Week 0713 Tuesday: Jardín Circunvalar [Cinturón verde metropolitano] / Medellín Green Belt Price: $35.000 COP ● Itinerary: We will walk part of the Green Belt pedestrian path, which is connected with the Circumventing Garden, one of the most important projects in t he city over the past 10 years towards alleviating the deeply felt effects of over 20 years of civil war and is aspiring to build a much safer and more dignified future for its population. Then we will see the Eco Gardens and Eco Orchard , focused on food security, with both employing innovative approaches to actively encourage informal trading between households, the formation of markets and the trade of household fresh food surplus with the local food bank. ●
Education:
You will see how Medellín has overcome years of violent civil war with a social transformation agenda that has focused the city’s planning and resources on inclusion and redressing inequity.
You will learn about one of Medellin’s many innovative and participatory strategies, which involve local communities as their own “leaders” with projects, such as Eco Orchard. In addition, you will get to understand the cultural and educational development process managed by the local government alongside international researches from around the world . Medellín Circumventing Garden is a planning strategy and comprehensive longterm transformation to consolidate an orderly, balanced and equitable territory in the area of contact between urban and rural areas. Then the project is intended to tame Medellin’s exponential growth, which has seen unplanned neighborhoods sprawl up the sides of the Aburrá Valley and the municipalities of Medellín.
On the other hand, the community it’s been prepared with educational urbanism workshops in order to participate in the constructive development as well as assume the importance of their own communities with the purpose of shield the surrounding valley from the current accelerated city growing and guard Medellin’s ecosystem and waterways . One of the projects, which include local communities from these areas, are the ‘Eco gardens’ project supported by the Urban Development Agency of Medellín [EDU]. These gardens are one of a number of social projects connected to the city boundaries, which aim to incorporate food production into the urban landscape, building community kitchens and school food programs. The city government has also used its participatory budgeting model to identify locally responsive projects that provide dignified forms of emergency food assistance that also support the local market. ●
Duration:
4 hours as maximum. (We will use the metro system and perhaps, some local bus routes for our transportation). ●
What do you need to bring?
Water, comfortable clothes and walking shoes. Jackets or umbrellas in case it rains. An open mind to learn more about the ‘real’ Medellín, as well as lots of thoughts and questions.