Social Urbanism and the Politics of Violence ─ The Medell璯 Miracle

Medellin, Colombia, used to be the most violent city on earth. In recent years, however, it would appear that investments and regeneration projects targeted at the poorest, most marginalised areas of the city, as well as innovative public transport projects, have resulted in a sharp decline in violence. Whereas in 1993 the homicide rate was 375 per 100,000 population, the current statistics are now comparable with major cities in the US, and the murder rate in Medellin for 2012 was 52 per 100,000. This book examines the claims made about the 'Medellin Miracle' by looking at the political processes behind the policies that have become known as 'Social Urbanism'. The central contention of this book is that violence – in its many forms – needs to be understood as a political issue. The changes in the political fabric in Medellin and the transformations in terms of urban development policies were far more complex than the term 'miracle' suggests.

Kate Maclean is Lecturer in Social Geography at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, and works on the politics of development and livelihoods. She has published on microfinance, informal economies, urban violence and urban planning in Latin America, in journals such as Antipode, Gender Place and Culture and Development and Change.