Author : Luisa Fernanda Sotomayor
Release : 2015
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Kind : eBook
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Book Synopsis Planning Through Spaces of Exception by : Luisa Fernanda Sotomayor

Download or read book Planning Through Spaces of Exception written by Luisa Fernanda Sotomayor. This book was released on 2015. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medellín, a city known as one of the most unequal and violent in the world, has recently been praised as an example of urban innovation. Grounded on claims to social justice and democracy, mayors Fajardo (2004-2007) and Salazar (2008-2011) adopted a policy called social urbanism. With this approach, Medellín expanded infrastructure and social investments to marginalized districts, instituted participatory programs, and sought to integrate precarious enclaves in the "formal" city through transit policy, public spaces, and emblematic architecture. This dissertation is about the emergence of "social urbanism." It seeks to reveal its origins, political rationalities, and tactics on the ground. Based on document analysis, semi-structured interviews with key actors, and focus group data, I examine the connections among socio-spatial marginality, conflict, urban politics, and entrepreneurial urban governance arrangements. Most crucially, I identify the gaps and ambivalences that emerge between the politics of three disparate logics at play: first, goals of development and socio-spatial redistribution; second, the pressures cities face to repair local economies and attract foreign resources; and third, the influence of violent actors, including both organized crime and the repressive arm of the state. While the promises of social urbanism are commendable and have been loudly conveyed internationally, an analysis of social urbanism at the neighbourhood scale reveals a mode of emergency planning that turns areas of intervention into spaces of exception from city ordinances and governance arrangements. Through a large-scale Urban Development Project approach, social urbanism seeks to expedite implementation and generate a swift sense of transformation. I argue that, the implications of relying on exceptions need to be carefully considered since vested interests can easily co-opt the planning process. Furthermore, violence, and social and economic dislocations in the city are still profound, particularly in areas such as Comuna 13, where non-state armed groups prevent residents from capturing many of the benefits of urban upgrading. Despite new public works projects and state presence, criminal networks have retained their territorial influence. Because Medellin's urban innovations are being implemented along the ongoing sway of illegal violent actors, governance in these spaces can be characterized as a contradictory "orderly disorder."