1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Medellin
Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Native title of the NBS intervention
Cinturon Verde Metropolitano - Jardín Circunvalar De Medellín
Short description of the intervention
Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia. The city used to be one of the most dangerous in the world, as Pablo Escobar founded here the Medellin cartel. After the death of Escobar, the city's homicide rate has decreased by 95% and extreme poverty by 66%, thanks in part to a string of innovative mayors who laid out plans to integrate the poorest and most violent hillside neighbourhoods into the city centre in the valley below. The same innovative mayors realised that Columbia and its cities are very vulnerable to climate change being located in a tropical zone and is influenced by El Niño and the La Niña. In Medellin, the municipality has built upon a tradition of planning to become an urban lab for the construction of public life with the aim of inclusive, peaceful and sustainable development. As such starting in 2008 Medellin began implementing a green strategy whose goal was the creation of a green belt around the city as well as waste control. The intervention discussed in this case is one initiated in 2014 when the municipality carried out planting and reforestation projects for the protection of the eastern slopes of the city. (1,2,3)
Address

Aburra Valley
Medellin, , 050001
Colombia

Location
The NBS is a city-wide initiative, the GIS point marks the centre of the city
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Residential
Website of the intervention
https://cinturonverde.wordpress.com
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2008
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2014
End date of the intervention
ongoing
Present stage of the intervention
Ongoing
Goals of the intervention
Colombia is vulnerable to climate change, it is located in a tropical zone and is influenced by El Niño and La Niña. The city of Medellín is also particularly sensitive to climate change due to climate variability. Since the city is influenced by the Aburrá River and surrounding streams and mountains, it faces risks like landslides and flooding. The goals of this intervention are:
1. To tackle sprawl and lessen natural disasters (the areas of the green belt will be declared nature reserves)
2. To increase the city’s energy efficiency by implementing solar panels in the park
3. To sequester carbon emissions (climate change mitigation through a forest carbon sequestration project, Más Bosques para Medellín, that operates within the voluntary carbon market)
4. To provide citizens with new recreation, education, sport and community meeting facilities
5. To deliver an environmental education program that promotes green practices that contributes to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
Quantitative targets
Implementing the intervention on an area of 75 km on the slopes of the Aburra Valley surrounding the city
Carrying out the intervention through the forest enrichment system, with a density of 500 trees/ha, and with the implementation of especially native tree species.
Including approx. 3.7 inhabitants as indirect beneficiaries and 180,000 families as direct beneficiaries
Planting over 75,000 endemic trees to restore the habitat for native birds and animals
Employing 80% of the people living in the settlements where the green belt will be implemented (2,3, 4)
Monitoring indicators defined
Size of the area considered for the intervention
Number of people benefiting from the intervention
Tree density values
Number of trees planned for planting
Percentages of people involved (2,3,4)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Climate change mitigation
Environmental quality
Waste management
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Water management (SDG 6)
Flood protection
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social justice and equity
Environmental education
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce exposure to climate risks directly
Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce carbon footprint or emissions
Sequester and store carbon
Reduce energy demand, with the use of renewables or energy efficiency improvements
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
Raise public awareness of behaviours, lifestyle and cultural changes with mitigation potential
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
Preserve and strengthen habitat connectivity
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect native species
Means for conservation governance
Biodiversity offsets
Implementation activities
The intervention is ongoing however the sources identify 3 stages: the design, planning, and the completion of a pilot phase of the project (2012, 2016, 2017). The greenbelt was officially presented as a tool to address several land use and ecological challenges, namely to restrain unregulated growth and sprawl in the hillsides around the city; protect water basins and forests key to the region’s biodiversity; control climate change effects, and reduce risks of landslides during extreme weather events. Through the planning and construction of the Jardín Circunvalar, one of the most delicate interventions that the municipality is facing is the relocation of thousands of residents living on unstable terrain or on the site of greenbelt infrastructure. Relocation efforts are accompanied by programs to educate residents about the risks facing their homes and lives, and to suggest preventative measures that will increase safety. (7)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Green corridors and green belts
Vegetation Type
Trees
Please specify how many trees were planted
500 trees per hectares - 75,000 trees (2)
Amenities offered by the NBS
Benches and drinking water stations
Viewing and outlook points
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Carbon storage/sequestration
Flood regulation
Mediation of smell / noise / visual impacts
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Marginalized groups
Young people and children
Marginalized groups
Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
This intervention was led by the Municipality of Medellin, and it is part of a bigger strategy of the city to address crime and climate change. The municipality was the initiator of the intervention, helped in the first years by the Nation University of Columbia. Later on, in the implementation stage, the municipality involved the citizens directly affected by an increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall events. Up to 50% of the residents living in “high risk” zones in self-built communities in Medellín are poor rural-to-urban migrants, internally displaced people within Colombia from the decades of the armed conflict plaguing rural areas with guerrillas, paramilitaries, and drug traffickers. (6,7)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Researchers/university
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Researchers/university
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
One of the sources mentions that this type of intervention was targeted by the National Plan of Development (2006-2010) - Law 1151 of 2007 (4)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
The intervention was included in the new long-term Land Us Plan of Medellín (1999–2027)which is seen as the result of citizen discussion and agreement and was approved by eighty percent of the City Council. The intervention is also connected to the Municipal Development Plan 2012 - 2015 "Medellín un Hogar para la Vida" which names specifically the green belt as on of its objectives. Prior to this, one of the sources mentions that the project also was impacted by a 2008 municipal strategy called "Cambio Verde", which sought to motivate the community in the separation of waste to achieve an increasingly effective recovery of the recyclable material that is produced, favoring the protection of the environment and the quality of life of the recuperator.(2, 4)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning law
Environmental regulation
Building regulation
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
The municipality of Medellin was preoccupied with the effects of climate change on its surrounding neighbourhoods and made it one of its goals to address them as part of 31 flagship projects by Medellín’s mayor Aníbal Gaviria (2012-2015). The intervention is connected to the Municipal Development Plan 2012 - 2015 "Medellín un Hogar para la Vida" which names specifically the green belt as on of its objectives as well as being included in the The Development Plan of 2016-2019 of the city of Medellin. (2,4)
The intervention of these areas is also included in the reforestation agreement with Corantioquia, for the management and conservation of forests and local and regional biodiversity in strategic ecosystems and areas of environmental importance in the Aburrá Valley (1,2)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Biodiversity strategy or plan
General municipal plan
Urban redevelopment plan
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The sources mention that between 2012-2013 the National University of Colombia, local office of Medellín, conducted the study "Proposal for the Development of the Metropolitan Green Belt of Aburrá Valley". The study aimed to develop a project of ecological planning in the metropolitan region around Medellín in Colombia. The area included 10 municipalities comprising the metropolitan conurbation of Medellín. The project designed an intervention strategy to promote meaningful protection for the provision of ecosystem services urban areas and also designed an intervention strategy to promote protection of meaningful areas for the urban provision of ecosystem services. The set of strategies has been termed Metropolitan Green Belt of Aburrá Valley. (5)
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
One of the sources: Observatorio de Políticas Públicas del Concejo de Medellín_ OPPCM, "Investigación liderada por la Universidad Eafit", Medellín, 2016, mentions that the funds for the project were subsidised by the municipality of Medellin and were specifically designed for green interventions. (4)
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
The total costs were predicted to be around 204,605,000,000 $ Colombian pesos = 47,780,292,000 EUR (currency rate : https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=204665051000&From=COP&To=EUR). The funds were divided into 2 phases. The intervention was also expected to provide employment for the inhabitants where the intervention was implemented. (4)
Source(s) of funding
Public regional budget
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of labour
Provision of expertise
Exchange of services
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Social
Policy innovation
Governance innovation
Please specify social innovation
The present intervention focuses more on governance and policy issues as it seeks to restore high crime settlements around the city of Medellin by implementing a green belt that requires the acceptance and work of the local population. Medellin has overcome diverse challenges as the once most violent city in the world, a status that was the result of decades of uncontrolled immigration, urban expansion, economic crises and years of violence due to illegal commerce, drug trafficking, conflicts and social inequalities. Over the past three decades, Medellín has undergone a remarkable transformation, through collective leadership, strategic and participatory planning, and diverse catalytic urban projects. (3)
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
It was not very clear if the municipality based the intervention on previous projects, either local or international. Sources mention that the city responded to the idea of "smart cities" and in 2014 Medellin hosted the UN-Habitat's 7th World Urban Forum. (7)
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
It is unknown if the intervention has been replicated or transferred to new initiatives.
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved waste management
Improved soil quality
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Increased protection against flooding
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present
Description of environmental benefits
For 2016 the team was expecting the following results: control of erosive processes, CO2 capture, nutritional enrichment of the soil and resistance to forest fires.
The following actions were implemented: the installation of a community nursery of the agave plants in the Las Tinajas Ecopark, where about 21,000 seedlings were planted. In the second phase, 37,000 more were planted. Agave plants and nitrogen-fixing trees densely intercropped and cultivated together have the capacity to draw down massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and produce more above ground and below-ground biomass (and animal fodder) on a continuous year-to-year basis than any other desert and semi-desert species. The plants were positioned on slopes in order to control the erosion of the land and offer protection against landslides caused by rain. The intervention also consisted of the construction of a storage tank with a capacity of 250 m3 that improves water collection and aqueduct service. In the case of the sewerage network: installation of 234 m of pipe, the construction of 19 connections and 32 inspection boxes. In the case of the aqueduct network: 1,852 m of pipe, 264 connections, 39 shut-off valves that allow the system to be controlled by zones and a regulating valve to ensure control and pressure management in the sector. 700 families benefited from this intervention. (8)

For 2016 through the "My Clean neighborhood" program (part of the green belt initiative), the Mayor's Office of Medellín through the EDU and the Environmental Corporation of the Metropolitan Area, Corpoambiental, led a commitment to improving the quality of life of the inhabitants of this area of the city. As part of the actions implemented, more than 16,000 door-to-door visits to sensitize the community in the management of solid waste, 46 community toilets and ornaments at critical points where 256,300 kg of waste, debris and plant material were collected, the installation of 182 clean point tents where 2,358 kg of recyclable material were collected
Additionally, 1,000 units of recycling containers and 3,000 panels were delivered to encourage separation in homes. Likewise, 46 artisanal solid waste processing workshops were held, talks on the prevention of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, training and strengthening of 28 recuperators and awareness days for merchants among other pedagogical activities. (8)
Economic impacts
Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
Stimulate development in deprived areas
Description of economic benefits
It was reported that the intervention employed 5000 people throughout its implementation stages (8). Also, it was mentioned that in order to plant trees and plants some of the houses were relocated - the compensation was 3000 USD/unit. (7)
Social and cultural impacts
Safety
Increased perception of safety
Social justice and cohesion
Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
Improved liveability
Education
Increased support for education and scientific research
Description of social and cultural benefits
Within the intervention, the municipality trained 6152 people, of whom 1,702 were trained in construction work and were linked to the green belt works. It should be noted that of the people linked to the green belt project, 22% correspond to female labour. It was expected that by providing work to the locals, the intervention will increase safety and decrease crime in the settlements. (8)
46 artisanal solid waste processing workshops were held, talks on the prevention of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, training and strengthening of 28 recuperators and awareness days for merchants among other pedagogical activities. (8)
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Number of seedlings planted
Gender balance in work distribution
Number o of people trained
Number of people impacted by the sensitivity campaign (7,8)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Paid employment positions
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Positive distribution of NBS benefits
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Gentrification
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
Yes
What problem or concern was identified with the implementation of the NBS?
Gentrification
Please specify the negative impacts
The source mentions gentrification as one of the negative effects of this intervention. Green gentrification here takes on a new form, whereby low-income residents living in informal settlements are replaced by a transformed and newly valued nature – and not just by Medellin middle or upper income residents. In other words, in Medellín biophysical resources are being subordinated to a neoliberal logic and practice of negotiated political compromise, green space privatization, and common resource enclosure at the expense of local communities. (7)
COVID-19 pandemic
As of October 17, 2021, there was no information regarding the Covid19 pandemic.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Collection of monitoring data continuously throughout the project to aid evaluation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Focus groups
Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
https://cinturonverde.wordpress.com
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
https://cinturonverde.wordpress.com
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
No
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
No
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
No
References
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Medelin - city of life plan of greening (1.22 MB) 1.22 MB
List of references
1. United Nations Climate Change (2014), Cinturon Verde Metropolitano - Jardín Circunvalar De Medellín - Colombia, available at https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/activity-database/cinturon-verde-metropolitano-jardin-circunvalar-de-medellin-colombia (accessed 17.10.2021)
2. Area Metropolitana - Valle de Aburra (2014), EN EL CINTURÓN VERDE METROPOLITANO SE CONTEMPLA LA REFORESTACIÓN, available at https://www.metropol.gov.co/Paginas/Noticias/en-el-cinturon-verde-metropolitano-se-contempla-la-reforestacion.aspx (accessed 17-10-2021)
3. Medellín: A City for Life (2017), available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bbd32d6e66669016a6af7e2/t/5caba2166e9a7f7a1e35562c/1554752024785/Medellin-Columbia-A-City-for-Life-by-Perez-Jaramillo.pdf (accessed 17-10-2021)
4. Observatorio de Políticas Públicas del Concejo de Medellín_ OPPCM , Investigación liderada por la Universidad Eafit. Medellín
(2016), EL CONTROL URBANÍSTICO EN EL CINTURÓN VERDE, available at http://oppcm.concejodemedellin.gov.co/sites/oppcm/files/2019-08/bordes-urbanisticos-2016.pdf (accessed 17-10-2021)
5. Pacific Standard (2016), THE CONSTRUCTION OF MEDELLIN’S GREEN BELT, available at https://psmag.com/news/the-construction-of-medellins-green-belt (accessed 17-10-2021)
6. C. A. Patiño, José Luis Miralles i García, (2015), Design and management of the metropolitan green belt of Aburrá Valley, Colombia, available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300636789_Design_and_management_of_the_metropolitan_green_belt_of_Aburra_Valley_Colombia (accessed 17-10-2021)
7. Prof. Isabelle Anguelovski, Prof. Clara Irazábal-Zurita, Dr. James JT Connolly (2018), Grabbed urban landscapes: Socio-spatial tensions in green infrastructure planning in Medellín, available at http://www.bcnuej.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/06.29.2018-Grabbed-urban-landscapes-Medellin.pdf (accessed 17-10-2021)
8. Cinturon Verde - blog of the intervention (no date), available at https://cinturonverde.wordpress.com (accessed 17-10-2021)
Additional comments
Medellín has just won the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, announced a few hours ago on the island of Singapore.

This prize is classified as the Nobel Prize in urban planning and is awarded to cities that have achieved great development in this subject.

Two years ago the prize was won by the city of Suzhou (China), but Medellín received a special nomination. In 2012 it was obtained by New York and in 2010 Bilbao (Spain).

"This is an award given to cities that have more urban and social development," explained Santiago Gómez, who attended Singapore to replace the mayor, Federico Gutiérrez, who could not attend because he was attending other commitments in Spain. The former mayor, Aníbal Gaviria, is also part of the delegation that traveled to confirm the award.

The prize, which is awarded every two years, awards the winning city $300,000. The official ceremony is in June, within the framework of the World Meeting of Cities.

Projects such as Parques del Río, the UVA (Units of Articulated Life) and the Circunvalar Garden were the works presented by Medellín in search of the award.
Comments and notes
Additional insights
Medellín won in 2016 the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize. This prize is classified as the Nobel Prize in urban planning and is awarded to cities that have achieved great development in this subject. Two years ago the prize was won by the city of Suzhou (China), but Medellín received a special nomination. In 2012 it was obtained by New York and in 2010 Bilbao (Spain). "This is an award given to cities that have more urban and social development," explained Santiago Gómez, who attended Singapore to replace the mayor, Federico Gutiérrez, who could not attend because he was attending other commitments in Spain. The former mayor, Aníbal Gaviria, is also part of the delegation that traveled to confirm the award. The prize, which is awarded every two years, awards the winning city $300,000. The official ceremony is in June, within the framework of the World Meeting of Cities. Projects such as Parques del Río, the UVA (Units of Articulated Life) and the Green Belt were the works presented by Medellín in search of the award. (8)
Public Images
Photo 4
View of the city
https://psmag.com/news/the-construction-of-medellins-green-belt
Photo of the area
Photo 1
http://www.bcnuej.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/06.29.2018-Grabbed-urban-landscapes-Medellin.pdf
Zones of the area
Photo 2
http://www.bcnuej.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/06.29.2018-Grabbed-urban-landscapes-Medellin.pdf