City profile: The Bogotá Metropolitan Area that never was

Bogotá's urban and regional planning has focused on pressing demographic, economic, and urban development needs that can no longer be administered without a comprehensive understanding of its surrounding region. Population growth in municipalities in the vicinity of Bogotá is twice that of the city, which in some cases has led to a functional integration and conurbation as part of the same territory, despite having different governments and uncoordinated urban development plans. This paper revisits the evolution of the governance and regulatory framework of Bogotá and its surrounding region, as contrasted with the spatial and socioeconomic aspects at the larger metropolitan scale, and analyses its effects on the current configuration of the city-region that we identify as the Bogotá Metropolitan Area. The paper draws conclusions from primary and secondary information, providing insights into the recent and future development of the city and its metropolitan area that is yet to be officially constituted

Movilidad urbana y pobreza: Aprendizajes de Medellín y Soacha, Colombia

Este libro es un análisis de la experiencia de Medellín, la segunda ciudad de Colombia, en intentar reducir la pobreza e integrar en el tejido urbano barrios marginalizados y estigmatizados durante muchos años por la pobreza y la violencia. En particular, examina el impacto de dos cables aéreos que conectan densos barrios en colinas empinadas con el resto de la ciudad, y un programa de mejoramiento urbano asociado a estos. También contrasta la experiencia exitosa de Medellín con la de Soacha, un municipio adyacente a Bogotá, la capital colombiana, donde se ha propuesto un cable aéreo como medio de conexión de dos barrios en colina con una vía arteria. El contraste entre un municipio bien gestionado y abundante en recursos como Medellín con un municipio denso, homogéneamente pobre e institucionalmente débil como Soacha ofrece aprendizajes muy valiosos para otras ciudades en América Latina y otras regiones del mundo. La mayor parte de los capítulos se apoyan en un proyecto de investigación de dos años coordinado por la Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL), en asocio con la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (sede Medellín) y la Universidad de los Andes de Bogotá. Además de estudios de caso detallados de Medellín y Soacha, el libro agrupa también casos en América Latina en donde se han construido o se han propuesto cables aéreos en barrios de bajos ingresos, como Caracas y Rio de Janeiro

Urban Mobility and Poverty: Lessons from Medellin and Soacha, Colombia

This book examines the experience of Medellín, Colombia's second largest city, 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 Medellín’s successful experience with that of Soacha, a municipality adjacent to Bogotá, Colombia’s 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 Medellín 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 (Medellín campus) and Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. In addition to the detailed case studies of Medellín 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