the transformation of Medellín.

49 Medellín received the 2013 Most Innovative City Award organized by the Urban Land Institute

36

The enabling environment for the transformation of

Medellín was from the national government leadership. Colombia

had vast problems with crimes and the situation was able to be

improved when Alvaro Uribe became president of the country in

2002. With his pledge of “democratic security”, Uribe expanded

Colombia’s military and national police against paramilitaries

and negotiating a pacification strategy.50 Although Uribe’s

success was criticized, between 2002 and 2003 Medellín’s

homicide rate fell by almost 50%.51 This change on the national

level was able to affect the security in Medellín.

Much of the Medellín’s urbanism is visibly associated with

the use of cable car as a unique mode of transportation with

the intention of connecting poor communities of the city to

the rest of the city and vice versa. Medellín’s Metro

authorities proposed the cable-car system as a way of

extending its services into the poor communities which was

greeted with mixed reaction of the city’s mayoral candidates.52

Medellín’s former mayor Luis Perez (2001-2003) won the

50 Fukuyama & Colby51 Ibid.52 Peter Brand & Julio Davila, “Aerial Cable Car Systems for Public Transport in Low-Income Urban Areas: Lessons from Medellín, Colombia,” 2011, http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/ESRC_DFID/60726_Brand_aerial.pdf, 3

37

election and approved the cable car proposal.53 The

construction of the cable car gave way to the urbanism

transformation of the city.

The transformation of Medellín continued when an

independent mayor, Sergio Fajardo, was elected in 2004.

Fajardo was supported by a coalition of business people,

grassroot community organizers, and the middle class.54 His

vision was “Medellin, the most educated55 which well-aligned

with his background as a Mathematician with a Doctoral degree

from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In order to fulfill

his vision, Fajardo implemented structural changes that

combined educational, cultural, as well as entrepreneurial

programs in the most critical areas of the cities.56 The

critical areas of the city were the poor communities that were

previously neglected and were ridden with crimes with the

intention of paying the city’s debt to these areas.57 His

53 Ibid.54 Fukuyama & Colby55 Martha C. Fajardo, “Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape Design as Catalyst to Urban Violence; Medellín, Colombian Case Study,” UNESCO, 2013, accessed April 17, 2014, http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/images/Abstract_Fajardo_Hangzhou_Congress.pdf56 Lorenzo Castro & Alejandro Echeverri, “Bogota and Medellín: Architecture and Politics,” Architectural Design 81, no. 3 (2011), 10057 Davíla, 2009 in Peter Brand & Julio Davila, “Mobility Innovation at the Urban Margins,” City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action 15, no. 6 (2011), 653

38

innovative set of policies as well as his background as an

activist from one of the wealthiest families in Medellín

appealed to the citizens of all socio-economic levels thus he

was able to gain support in implementing his policies which

set the stage for Medellín’s transformation.

The subsequent mayors of Medellín, Alfonso Salazar (2008-

2011) and Anibal Gaviria (2012-2015) continued the same path

of transformation established during the Sergio Fajardo

administration.58 Based on the success and recognition that the

city has received for its transformation, it is likely that

social urbanism will continue to be incorporated in any plan

and/or policy for the city.

Medellín’s successful transformation has been made

possible due to a combination of several factors. Governmental

leadership with benevolent political will was crucial in the

implementation of the policies which lead to positive changes

for the city. However, it is also important to recognize that

other stakeholders such as the civil society, private business

owners, and its citizens played a key role in contributing

58 Jaime Hernandez-Garcia, “Slum Tourism, City Branding and Social Urbanism:the Case of Medellín, Colombia, Journal of Place Management and Development 6, no. 1 (2013), 47

39

towards the transformation of their city. The sustained

existence of these factors will determine whether the city

will continue in its positive transformative path or

otherwise.

Medellín’s Implementation of Inclusive Urban Planning Policy

The majority of Medellín’s urban planning policy that led

to its positive transformation was spearheaded by Sergio

Fajardo during his administration, although the cable car

transportation system was approved by Luis Perez. The city’s

urban planning policy under Fajardo was called “social

urbanism” which is a governance framework that channeled

investments of urban projects towards disadvantaged areas of

the city.59 Social urbanism in Medellín was designed as a

comprehensive strategy that seeks solutions to mobility,

governance, and education together with the recovery of public

space and green areas.60 The urban projects that have been

conducted in Medellín had elements of both spatial and social

inclusivity. In this part of the chapter, I will discuss how

59 Brand, 2010 cited in Bahl, 2011, 25-2660 Fajardo

40

inclusive urban planning, both spatially and socially, has

been implemented in Medellín.

1. Spatial inclusivity

In terms of spatial inclusivity, Medellín adopted the

strategic spatial planning enforced by its leadership.

Although it is actually a top-down process, the

administration of Sergio Fajardo had good political will in

order to redirect the city’s resource towards the informal

settlements on the outskirts of the city. His idea was to

transform the appearance of the city by constructing the

best possible buildings in the poor neighborhood in order to

muster pride and inclusion of these communities

Fajardo’s policy of social urbanism regarding the plan

for the city was called “Integrated Urban Projects”, an

integrated system of civic infrastructure, social housing,

transportation projects and economic development.61 The

execution of such plan is visible in Medellín through the

newly erected buildings and public space since the Fajardo

administration not only in the wealthier areas of the city

but also in some of the poorest neighborhoods.

61 Bahl, 2641

The strategic spatial planning adopted in Medellín by

the Fajardo administration aimed to incorporate the poor

neighborhoods in the development of the city. The

integration of the informal settlements in the periphery of

the city was through upgrading of the neighborhoods and

building of new aesthetically appealing structure. The

municipal administration of Medellín has made efforts of

integrating the urban poor into the city with innovative

transportation system that enables the poor citizens to

access many opportunities that the city has to offer.

The municipal government’s main goal with the provision

of various infrastructures to the poor neighborhoods was

focused on creating access for the informal settlements to

access the city and for the rest of the city to access these

places.62 They were able to ease the access from the informal

settlements to the city through its transportation system

which includes a cable car system. The stakeholders of

Medellín were able to identify a means of transportation

that would work best given the topographic location of the

settlements on the hillsides in order for the residents to

62 Alvaro Maz42

be able to access the rest of the city which was centered in

the valley.

Spatial inclusivity through its unique transportation

system was achieved in a way that the municipal government

has incorporated the poorer residents living in the

outskirts of the city. The cable car system increased the

mobility of the urban poor by reducing their commuting time

and cost from their neighborhoods to the industrial and

commercial parts of the city along the Medellín River, thus

stimulating employment and social integration.63

Additionally, the reduced commuting time enabled the

citizens to have more family time which is crucial for

families with young children.64

The transformation of Medellín did not stop at the

innovative public transportation system. Sergio Fajardo’s

vision of creating a vibrant city with education and culture

as its main values continued through the provision of public

spaces throughout the city on which the residents can

interact such as libraries and parks. These new facilities

63 Lowenthal & Rojas Mejia64 Deutsche Welle, “Eco-Friendly Transport in Colombia – Global Ideas,” YouTube Video, February 2, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu1Bm4v18C4

43

are aimed to create spaces of encounter that also serve as

urban landmarks and gathering spaces for the community.65

Thus the municipal government have been able to show that

through its urban projects were able to provide public

services for the citizens as well as helping create an image

of a safer city for investment, in fact the murder rate in

the city has been severely reduced. The new infrastructures

were also accompanied with educational programmes that the

citizens could partake such as entrepreneurship,

sustainability and art programs.66 The integration of social

programs certainly help to create a more vibrant communities

especially in the poorer neighborhoods.

2. Social inclusivity

Before Fajardo was elected mayor, Medellín already had a

plan to address a variety of social issues that the city

had. The program started in the 1990s when the municipal

government was given more autonomy to address local crises

through participatory measures.67 The program was PRIMED

(Programa Integral de Mejoramiento de Barrios Subnormales en Medellín). The

65 Castro & Echeverri, 10066 Ibid67 Bahl, 21

44

holistic intervention had six objectives: strengthen

planning, management and inter-institutional collaboration;

promote community participation and state-civil society

partnerships; improve basic infrastructure, public services

and public spaces; upgrade informal housing; secure land

tenure for informal settlements; and mitigate geological

risks on the mountainside.68 Despite these noble objectives,

PRIMED fell short of its goals leaving many residents in

informal settlements not receiving the intervention that

they had been promised.69

Bahl discussed that one of the failures of PRIMED was

the participatory method that the implementers employed were

deemed ineffective. The beneficiaries were not involved in

the initial planning and decision making processes thus

their participation was merely consultative rather than the

ideal collaborative function.70 The collaborative

participation is the ultimate goal of participatory

planning.

68 Primed, 1996 and Betancur, 2007 cited in Bahl 2269 Bahl, 2270 Bahl, 23-24

45

Sergio Fajardo adopted the social urbanism approach

towards urban planning policy in Medellín. His integral

urban projects incorporate social and institutional

objectives which signaled the social inclusion of the policy

such as focusing on community participation, coordinated

action among all municipal actors, and promoting alliances

with the private sector, NGOs, national and international

organization as well as community-based organizations.71 His

approach has been quite successful in incorporating these

objectives while emphasizing on his visions of education and

culture.

Social inclusivity in Medellín’s urban planning was

accomplished in two ways: the focus towards the urban poor

in the informal settlements and the implementation of

participatory planning. The municipal government prioritized

the urban projects in informal settlements that included

infrastructures such as social housing, transportation

projects and economic development72 as opposed to demolition

of these poor neighborhoods. Social programs also

accompanied the highly physical development. The municipal

71 Medellín, n.d. cited in Bahl, 2672 Bahl, 26

46

government also strived to conduct participatory planning as

much as possible. One of the ways that citizen participation

was honored through participatory budgeting which granted

authority for the citizens to decide on how five percent of

the municipal budget was allocated.73 The percentage of the

budget that could be decided by citizens certainly could be

larger however this small percentage is better than the

alternative of having no participatory budgeting process.

The roles of International Development Assistance in Medellín

Medellín’s transformation has largely been led by its

municipal government. Although its transformation has received

worldwide recognition, the city continues to grapple with some

issues that are of concern to international development

practitioners. I would like to dedicate this section of the

chapter to address the roles of International Development

assistance in Medellín, how it has contributed towards

Medellín’s transformation and how it can continue in order to

help address some of the issues that the city still faces.

73 Ibid.47

One of the ways that International development assistance

has played a role in Medellín was in a form of budgetary

assistance. PRIMED, Medellín’s earlier social policy was

partially funded by a loan from KfW, German Development

Bank.74,75,76 However, it is important to acknowledge that a

significant portion of the budget for PRIMED did come from

national sources.77 Medellín has continued to obtain a

significant portion of its budget to finance the

implementation of its programs through taxation and the profit

of its own utility company, Empresas Publicas de Medellín.78

International organizations also helped in addressing

several issues in Medellín that are related to their

objectives as an organization. Although, violence in the city

has been greatly reduced, it has not been completely

eradicated. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is

an example of international organization conducting a project

in Medellín with regards to the urban violence. The ICRC’s

74 Ibid., 2275 https://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/migration/Entwicklungsbank-Startseite/Development-Finance/Evaluation/Results-and-Publications/PDF-Dokumente-A-D/Colombia_Medellin_2003.pdf76 John J. Betancur, “Approaches to the Regularization of Informal Settlements: The Case of PRIMED in Medellín, Colombia,” Global Urban Development 3, no. 1 (2007), 277 Bahl, 2278 Fukuyama & Colby, 2011

48

project is comprised of preventing violence in the school

environment, protecting the local people and assisting

communities.79

In the context of Medellín, although the municipal

government plays a leading role in the development of the

city, there is room for international development agencies to

carry out projects that will assist the local government in

achieving its goals and simultaneously helping the

communities.

Lessons Learned from Medellín’s Urban Planning

There are several lessons that can be drawn from the

Medellín transformation through its implementation of

inclusive urban planning. This list may be beneficial for

other cities that aspire to adopt similar planning policy in

order to create better living space for all of its citizens.

1. Feasibility

79 http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/interview/2013/12-19-colombia-medellin-project.htm

49

The first lesson that I could draw from the Medellín

experience is the feasibility of inclusive urban planning in

order to address a variety of issues that a city may

struggle with. Other than its past of extreme violence and

the vast drug trafficking, Medellín faced similar problems

as other cities in the world. Urban poverty, informal

settlements, education as well as health issues are to name

a few. The fact that the city has managed to transform

itself in a decade is fascinating.

Other cities whether they are in developing countries or

otherwise could learn that it is feasible to implement

inclusive urban planning. However, it is necessary to

acknowledge the existence of other factors that have made it

possible for Medellín such as its political will and

funding.

2. Leadership

It is obvious that the leadership and the political will

that have been at play in Medellín made the implementation

of inclusive urban planning policy in the city possible and

50

successful. Sergio Fajardo was the Mayor that turned things

around for Medellín through his planning policies and

visions of education and culture. Fajardo’s efforts were

carried on by the subsequent mayors of Medellín, Alfonso

Salazar and Anibal Gaviria.

Medellín’s transformation that was able to achieve major

advance during Fajardo’s administration could be accredited

to the willingness of the mayor to adopt and implement

innovative solution in addressing the problems of the city.

Perhaps, it also helps that he had not been a politician

prior to being elected as mayor. Being an academician might

have inspired his vision of education as well. Fajardo’s

background and his willingness to adopt and implement

innovative solutions for Medellín certainly helped brought

the city to its current condition.

3. Source of funding

Undoubtedly, large sum of funding is required in order

to carry out mega scale urban projects. In the case of

Medellín, the inclusive planning policy was heavily focused

towards the informal settlements on the outskirts of the

51

city through provision of new infrastructures as well as

social programs. In some cases urban projects are funded by

private investment that is likely to exclude and/or

disadvantage the poor i.e. demolition of informal settlement

to create space for the new investment. However, that is not

the case for Medellín. The funding for the program was

sourced internally by the profit of its utility company,

high municipal tax-rate which is tolerated by uniquely

civic-minded business elites.80

Funding is often a constraint for cities wanting to

implement large-scale urban projects. Medellín has been

fortunate enough to be able to source a large portion of its

funding internally. Other cities may not have profitable

publicly owned company such as Empresas Publicas de Medellín or

constituents who are willing to pay higher taxes.

Nevertheless, funds need to be secured in ways that will not

hinder the development goals of the city.

4. Implication for international development assistance

In the case of Medellín’s transformation, it is apparent

that the government has taken the driver’s seat in directing

80 Fukuyama & Colby52

how development is conducted through its inclusive urban

planning policy. The government was able to adopt policy

that aims at addressing various problems of the city as well

as implementing programs in support of such policy. The

policy and its execution has been able to achieve success in

improving the city particularly in poor neighborhoods.

On the other hand, the declining trend for support of

international assistance towards urban development as

discussed by Stren81 should be recognized thus it is

imperative that government should be in charge of

development. Not only because of the declining support in

the international development community, but also because

government is the only stakeholder that is constant in a

city meanwhile private interests and international agencies

come and go.

The implication for international assistance programs

for urban development in this model is that development

projects should be aligned with the overall development

goals of the city. This is an important consideration as

development projects tend to follow the fads of the field

81 Stren53

and what the donors view as priority that may or may not be

the focus of a city’s development goals.

5. Context-specific interventions

Next lesson that I can draw from Medellín is how

context-specific the interventions that municipal government

has conducted. In the early 2000s, Medellín had high crime

rates and rapid urbanization that desperately need to be

addressed. The supporting political will created an enabling

environment for projects to be carried out in order to

address these issues.

The city has also been praised for using the cable-car

system as a mode of transportation to and from its informal

settlements as well as its infrastructure projects in these

settlements and the social programs that came with them.

Medellín is considered innovative because perhaps it is one

of the first cities that used the cable-car as a part of the

public transportation system. However, cable-car has been

able to work really well in Medellín because of its

topographic condition of being located in a valley. The

cable-car is able to efficiently transport passengers from

54

the hillside informal settlements to the city and vice versa

in shorter duration.

Sergio Fajardo felt that Medellín had a ‘debt’ towards

informal settlements of the city. The debt was a long period

of neglect thus he implemented rebuilding projects in the

low income communities putting public facilities such as

libraries and parks as well as other infrastructures in

these neighborhoods. Considering that crime was rampant the

provision of these infrastructures was accompanied by

adequate policing in these neighborhoods.

These list of lessons learned are not exhaustive however

in order to adopt them, other stakeholders in similar-sized

cities need to consider contextual factors in their cities and

their resources before diving into large-scale urban

development projects.

55

Chapter 5:

Conclusion and Area(s) of Future Research

Conclusion

It is inevitable that the attention of international

development practitioners need to be re-directed towards urban

settings considering the rapid urbanization that is happening

worldwide especially in developing countries. Cities in

developing countries experience highest urban growth that is

not accompanied with increase of the citizens’ welfare.

Poverty and inequality in cities are manifested in lack of

adequate housings, access to basic services, health issues,

and many other kinds of deprivation. Such reality is an

enormous opportunity for International Development

practitioners to carry out urban-related intervention.

International development organizations do echo the

urgency for focusing towards issues in urban settings.

However, there is a chance that support for urban development

has dwindled. In light of this possibility perhaps it is time

to position government as the main stakeholder as well as

56

giving them role as development practitioners. Government is a

constant presence while international NGOs and assistance come

and go thus they hold an important role in ensuring the

sustainability of any development projects.

There are many ways that government could facilitate

development in urban settings, provided that they have

benevolent political will that will help create an enabling

environment for a successful urban intervention. One of the

ways that this could be done is through planning. Although

top-down planning is often carried out, the ideal urban

planning that would be beneficial for citizens of a particular

city is through the implementation of inclusive urban

planning.

Urban planning is often understood as spatial process and

inclusivity is associated with participation which put the

emphasis upon a social framework. However in this paper I

argued that inclusivity in urban planning is a continuum that

ranges from spatial to social inclusivity. Spatial inclusivity

is essentially designing of an urban space that could be

accessed by all and not creating the said space at the expense

of a group within the population, for instance demolishing

57

slum in order to create space for new investments. Social

inclusivity embodies participatory measures from the citizens

in consultative roles thus the citizens will have more input

towards policies that directly impact their lives. Social

inclusivity factors the various segments of the population who

are often excluded such as women, children, the disabled

people and the urban poor and aim to make city living more

accessible for them.

Medellín is an excellent example of how inclusive urban

planning could be implemented. Municipal government of

Medellín was able to create and implement inclusive urban

planning that has both spatial and social considerations. New

buildings and infrastructures were built in its poorest

neighborhoods and the cable-car system eased commuting to

their places of employment for the residents of these

neighborhoods. Medellín’s success lies with the enabling

environment to make the implementation of their policy

possible.

The main lessons that could be drawn from the Medellín

experience in implementing inclusive urban planning are its

feasibility, leadership, source of funding, the supporting

58

role of international development assistance, and its context-

specific interventions. From the transformation of Medellín we

learn that implementing an inclusive urban planning

successfully is feasible thus there is no reason for other

cities to shy away from this method. The policy was heavily

supported by the leadership of the government and backed by

adequate financial resources therefore the city was able to

afford the mega-scale urban development projects including its

unique cable-car transportation system.

Medellín’s successful transformation by no means

prescribes that inclusive urban planning is a panacea for

addressing issues in urban settings. It is crucial to

understand that what has been successfully implemented in

Medellín may not be as successful in other places because its

success was supported by a number of factors such as funding

resources and political will of the municipal government that

created such an enabling environment. Other cities of similar

size that also struggle with some of the similar issues with

Medellín may learn from Medellín’s experience but should

tailor their policy to their own context as much as possible

and be open towards innovative solutions.

59

Inclusive urban planning for international development

puts governmental leadership at the forefront of the efforts

as they should be. Government with good political will should

be empowered to direct where the development of their city

should progress. With government as leading stakeholder,

international assistance is by no means irrelevant but should

align itself with the vision of the local government.

Area(s) of future research

Through the process of writing this paper, I have thought

about several areas of future research that might help

expanding and contribute to the body of knowledge of urban

development and urban planning in the context of international

development field. Future research could incorporate more of

the technical points of view on urban planning, look into

implementation of similar urban planning policy in other

cities, and research that incorporate more of the citizens’

accounts in Medellín of how the program really impacts their

everyday lives. Additionally, future research could also aim

to learn on how development financing model that is adopted in

60

Medellín could be made possible through its own utility

company and its higher tax rate.

I have to admit that concentrating on urban development

within the field of international development is a new

undertaking for me. My education of international development

has contributed in my understanding of the intricate process

of international development assistance. My background as an

urbanist from a developing country has helped in shaping my

perspective of how urban development could be carried out.

However, as shown in this paper, technical aspect of urban

planning was not incorporated enough in analyzing the

implementation of inclusive urban planning in Medellín.

Further research could be conducted by incorporating the

technical aspect and by using international development

perspective thus international development practitioners could

relate to the contents as much as possible.

The case study of Medellín has shown the feasibility of

inclusive urban planning in order to address a variety of

issues that are generally of concern to international

development practitioners. Future research could analyze the

implementation of similar urban planning policy in other

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cities that are fairly similar to Medellín for the purpose of

comparing the results in both cities, how they are similar or

different. The results of such research will be helpful in

framing future policy, in the said city or in other cities.

The transformation of Medellín received international

recognition for its success. However, in the spirit of social

inclusivity, future research could be conducted by obtaining

citizens’ accounts on how these urban interventions really

affect their lives. The low income citizens as the primary

target in the social urbanism policy could be interviewed in

order to re-confirm regarding the actual impacts of the

implemented projects. Additionally, middle and higher income

citizens should be interviewed regarding the taxation that is

imposed upon them in order to finance the infrastructure

projects in Medellín and how this taxation impact their lives.

In addition to the citizens’ account, future research

should study the source of funding in order to implement the

inclusive urban planning in Medellín. The city has been able

to source most of its funding internally through taxation and

the profit of its own utility company. The research could then

provide insight on how other cities may want to pursue

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sourcing their funds internally so as to reduce dependency on

external agencies. Lessons can be drawn from how the utility

company has managed to be profitable despite Medellín’s past

as the world’s most violent city as well as how the tax rate

was able to help funding its transformation and how the

municipal government handled, if any, resistance towards the

taxation policy.

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