What works in Medellín
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Quality scores are 0–100 rubric scores; “strong evidence” reflects study design; adoptions count documented replications elsewhere. Know more
Evidence snapshot for Medellín
Medellín has undergone a dramatic security transformation paired with urban connectivity and economic innovation. Social urbanism initiatives including cable cars and escalators reduced the city's homicide rate 97% from 395 to 13 per 100,000 between 1991 and 2023, while cutting travel time in poor hillside neighborhoods from two hours to 30 minutes. The city has simultaneously shifted toward a knowledge economy through Ruta N, which attracted $150 million in foreign direct investment across 23 projects in 2024 and leverages COP 70 in external funding for every peso invested. MedeINN's public-procurement innovation lab has piloted solutions to municipal challenges, including connecting 350 rural residents to the internet and equipping 33 parking lots with IoT sensors.
Drawn from: Medellín Social Urbanism — Cable Cars, Escalators and Urban Acupuncture · Ruta N — Medellín's Public Innovation and Business Development Agency · Ruta N — Medellín Innovation and Business Centre · MedeINN — Medellín's Public-Procurement Innovation Lab · Cuenca Verde — Medellín Water Fund (Colombia) · Medellín's Parques Biblioteca — Library-Parks Built in the Hillside Comunas, With Mixed Evidence on Social Change · Antivirus para la Deserción — AI-Assisted Early-Warning System for University Dropout Risk in Medellín, Colombia · Medellín Green Corridors (Corredores Verdes) — Municipal Urban-Cooling Network
Generated from this place's cited practices only. Always check the linked sources.
Strengths & weaknesses vs peers
Strengths
Innovation +31 pts 93 here · 62 average
Inclusiveness / equity +24 pts 67 here · 43 average
Evidence of impact / measured results +23 pts 80 here · 57 average
Transparency, ethics & data protection +20 pts 67 here · 47 average
Equity & inclusion +17 pts 67 here · 50 average
Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced +14 pts 42 here · 28 average
Transferability / demonstrated replication +13 pts 73 here · 60 average
Multi-stakeholder collaboration +13 pts 87 here · 74 average
Governance, certification & transferability +11 pts 75 here · 64 average
Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced +10 pts 58 here · 48 average
Weaknesses
No standout gaps.
Score profile vs peers
Coloured bar: Medellín. Grey bar: peer average across the corpus. Both on a common 0–100 scale.
Points compare this place's average on each dimension with the average across all evaluated places, on a common 0–100 scale. Know more
Top good practices here
Medellín Social Urbanism — Cable Cars, Escalators and Urban Acupuncture · 95
Ruta N — Medellín's Public Innovation and Business Development Agency · 86
Ruta N — Medellín Innovation and Business Centre · 86
MedeINN — Medellín's Public-Procurement Innovation Lab · 76
Cuenca Verde — Medellín Water Fund (Colombia) · 53
Medellín Green Corridors (Corredores Verdes) — Municipal Urban-Cooling Network · 47
Each number is the practice's overall 0–100 quality score against its catalogue's rubric. Know more
Recommended to adopt or replicate
Transferable practices from elsewhere that address this place's gaps.
Ciudad Mujer — El Salvador's Integrated Women's Services Programme · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
Already adopted in 3 other places
SASA! Community Mobilisation Programme against Intimate Partner Violence — Uganda · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
Already adopted in 4 other places
Karya — Fair-Wage AI Data-Work Platform Bringing Digital Income to Rural India · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
safe+natal — Comadrona-Designed Smartphone Checklist for Maternal Risk Screening in Rural Guatemala · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
Digital Green — Video-Mediated Agricultural Extension · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
Kartu Prakerja – National Digital Skills and Financial Inclusion Programme · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
Rwanda's Land Tenure Regularization Programme — Titling Land in Women's Names · fit 90/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
Already adopted in 6 other places
Fit estimates how well a practice matches this place, 0 (poor) to 100 (excellent); the list is ordered to favour practices that address this place's gaps. Know more