The politics of peace process in cities in conflict : the Medellin case as a best practice

Abstract

In the 1990s, at same time that the United States was bombing Baghdad, Medellin was the most dangerous city in the world. Since 2003, the city has undergone an internationally renowned urban transformation, part of a controversial nationwide peace process. Implemented under Sergio Fajardo's term as Medellin mayor (2003-2007), the city, now perceived as a totally different place with a homicide rate 10 times lower, is seen as an example of how to engage with conflict and violence as urban peace process. The policies involved were physical and programmatic interventions in violent neighborhoods through the planning and construction of new facilities. This thesis seeks to understand if these physical and political policies and practices are directly related to the reduction of homicides in Medellin during the same period. The main objective of this research project is to explore the real success or failure of these policies, in a search to find successful strategies that can be implemented in other cities around the world with similar manifestations of conflict and violence.