Contemporary tendencies in Colombian urban planning: the case of the ‘Planes Parciales’ in Medellín

Within the public policies, the actors are vital to define and implement the goals and key results, yet the actors are who make the final decisions accordingly This document presents a complete analysis from the involved actors on the partial plan urban renovation – Naranjal and Arrabal at Medellín which focus on the period between 2012 and 2018 as a case study. By using various methods to perform the actor's analysis, such as inspect the urban effects due to the partial urban renovation plan – Naranjal and Arrabal. Moreover, this fact was a pioneer in the adaptation and formulation after the 388 act enactment in 1997 – Colombian Territorial Planning Law. The second approach in the study will define the actors and their goals taking into account the Law’s partial adoption in the past 20 years. Finally, this study will review the Law and legal doctrine speech which was approved by the actors, and it turned into a roadmap for territorial establishments. Also, these guidelines are major institutional agreements between the involved actors in order to use them as an urban renovation public policy in Colombia.En las teorías de las políticas públicas los actores son decisivos para la formulación e implementación de los objetivos de estas, son los actores los que en definitiva toman las decisiones. El presente documento realiza un análisis de actores con un estudio de caso: del plan parcial de renovación urbana Naranjal y Arrabal en la ciudad de Medellín en el periodo de estudio de 2012 y 2018, como caso de estudio. Se utilizan diferentes métodos para ejecutar el análisis de actores, como primera medida se revisan los efectos urbanos del plan parcial de renovación urbana Naranjal y Arrabal, uno de los primeros formulados y adaptados después de la promulgación de la ley 388 de 1997 –ley de planeación territorial en Colombia. En la segunda parte, se hace una definición de los actores, de sus objetivos en los diferentes momentos de los 20 años de adopción del plan parcial. Finalmente, se hace un análisis del discurso de las normas y la doctrina jurídica que fue formulada y aprobada por los actores y que se convierte en la hoja de ruta de las entidades territoriales, dicha normatividad son los grandes arreglos institucionales que hacen los actores para ejecutar los instrumentos y la política pública de renovación urbana en Colombia.Maestrí

Toward negotiated mitigation of landslide risks in informal settlements:Reflections from a pilot experience in Medellín, Colombia

Urbanization continues to drive informal settlement growth on land exposed to hazards such as landslides, increasing risk among low-income populations. Though technical and social ways of managing landslide risk are known, in developing countries these measures are often difficult to implement because of complex social, economic, political, and institutional reasons. We present the findings from a pilot research project in Medellín, Colombia, which aimed to explore the scope for, and acceptability of, landslide risk-reducing strategies for informal settlements from the community and state perspectives; understand the barriers to landslide risk-reducing strategies; and identify politically and practically viable approaches to such strategies within a wider and more complex context of social and physical risk in the area. Focusing on the latter objective, we compare two forms of community-local government spaces for negotiation that were used during the project (a Cabildo Abierto and a joint local government-community Working Group), applying Fung's "democratic cube" to their analysis. This helps understand their different nature, but also raises questions about the ability of Fung's model to address governance arrangements related to so-called informal settlements in the Global South, and the need to revisit this model drawing on context-sensitive approaches and insights on informal governance arrangements from the growing literature on service coproduction. The key conclusions highlight the importance of overcoming the state-community stand-off over land occupation rights in Medellín, which is also found in self-built neighborhoods worldwide, by reorienting the problem away from conventional long-term land use planning issues toward issues of safety in the short and medium term, together with an incremental approach, in opening up opportunities to develop wider negotiated mitigation of landslide risk at a more strategic level involving both community and local government

'You really do become invisible': Examining older adults' right to the city in the United Kingdom

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X21001793A global ageing population presents opportunities and challenges to designing urban environments that support ageing in place. The World Health Organization's Global Age-Friendly Cities movement has identified the need to develop communities that optimise health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. Ensuring that age-friendly urban environments create the conditions for active ageing requires cities and communities to support older adults' rights to access and move around the city ('appropriation') and for them to be actively involved in the transformation ('making and remaking') of the city. These opportunities raise important questions: What are older adults' everyday experiences in exercising their rights to the city? What are the challenges and opportunities in supporting a rights to the city approach? How can the delivery of age-friendly cities support rights to the city for older adults? This paper aims to respond to these questions by examining the lived experiences of older adults across three cities and nine neighbourhoods in the United Kingdom. Drawing on 104 semi-structured interviews with older adults between the ages of 51 and 94, the discussion centres on the themes of: right to use urban space; respect and visibility; and the right to participate in planning and decision-making. These themes are illustrated as areas in which older adults' rights to access and shape urban environments need to be addressed, along with recommendations for age-friendly cities that support a rights-based approach.This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (grant number ES/N013220/1).Published versio

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research