An oft-told urban success story is that of Medellín, Colombia. Under Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord that inspired the Netflix show Narcos, the city was one of the most violent places on Earth in the 1980s and early '90s. And then it became one of the most innovative—a "model city." The reasons for that transformation are complicated. But one key driver was the local government's focus on changing the socio-cultural narrative, which gave rise to the concept of cultura ciudadana or "citizen culture," as a way foster a collective investment into the city's future—especially among communities that were previously physically and socially excluded.
The city's multi-pronged approach to planning in the decades since has centered culture: building libraries and parks, enabling art, and creating transportation access in the comunas in the hills above the city.
Culture, which includes "art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs," is an overlooked element in rebuilding cities ravaged by disasters, war, and other forms of urban distress, according to a new joint World Bank–UNESCO report.
[For more on this story by TANVI MISRA, go to https://psmag.com/social-justi...rts-with-its-culture]
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