Author(s)

L. C. A. Patiño, J. L. Miralles i Garcia

Abstract

Medellín is the center of a metropolitan area that occupies part of the Aburrá Valley. Between 2012 and 2013, the National University of Colombia, local office of Medellín, conducted the study Proposal for the Development of the Metropolitan Green Belt of Aburrá Valley. The study aims to develop a project of ecological planning in the metropolitan region around Medellín in Colombia. The area includes 10 municipalities comprising the metropolitan conurbation of Medellín. The project designs an intervention strategy to promote meaningful protection for the provision of ecosystem services urban areas. The project designs an intervention strategy to promote protection of meaningful areas for the urban provision of ecosystem services. The set of strategies has been termed Metropolitan Green Belt of Aburrá Valley. It is defined as three geographical areas of intervention: The External Belt for water regulation, System of Urban-Rural Transition for dissipation and containing urban expansion and Ecological Connection Structure. Each area has been associated with a key concept and a major ecosystem service. The three areas, spatially integrated, constitute the green belt. Seven management strategies have also been raised for a planning horizon of 17 years (consistent with the 2030 vision of the metropolitan city). The work shows the conceptual coherence between ecological conservation goals and objectives of spatial planning. It also reveals the social and political acceptance with planning actions that invoke ideas of ecological conservation. This project was developed between 2012 and 2013 by a team from the National University of Colombia (School of Urban-Regional Planning) and funded by the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley, a regional government. The authors participated in the project as technical coordination (L. C. A. Patiño) and international consultant (J. L. Miralles i Garcia).

Keywords

regional planning, green infrastructure, ecosystem services, peri-urban areas