The Miracle? Social Urbanism

Abstract

This chapter places social urbanism in a global context by examining the policies associated with the ‘Medellín Miracle’ alongside urban regeneration interventions from other ‘model cities’, including most notably Barcelona. City branding has become a global business as cities compete for foreign investment and various ‘mega-events’ such as the Olympics. Policies to achieve model city status tend to include the types of project that have been central to social urbanism: mass transport systems, public space, public art, and iconic buildings. Medellín is, however, exceptional in that these policies were designed, promoted, and enacted in a context of extreme violence, inequality, exclusion, and informality. The argument here is that the relationship between urban regeneration policies and violence needs to be understood in terms of whether the power struggles underpinning violence in the city have changed.