SMALL SCALE- BIG IMPACT?

Small-sized interventions like pocket parks or playgrounds aim to initiate developments for the improvement of social and physical conditions in the Colombian metropolis. Medellin`s spatial and social transformation- both in the city centre and in the peripheral settlements- has turned the city from one of the most dangerous hotspots of a drug-related armed conflict into a show case for inclusive urban upgrading and development. While the transformative process are made visible through spatial interventions of diverse scale، their foundation has been laid through a series of planning and urban development documents، which changed both planning law and the understanding of the city. These documents intend to focus on a holistic approach to urban development and recognize the stark social disparities as one of its main impediments. Accordingly، the last three Urban Development Plans aim to improve the city`s governability and economic performance، erase poverty and inequality، and change its image-both nationally and internationally.