Hi all, In the Agriculture section of the forums, I wrote about Medellín, Colombia’s green corridors, and the international recognition they garnered from that project. In this Transportation section, I am focusing on a unique mass transit system that has helped bolster the city as a sustainable superstar. In the 1990s, the city of Medellín faced many problems. There was significant, unmanaged urban expansion that spread up the hills of the Aburra Valley at the same time as increased drug trafficking, violence, and lawlessness that eroded trust between hillside community residents and the local government. With the election of a new mayor in 2000, the exciting idea of building an aerial cable car to integrate hillside communities sparked political interest. The company that would construct it, Metro de Medellín, partnered with the government to conduct community outreach and persuade locals of the project’s benefits. They essentially mapped out how people travelled, lived, and interacted in groups, and throughout that process, began building more positive relationships with local communities. They also included social programming such as a short story contest for youth. Metro de Medellín and the local government agreed to share the costs of the project and in 2003, they began construction. To enhance acceptance, community members were hired as construction and operation staff. In 2004, prior to the launch, Metro de Medellín began a program that taught 40,000 people how to use the transit system responsibly. Around this time, the government also launched public investment projects, investing in schools, youth recreation centres, affordable housing, and business development centres. They also improved public spaces around the metro stations.
When the Metrocable was launched in 2004, it became the world’s first aerial cable car to be used for public transit as opposed to tourism. Since then, four more Metrocable lines have opened with accompanying municipal investments in public space, and another line is under construction. In total, the Metrocable has: - Cut travel time to the downtown core from 2 hours to 30 minutes- Benefited 150,000 people directly- Increased adjacent real estate values by 50%- Prevented the use of over 1.7 million gallons of diesel fuel each year The introduction of the Metrocable is viewed as a key turning point in lowering Medellín’s crime rates and enhancing public safety. The local economy has been given a boost, and there is greater social cohesion between hillside communities and downtown residents. This, in turn, has resulted in a substantial decrease in extreme poverty, from 36% of the population in 2002 to 3% in 2015. As a result of these efforts at equity and inclusion, the city of Medellín won the 2018-2019 World Resources Institute Ross Center Prize for Cities. They have also inspired similar aerial cable car systems in three Latin American cities. To learn the full story of the world’s first aerial tram system, click here. To read more about the elements that made this participatory public project so transformative, click here.
When the Metrocable was launched in 2004, it became the world’s first aerial cable car to be used for public transit as opposed to tourism. Since then, four more Metrocable lines have opened with accompanying municipal investments in public space, and another line is under construction. In total, the Metrocable has: - Cut travel time to the downtown core from 2 hours to 30 minutes- Benefited 150,000 people directly- Increased adjacent real estate values by 50%- Prevented the use of over 1.7 million gallons of diesel fuel each year The introduction of the Metrocable is viewed as a key turning point in lowering Medellín’s crime rates and enhancing public safety. The local economy has been given a boost, and there is greater social cohesion between hillside communities and downtown residents. This, in turn, has resulted in a substantial decrease in extreme poverty, from 36% of the population in 2002 to 3% in 2015. As a result of these efforts at equity and inclusion, the city of Medellín won the 2018-2019 World Resources Institute Ross Center Prize for Cities. They have also inspired similar aerial cable car systems in three Latin American cities. To learn the full story of the world’s first aerial tram system, click here. To read more about the elements that made this participatory public project so transformative, click here.
