2018 Reports

Growth Control, Climate Risk Management, and Urban Equity: The Social Pitfalls of the Green Belt in Medellín

Anguelovski, Isabelle

From 1955 to 2013, Medellín’s population nearly tripled due to industrialization and internal displacement, prompting the city to rebrand itself and implement innovative urban interventions. The Metropolitan Green Belt, announced in 2012, aims to reduce landslide risks, protect water basins and forests, and contain unregulated hillside growth through three zones of ecological preservation, transition, and consolidation. While the project provides climate adaptation benefits and new public infrastructure, relocation of low-income residents has sparked controversies over social equity, access to green space, and community participation. Overall, Medellín’s Green Belt demonstrates both the potential of green infrastructure for resilience and the social challenges that can accompany large-scale urban interventions.