the northeastern urban integration project [pui] medellÍn, colombia - urban development agency...

The Northeastern Urban Integration Project [PUI] in Medellín, Colombia – Danny Andrés Osorio Gaviria

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Image 1: The Northeastern Urban Integration Project (PUI), Park-Balcony for kids (Source: Moreno, 2006)


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Image 2: España Library Park (Source: Marin, 2014)

THE NORTHEASTERN URBAN INTEGRATION PROJECT [PUI]

MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA

Urban Development Agency [EDU]

Danny Andrés Osorio Gaviria

Project Development and Management

Master in Urbanism and Strategic Planning

KU Leuven

2015

Abstract

After colonial times Latin America has been characterized by informal urbanization processes and

spontaneous appropriation of the territory without any regulation or structure (Alcaldía de Medellín,

2006). Nowadays, in the specific case of Colombia, the migration processes continue and the main

cities are still receiving thousands of people motivated for the economic opportunities or forced by

the internal armed conflict. In Colombia, more than 75% of the population is living in cities and from

that percentage, between 20 and 30% of the urban population is living in informal and precarious

settlements. Colombia and Brazil are the countries with the highest rates of inequality and the

lowest rates of urban security in Latin America (Echeverri, 2011).

Medellín is the capital of the department of Antioquia, the second largest city in Colombia and is

located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley, the second largest urban agglomeration in the

country with more than 3.731.447 inhabitants. Almost 50% of the population of the city lives in

informal settlements and occupy geographically dangerous areas (DANE, 2010). After decades of

violence, insecurity, inequality and social segregation, in the last decade the city has experienced

an urban renewal process so called Social Urbanism.


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The bases of the Social Urbanism processes were the Urban Integration Projects (PUI), as a

strategy of physical intervention in informal areas of the city. This paper is focused on the project

development and management of the Northeastern Urban Integration Project (PUI), located in an

area characterized for high levels of marginalization, segregation, poverty, violence and one of the

lowest quality of life rates in the city.

Keywords: Informal settlements, public space, social housing, public facilities, environment, public

transport, urban integration project, social urbanism, project management, urban development.

Introduction and historical context

At the end of 1950 the accelerated urban growth started in Medellín but it was not until 1960 when it

was possible to see it, the informal occupation in the peripheries of the city in the east side and

west side of the valley grew close to traditional neighborhoods due to the migration process

triggered by the violence in rural areas.

The informal settlements in the hillside of the valley started in areas with difficult access due to the

geography, which was the main reason for the consolidation of a complex organic urban fabric

following the intricate topography of the hillsides. At the end of 1970 the density of these

settlements was increased uncontrollably occupying every empty space in the hillsides, even the

water streams, which was a huge risk for a lot of families for many years.

Colombia, South America Antioquia, Colombia Medellín, Antioquia

Image 3: Medellín in 1970 (Source: Carvajal, 1970)


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As part of the informal settlement

phenomenon in the city, the density of the

settlements and the size of the dwellings

increased in surface and size in the

Northeastern area. The empty space

decreases increasingly and people started

to build along the basins of the streams La

Herrera and Juan Bobo.

In the 80's the Northeastern area was

entirely consolidated, nevertheless the

dwellings continued increasing and the

green areas inside the “urban blocks”

disappeared. At that time the different

neighborhoods seemed one entire urban

agglomeration without defined borders but it

was the moment when the former

pedestrian paths started to become defined

streets.

At the beginning of the 21th century, almost

every street in the zone was asphalted, the

neighborhood counted with basic collective

facilities, basic home utilities and street

lighting. In that moment the local

government started the “legalization

process” in the zone, nevertheless it was

still a marginalized area, with low levels of

quality of life, the basins of the streams

were still occupied and there was not a

good public transport system between

neighborhoods and to the city center. The

intervention of the local government was

weak and the presence of security forces

Image 4: Informal neighborhoods in Medellín (Source: Samper, 2014)

Image 5: Death rate in Colombia vs. Medellín (Source: Samper, 2011)

Image 6: Socio spatial distribution in Medellín (Source: Samper, 2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj9OEmUr0F8


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(police) was scarce, for these reasons the security situation in the area turned really severe at the

last decades of the 20th century, where the social crisis was in the worst moment and the presence

of gangs, militias, urban guerilla groups and paramilitary groups (self-defense groups) were in a

continuous violent conflict for many years.

The most severe problems in the Northeastern zone can be summarized in four categories. In first

place the high levels of poverty caused for the absence of economic activities, the informality, the

unemployment, the low educational level, the social conflict, the forced displacement, the social

inequality and the low quality of social organizations. In second place the inappropriate

governmental interventions causing the distrust of the community, disinterest for the public works,

vandalism and apathy from the community to work with the state in new proposals in the territory. In

third place the lack of public space and discontinuity in the mobility; the lack of public space is

associated to the low community integration, the environmental deterioration, the pedestrian

insecurity and an inefficient public transport system in addition to the topographical difficulties. In

fourth place the housing deficit reflected in the overcrowding of the area, dwellings in high risk

areas and the illegal connection to the home utilities network of the city. Moreover the violence and

the armed conflict affecting the area for decades.

Image 7: Historical evolution Northeastern Zone (Source:

Alcaldía de Medellín, 2012)


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Social Urbanism

“Our traditional education is not designed to understand complex thought: each discipline

jealously strives to protect its boundaries when, paradoxically, the problems we face demand a

structural change in the way we tackle them.” Alejandro Echeverri Restrepo.

In 2004 Sergio Fajardo, the Mayor of Medellín, decided to focus the public policies to solve the

deep social issues and violence in the most vulnerable areas of the city affected by the violence. It

was implemented structural interventions complemented with educational and cultural initiatives in

these neighborhoods where the strategy was defined based on the idea “Medellín, the most

educated”. The Social Urbanism used the Urban Integration Projects (PUI) as a strategic tool of

social change for the transformation of the “comunas”.

The Urban Development Agency (EDU) was created in 1993 as a decentralized institution and it is

the responsible for the design, development and implementation of the Urban Integration Projects

(PUI) defined as a priority in the Development Master Plan for the city.

Image 8: Medellín Metro Time Line (Source: Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano (EDU), 2012)


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Urban Integration Project [PUI]

The Urban Integration Project (PUI) is an instrument of urban intervention based on physical, social

and cultural dimensions of a defined territory where different kind of development strategies are

integrated simultaneously in the intervention area. The PUI is part of the Social Urbanism model

following the principles of the integral human development (EDU, 2014), achieving physical, social

and institutional impact, involving the community, generating employment and strengthening the

existing economic activities in the area.

The PUI are developed in informal areas of the city as structural interventions implementing public

policies in a specific territory through interventions articulated by the inter-institutional development

and coordinated from the different secretaries and municipal entities in the execution of social

programs and urban projects. The PUIs started in 2004 and were continued until 2011, developed

by the Urban Development Agency (EDU) with an intervention methodology for each area

according to the scale, problems and population involved.

The Urban Integration Project (PUI) was developed as an integral methodology and a physical

intervention in the areas of the city characterized by high rates of marginality, segregation, poverty

and violence (Echeverri, 2011). According to this criterion the Northeastern Comuna was selected

as the ideal scenario for the implementation of the first pilot project. After the implementation of a

new transport system in the area, the Metro Cable, a cable-car system integrated with the Metro

public transport system, the zone was connected to the city and it was the base for the definition of

a new territory in the hillside of the valley.

Image 9: PUI Medellín (Source: Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano (EDU), 2014)


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The Northeastern Urban Integration Project [PUI]

The Northeastern Comuna was selected for

the development of the first Urban Integration

Project in Medellín due to the lowest rates of

quality of life, the highest homicide rates in

2004 and the overpopulation, informality and

density of the settlement (Echeverri, 2011).

In addition the intervention was

complemented by the development of the

Metro Cable transport system, under

construction at the beginning of the PUI. The

new transport system was an incredible

opportunity to articulate urban projects and

strategic programs to the urban mobility

system of the city.

The impact of the Metro Cable stations

generated public space around them

articulating pedestrian flows and public and

private transport in the surrounding areas. In

the PUI the Metro Cable is the structural axe

Image 11: Northeastern PUI (Source: EDU, 2014)

Image 10: Medellín Metro System (Source: EDU, 2014)


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of the project and the stations are strategic nodes of intervention in relation with a natural system

composed by important streams in the area, defining 158 hectares of intervention and

approximately 230.000 inhabitants benefited in 11 different neighborhoods (EDU, 2014).

The intervention was defined in six specific

components: the community participation,

the institutional management, inter-sectorial

responsibility, public space improvement,

public facilities and housing consolidation.

These six components were summarized in

three: the physical component, the social

component and the inter-institutional

component with the aim of identify the needs,

the opportunities and define a clear approach

of the project.

In first place the physical component was

based on an intervention strengthened by the

community participation. The proposal was

focused in physical interventions in the public

space, collective facilities, housing, mobility

and environment.

In second place the social component supported the methodological strategy improving the

community organization and the recovery of the active social participation of the community in

different stages of the process.

In third place the inter-institutional component coordinated and articulated the actors in the different

institutions inside the municipality: the municipality secretaries and decentralized entities improving

the quality of life of the population in the intervention area and promoting partnerships with the

private sector, NGOs, national and international organizations and the community organizations.

The PUI is the result of an articulated plan implemented by the different municipal secretaries and

decentralized entities of the municipality in collaboration with the community when “having the

intervention frame in a defined territory selected according to marginality and poverty associated to

Image 12: PUI components (Source: EDU, 2014)


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violence and segregation criteria; the PUI was developed in a planned and simultaneous way with

all the developing instruments of the Municipality in a concrete territory” (EDU, 2007).

The community accompaniment and participation legitimize the intervention generating sense of

belonging in the inhabitants of the intervened areas as the first step for the sustainability of the

project. The social integration and inclusion, the territorial targeting of the interventions and an

adequate management of the public resources are the basis of the project for its application.

Methodological Process in the Northeastern Urban Integration Project [PUI]

The methodology used in the Northeastern PUI was the methodological base for all the PUIs

developed in the city; nevertheless each project had different conditions related to the territorial

scale as well as to the social and environmental issues.

The methodology in the Northeastern PUI was improved in the development of the project. First the

problems in the area were recognized through the diagnosis and after that were formulated and

designed the strategies to solve these problems. The innovation of the project was the institutional

and inter-sectorial coordination and the sustainability stage was developed simultaneously and after

the project, involving the community from the beginning. The methodology was constituted first by

the planning and formulation stage and in second place the management and sustainability stages

developed throughout the project.

Image 13: PUI stages (Source: EDU, 2014)


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The planning stage was composed by a physical-spatial diagnosis, social diagnosis and

identification of the problems, positive and negative situations, causes, opportunities and

potentialities to work. The formulation started with the definition of the specific objectives which

determined the actions to take in each component. First the environmental component conceives

the streams as the natural structure of the area where predominates residual spaces due to the

occupation process and the huge amount of paths configuring the pedestrian mobility system along

the streams. In second place the physical component was focused in the morphological analysis of

the urban blocks and urban tissue in the area, identifying the spatial characteristics of the

neighborhoods for the formulation of the strategies for the physical interventions related to the

existing spatial conditions. In third place the housing component evidenced how the informal

occupation was invading natural ecosystems causing the impoverishment of the condition of the

dwellings associated to the precariousness, insalubrity and inhabitability.

The social diagnosis started identifying the characteristic of the population in the three

neighborhoods of the intervention area: educational level, per capita income, health conditions and

homicide rates. It was realized a characterization of the potential beneficiaries in the comunas 1

and 2.

The political insertion and the institutional diagnosis were an analysis of the programs and policies

of the municipality complemented with the intervention of international actors in the planning and

execution stages of the PUI. The project is framed in the Municipal Development Plan 2004 – 2007,

the Land Use Plan for Medellín (POT) and the administrative agreements. In the past the

secretaries and the decentralized entities were developing projects no articulated. In this stage

were involved public institutions at national level like the Learning National Service (SENA) and the

Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), in addition were involved public institutions with a

municipal character like: the Public Projects Secretary, Education Secretary, Social Development

Secretary, Solidarity Secretary, Government Secretary, Culture Secretary, Municipal System for the

Disasters Attention (SIMPAD), Environment Secretary, Administrative Planning Department (DAP),

Medellín Social Housing Fund (FOVIMED), Social Housing Institute and Medellín Habitat. The

decentralized public institutions involved were Public Companies (EEVV), the Sports and

Recreation Institute (INDER), Metrosalud, the Medellín Public Companies and the Medellín Metro

Company.

After the identification of the problems at physical, social and institutional level the formulation stage


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started, the intervention strategy was designed as a collective construction involving the community.

The master plan was formulated articulating the identified potentialities in the previous stages; the

Northeastern PUI Master Plan defined the intervention logic of the project in relation with the city

and trying to solve the existing problems based on the methodology, strategies and components

mentioned before, generating urban and architectural guidelines for the design and execution of the

project. The master plan defined three main intervention areas corresponding to the Metro Cable

stations understanding this public transport system as the structural axe of the project; according to

this the areas of intervention are: Andalucía, Popular and Santo Domingo.

The first intervention area is Andalucía, defined as a

consolidated area with an artificial structure: the public

space. The new centralities are located along the main

street parallel to the Metro Cable system and close to

the station Andalucía. The stream Juan Bobo is the

natural structure of this area complemented with the

stream La Herrera. The public space system is

characterized by three types of public space: street

space, build public space and residual space. Small

scale public space projects were developed as part of

the main strategy, for example the Imagination Park, a

space where people used to throw garbage, the

Image 14: PUI stages (Source: EDU, 2004)

Image 15: Andalucía centralities (Source: EDU, 2004)


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Andalucía Street envisioned as a commercial boulevard and the main street in the neighborhood,

the Bridge-Balcony Andalucía, improving the inter-neighborhood connectivity and the requalification

of the two main streams of the area as public space related to recreational activities.

The second intervention area is Popular, a neighborhood with really difficult topographical

conditions which limit the use of the car, for this reason the mobility system in the area is mainly

pedestrian. In this case the centralities were defined at neighborhood scale, the Metro Cable station

is the node of the area articulated with educational institutions and recreational facilities. The

natural elements of the area are integrated by the streams La Herrera and Santa Ana; envision

them as public space articulated with the pedestrian mobility network and integrated with the small

Image 16: Imagination Park and Andalucía Boulevard (Source: EDU, 2004)

Image 17: Bridge-Balcony Andalucía and Juan Bobo stream (Source: EDU, 2004)


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residual spaces as parks, balconies and small squares. The Linear Park Stream La Herrea

recovered the natural environment of the stream as a public space for the community.

The third intervention area is Santo Domingo; the project here is composed by the improvement of

the mobility system, connections and neighborhood scale streets complemented by parks and

squares. The Santo Domingo Centrality is integrated by the Metro Cable station and educational

institutions where the economic activity in the area is concentrated in form of informal commerce

Image 18: Popular centralities and public space balconies (Source: EDU, 2004)

Image 19: Linear Park La Herrera Stream (Source: EDU, 2004)


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and small industries. The pedestrian mobility system was improved and complemented with passive

use public space due to the topographical complexity of the area which makes difficult the

implementation of built public space. As an alternative to this situation, these spaces were

envisioned as ecological paths and small balconies. The Metro Cable station is the node where is

originated the Urban Boulevard Street 106, connected to the España Library Park, promoting the

economy of the area with the implementation of the Center for Local Business Development and

the establishment of the Sports and Recreational Unit Granizal, consolidating one of the most

interesting public spaces in the city.

Image 20: Urban Boulevard Street 106 and Santo Domingo centralities (Source: EDU, 2004)

Image 21: Center for Local Business Development, España Library Park and Sports and Recreational Unit Granizal (Source: EDU, 2004)


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Management Stage

The EDU was in charge of the establishment of the management model for the first PUI, developing

intervention strategies for the existing problems in the city and implementing an efficient model for

the consolidation of the project based on the developing policies, the coordination of the different

actors involved and the management of the economic resources.

Inside the municipal government the Private Secretary was in charge of the strategic approach

related to the political project of the local government, the control of the scale, the monitoring

activities, the inter-institutional coordination, the availability of the resources and the adequate

communication and social management, facilitated the development of the project and the

articulation of the different secretaries and decentralized entities.

The EDU, as a key actor in the development of

the project, having the capacity to develop

inter-administrative agreements with other

public entities and associations with private

entities. The agency is a flexible platform for the

articulation of the municipal interventions in the

city; this management model was the key for

the success of the intervention and the

implementation of similar strategies in other

cities. However, outside the EDU, the Municipal

Private Secretary was another key actor in the

execution of the project. This entity was in

charge of the coordination and articulation with

all the municipal secretaries involved in the

project and also with the private sector.

The management process was based on principles of active participation of the actors involved in

the development of the project, establishing an institutional support system of the municipal policies

for the integral actions of the different institutions and sectors. The management process was tightly

associated to the different stages of the project.

Image 22: Communal Council (Source: EDU, 2004)


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In the pre-investment stage the proposals was explored in economic terms. After that, in the

application stage the resources were approved for the start of the project through preliminary

analysis of the impact, the elaboration of the founding structure, the definition of the objectives,

activities and costs, the time of execution, the coordination of the construction process and the

reference terms for the approval of the feasibility of the project and the program for its execution. In

the extension stage was designed and developed an feasible initiative for the proposed objectives,

the consolidation of the design, the economic resources and the physical execution, which

establishes a developed initiative for the benefit of the community and the corroboration and

evaluation of the results, quality and time. In the evaluation stage the project is evaluated based on

the frame of the development plan through the monitoring and operation activities for the continuity

in the intervention area.

The operative system was integrated by: an Institutional Adviser Group, the Manager of the Project,

the Execution Director, the Support Group, the Operative Group and the Municipal Adviser Group.

The social strategy developed for the project was based on the community participation,

communication and pedagogy. The Communal Councils, the Participative Budget and the

legalization efforts were the support of the social intervention, the strengthening of the existing

community organizations and the constitution of the Participatory Committees for the analysis,

validation and socialization of the information of the development of the project.

Financial Aspects

The financing of the PUI was achieved for the development of three strategies: the adequate

management of the municipal resources, the targeting of the sectorial investment and the resources

from the cooperation of different entities involved in the project. In 2009 the investment in all the

PUIs was approximately US $14.000.000 and in the specific case of the Northeastern Area PUI was

approximately US $6.000.000. The public investment funds were complemented with alliances with

the private sector, NGOs, national and international organizations and with the community

organizations. It is important to mention the economic collaboration of the AFD (Agence Francaise

de Dévelopment – French Development Agency).


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Sustainability and Appropriation Stage

This stage is composed by sustainability and appropriation processes trying to integrate the citizens

to the physical transformation of their urban environment and the development of the potentiality of

the area, here the most important element is the communication and the articulation with the social,

physical and institutional components. The sustainability will be achieved for the continuity involved

in the process, the political control and the responsibility of the different secretaries in the

maintenance of the consolidated project.

The citizen covenant process in the intervention is supported by a cultural intervention with

pedagogical purposes in the re-significance of the public spaces, before associated to problems

and tragedies. The Animation Process is an intervention methodology in the social practice offering

to the people the opportunity for become in an active actor of their own development and their

community.

Conclusions

One of the most important achievements of the Northeastern PUI is the possible replication of the

model in other areas of the city, the methodology and the innovative character of the project shows

the possibilities and opportunities of the intervention as an urban transformation instrument.

The implementation and project management mechanisms was a successful structure conformed

by multidisciplinary teams dedicated to the efficient execution of the project.

The political will of the local government was fundamental in the formulation, execution, support and

continuity of the project and the achievement of a significant impact in the most vulnerable

population of the city.

The community participation processes acquired real importance in this project, increasing the level

of compromise and the empowerment of the community as the first step for a most equitable

society. However I have to say that it is just the first step in a process where the possibilities of

decision making could be more interesting and beneficial for the communities involved.

As a process there is a long way to travel, the comunas are still full of needs; the inequality, the lack


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of opportunities, the insecurity and violence are still present in the informal areas of the city. The

PUIs are an important effort in the integration of the communities living in informal settlements with

the “formal” city, one of the main challenges for Medellín and Colombia.

The PUI is an intervention based on physical, social and institutional initiatives transformed the

existing areas and the surroundings. However the urban project is not a final answer, it is a useful

instrument of cultural and social transformation regenerating the sense of citizenship for people who

have never felt active part of the city or integrated in the society. Now the challenge is a complete

transformation of our society from political, economic, social and cultural perspectives creating deep

changes leading us to a better city, a better country and a better society.

Image 23: The Northeastern Urban Integration Project (PUI), Park-Balcony for kids (Source: Moreno, 2006)


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