Urban Mobility and Poverty: Lessons from Medelli虂n and Soacha.
Abstract
This book examines the experience of Medell铆n in seeking to reduce poverty and integrate large marginalised areas, marked by years of severe poverty and violence, into the urban fabric. It pays particular attention to the impact of two aerial cable-cars connecting high density hilly neighbourhoods with the rest of the city, and an associated urban upgrading programme. It also contrasts Medell铆n鈥檚 successful experience with that of Soacha, a municipality adjacent to Bogot谩, Colombia鈥檚 capital city, where an aerial cable-car has been proposed as a means of linking two low-income hilly neighbourhoods with a main arterial road. The contrast between a well-resourced, well-managed municipality like Medell铆n with a dense and homogenously poor and institutionally weak municipality like Soacha offers valuable lessons to other cities in Latin America and elsewhere. Contributions draw from a two-year research project coordinated by the Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL), in conjunction with Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medell铆n campus) and Universidad de los Andes in Bogot谩. In addition to the detailed case studies of Medell铆n and Soacha, the book also brings together cases in Latin America where aerial cable-cars have either been built or proposed in low-income neighbourhoods, including Caracas and Rio de Janeiro. The book is also available in Spanish. The English version has an additional chapter.
Citation
Davila, J. Urban Mobility and Poverty: Lessons from Medellín and Soacha. University College London & Universidad Nacional de Colombia, (2013) 214 pp. ISBN 978-0-9574823-2-6