That was former Medellin, Columbia mayor Sergio Fajardo's plan to rebuild his city, an idea that turned out to be transformational.
Francis Fukuyama and Seth Colby report on Medellin's remarkable turnaround, and the role played by urban planning and architecture:
"Fajardo and his colleagues believed in social urbanism: the idea that modernist buildings and transportation systems [...] would help bridge the enormous gulf of distrust separating the poor from mainstream society. In barrios like Santo Domingo and Comuna 13, the city created digitized maps of every street and building, noting where drug gangs operated and money flowed, and devised architectural features to disrupt them."
As Fukuyama and Colby put it, "getting social services right matters a lot more than ideology."
Read the full story: Half a Miracle -- Medellín's rebirth is nothing short of astonishing. But have the drug lords really been vanquished?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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