Learn how Medellin's crisis led to innovative strategies for urban and social development in a city known for its resilience and community participation.
Social Urbanism: From the Medellín Model to a New Global Movement archdaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archdaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, ASLA
Social Urbanism: Reframing Spatial Design – Discourses from Latin America, a new book by Maria Bellalta, ASLA, dean of the School of Landscape Architecture at the Boston Architectural College, is a welcome addition to the growing number of publications on the social justice-oriented form of urbanism, architecture, and public space emanating from Medellín and Colombia. The achievements of social urbanism have rightfully become synonymous with Medellín in the world of landscape architecture, urban planning and design, and architecture.
So what is social urbanism? Is it a top-down and bottom-up planning, design, and implementation process for improving the quality of life of low-income and disenfranchised communities? Appropriately, there is no single definition in the book. There are various takes, which range from comparisons to Jaime Lerner’s strategy of urban acupuncture, integrated community approaches (engagement and participation), and pr