Medellín’s Strategy for Urban and Social Transformation

Manrique, Comuna 3, Constelaciones

Author: Jesús Guerrero Chacón

 

My introduction to Medellín began in Santa Elena, a rural district sitting on the city’s eastern hills. Manuela Álvarez from the Greater Medellín Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) took me to Parque Arví, a remarkable ecological reserve and cultural hub where biodiversity and tradition converge. The CVB’s mission extends beyond Medellín to the wider Antioquia region, integrating nature and local heritage. Alongside the bureau, Medellín’s Secretariat of Tourism and Entertainment plays a key role in shaping the visitor experience and promoting sustainable, culturally rooted tourism. At the park, local guides lead visitors through forests and archaeological paths while teaching reforestation, composting and the use of medicinal plants.

 

  

 

At Santa Elena, the silletero heritage (flower carriers who parade elaborate floral arrangements called silletas) is preserved and transformed into livelihoods through tourism and events. These silletas, showcased during the Summit, remain a living symbol of Medellín’s identity. Under an hour from the centre, the park’s metro cable shows how public investment connects urban and rural Antioquia, a fitting start to the city’s story of inclusion. Public transport connected Santa Elena to the city and gave its communities a renewed sense of belonging.

 

The Parque Arví Corporation was created through a public–private partnership that includes Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), whose environmental work focuses on water conservation and the protection of ecosystems and local communities. For example, the park works with local women’s associations to cater for visiting groups while training guides in heritage, environmental education and gastronomy, including dishes like the fiambre I sampled, a traditional Antioquian picnic of meats, vegetables and rice wrapped in banana leaves. Their programmes create jobs and empower communities, valuable resources for meeting planners.

 

Events at the Cultural and Environmental Centre directly contribute to conservation and local development, creating legacies with a positive impact in the wider community.

 

A visit organised by Manuela and Santiago Acevedo from the CVB to Comuna 3, in Manrique, showed me how Medellín’s transformation is deeply tied to its public transport system, which reconnected communities long divided by violence. The network connected the city centre with the hills, giving young people access to a wider range of universities and career options, and allowing residents of wealthier neighbourhoods to visit areas that had previously been stigmatised.

 

Named for the way families form a greater narrative of resilience, like stars in constellations, the Constelaciones project has become Medellín’s largest macro-mural, covering 500 houses and 30 large murals. Unlike Comuna 13, now internationally recognised, Comuna 3 represents change in progress. It is a collective artwork that transforms the urban landscape by honouring memory and offering hope, with the support of the Medellín Town Hall, EPM and the bureau’s legacy initiatives.

 

Luz Dary Álvarez, founder of the tour operator Escarabajo Azul, explained that Constelaciones is more than painted facades; it is the living memory of families who endured exclusion and violence. Her tours are built on three pillars, art, memory and hope, and show how communities reclaim space, dignity and opportunities by sharing their own stories. One of our guides that day was Leidy Resmon, who led the tour alongside Luz Dary. Originally focused on her own small business, she found new horizons when she began guiding visitors through the neighbourhood. Tourism gave her the confidence to reconnect with her passion for music, to sing again at events and to pursue English lessons while working towards becoming a certified professional tour guide. Her story shows how tourism and business events open doors to personal and professional development.

 

Constelaciones shows how institutions and communities can collaborate on a shared model of transformation. EPM, working alongside volunteers and local organisations, runs free English lessons for adults and children, opens computer rooms with internet access for those without connections at home and provides helplines to support families. Local women maintain the neighbourhood’s urban gardens, which not only green the public spaces but also educate residents on sustainability. Life has changed, from the district’s first café to visitors tasting fresh arepas at the local bakery. Murals embed local stories and memories into this new urban landscape. With a second phase already planned, the project will bring new murals, new businesses and new opportunities, expanding the reach of transformation and improving lives in Comuna 3, ensuring responsible tourism and events leave tangible legacies.

 

Social strategies also come through in initiatives like Parcero, a programme designed to prevent youth violence by offering education, psychosocial support and career pathways to those most at risk of exclusion. Together with projects like Constelaciones, it shows how Medellín links prevention, culture and opportunity to shape a more inclusive future.

Medellín’s meeting infrastructure was on full display during the Summit, with sessions held at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Ruta N, Parque Explora and Plaza Mayor. The social programme showed how Medellín blends infrastructure with cultural settings, each curated to highlight the city’s versatility. An evening reception at Museo El Castillo, a Gothic-style landmark surrounded by gardens, highlighted how heritage can provide an alternative setting for meetings. A visit to Jardín Botánico, near Parque Explora, added another layer to the city’s appeal: this botanical garden is filled with orchids and native plants, serving as an event venue while connecting with local biodiversity.

 

 

Lunch at Plácido, held inside Colombia’s first stone gallery and workshop, offered a setting where gastronomy, art and craftsmanship blended into a local experience, followed by a coffee tasting exploring how Colombian coffee culture combines tradition and innovation. To show another side of Medellín, we visited Provenza, a neighbourhood now symbolic of the city’s cosmopolitan vibe. The Summit brought delegates to experience Provenza’s nightlife at Teatro Victoria, reaffirming its status as Medellín’s entertainment hub.

 

By day, Provenza offered a different flavour: a contemporary lunch at Belisario, where Colombian dishes and drinks were given a modern twist. The day concluded with a site inspection at the five-star Marriott Medellín hotel. With flexible meeting spaces and luxury accommodation, the hotel confirmed Medellín’s readiness for international groups. Medellín and Antioquia embrace both their past and their present. While community projects speak of resilience, memory and inclusion, the region’s infrastructure reflects sophistication and a global outlook, as well as a vibrant urban energy. This unique combination is what makes it such a compelling destination, a place where events can engage with both purpose and context.

    

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