Medellín
Daniel Quintero Calle Mayor of MedellínThe City of Medellín, in collaboration with the C40 Cities Finance Facility, will implement nature-based solutions along the riverbank and nine feeder streams in the north of the city, for a total of 300,000m2, which will be developed in three phases. This will reduce the risk of flooding, erosion, and sedimentation while increasing access to green space for around 390,000 people.
The City of Medellín, in collaboration with the C40 Cities Finance Facility, will implement nature-based solutions along the riverbank and nine feeder streams in the north of the city, for a total of 300,000m2, which will be developed in three phases. This will reduce the risk of flooding, erosion, and sedimentation while increasing access to green space for around 390,000 people.
- Location Medellín Colombia
- Population 2.6 million
This project will aim to protect the northern district of Medellín from the worst effects of climate change. This northern area – communes 2, 4, and 5 – are generally low-income, largely informal neighbourhoods, and are therefore at higher risk of landslides and flooding. Nature-based solutions improve urban drainage, by decreasing the flow of water in the river and increasing local absorption of rainwater in the park and along the riverbank. Furthermore, creating a green space will reduce urban heat island effect – when cities suffer more extreme heatwaves because of dense concentrations of pavements and buildings. Trees, vegetation, and natural surfaces create far less heat, providing shade and giving a cooling effect through evapotranspiration.
Alongside these nature-based solutions, Medellín’s project will create community-centred infrastructure, including constructing walking and cycling paths, building outdoor sports equipment, renovating a soccer field, and constructing two pedestrian bridges across the river. This is an investment in the wellbeing of the members of the local community, improving the rate of public green space per capita.
Creating green spaces helps improve public health too. Medellín has a particularly acute air quality problem, especially during dry periods, because of its geographical location, industry, and regional roads. But by absorbing carbon dioxide, trees and vegetation clean the air and even decrease the concentration of small particulate matter, which increases the risk of serious health conditions such as premature birth, asthma, cancer, and lung and heart conditions.
By creating the Parques del Rio Norte, Medellín and the CFF will create people-focused infrastructure, which will be ready for the effects of climate change and will help transform the relationship between the community and the Río Norte.
The project will improve the quality of life in the districts with the greatest deficit of public space in the city. It will create green areas and children's playgrounds, and it will provide the vulnerable population with quality cultural, sports, and educational facilities. The project seeks to promote these public works projects with the implementation of environmentally sustainable technologies and nature-based solutions (NBS) to mitigate the impacts of climate change such as urban heat islands, the overflowing of the river and affluents, as well as the management of rainwater.