Securing the global city?: an analysis of the ‘Medellín Model’ through participatory research

Colak, Alexandra Abello; Pearce, Jenny

doi:10.1080/14678802.2015.1055136

Cited by 32 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…However, by 2018 this figure reduced to 27 per 100,000, translating to a 95% reduction in homicides. Researchers have acknowledged how despite this decline, different forms of violence continue to have an impact on the lives of residents (Abello-Colak and Pearce 2015;Abello-Colak and Guarneros-Meza 2014;Dávila 2018;Doyle 2019aDoyle , 2019b. Further, and similar to other Latin American cities, Medellín continues to experience high levels of distrust in public institutions and residents generally do not feel safe, despite reductions in reported levels of crime (Medellín Como Vamos 2015;Sanguinetti et al 2014).…”

Section: Medellín Colombiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Insider and Outsider Fieldwork Challenges in Medellín, Colombia

Dávila

Doyle

2020

Int J for Crime, Justice & Social Democracy

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High levels of violence and conflict in Latin America have attracted the interests of local and international researchers to further understand how to reduce this violence and prevent current and future outbreaks. Conducting research in any environment is challenging. However, the obstacles facing not only researcher safety but also data collection methods are particularly complex in settings with high levels of violence and conflict. This article contributes to the methodological literature, as it provides reflections from two researchers, an insider from the Global South and an outsider from the Global North, each collecting data in Medellín, Colombia. It also argues the importance of collaboration between Global North and Global South researchers investigating violence and insecurity.

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Section: Medellín Colombiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Insider and Outsider Fieldwork Challenges in Medellín, Colombia

Dávila

Doyle

2020

Int J for Crime, Justice & Social Democracy

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“…Medellín's policies are touted as having turned the city from the world's murder capital into a tourist destination. A closer look, however, reveals fluctuating homicide and non‐lethal crime rates, as well as elitist policy (Colak and Pearce, 2015). Upgrading efforts centre on mega projects such as cable cars and futuristic libraries, partially due to a private sector push to open the city to the world economy (Moncada, 2013).…”

Section: Resilience Urban Upgrading and Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current undertaking is a green belt on the mountainsides surrounding the city, intended to enhance the quality of life and to stop informal settlements from expanding (Jardin Circunvalar, n.d.). However, the residents are contesting the planning process because they have been given limited project information and worry about evictions (Ciudad Comuna, 2014; Colak and Pearce, 2015).…”

Section: Resilience Urban Upgrading and Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Security, Resilience and Participatory Urban Upgrading in Latin America and the Caribbean

Hilgers¹

2020

Development and Change

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In theory, security and resilience in contexts of violence and crime are improved by participatory urban upgrading. Yet, upgrading practices actually demonstrate how vulnerabilities to violence, insecurity and crime are reproduced by state–society and intra‐community power hierarchies. On the one hand, the priorities and perspectives of politicians and bureaucrats continue to take precedence over the needs and demands of residents of marginalized communities, undermining participation. On the other hand, the internal socio‐political structures of marginalized communities complicate the capacity and willingness of residents and external state actors to engage with each other. The result is that upgrading programmes are not particularly successful in ordering development and security or in creating resilience. Internal processes have a greater impact on residents’ choices in their daily struggles to survive and thrive, but the resilience they create is limited because power and resources tend to be centralized and sometimes linked to crime groups. This article uses the cases of Kingston (Jamaica) and São Paulo (Brazil) to highlight these power hierarchies and how they impede the resilience project of participatory urban upgrading processes in contexts of crime and violence.

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“…More than 850 combatants pledged to re-enter society as "peaceful civilians" ( [40], p. 190) and to receive training on legal and social issues, medical and psychological assistance and cash allowances from the local government ( [48], p. 443). This program gained national and international recognition as "an innovative model of intervention to deal with situations of complex violence" ( [54], p. 205) particularly as homicide rates had fallen to a dramatic low of 57.3 per 100,000 in 2004 [49]. Furthermore, to avoid undermining this "innovative" peace process, the national government began to use the term "criminal bands" (bandas criminals) (BACRIM) to distinguish between paramilitary groups and organised crime groups in the country ( [55], p. 5).…”

Section: From the Most Dangerous City In The World To The Most Innovamentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining Patterns of Urban Violence in Medellin, Colombia

Doyle

2016

Laws

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is one of the world's most violent regions, with 40 of the 50 most violent cities, but with only 8% of the world's population, and a staggering 33% of global homicides. At the forefront of these high levels of violence are gangs that are more flexible and persistent than previously thought. This paper provides a discussion on gangs in one Latin American city, Medellin, Colombia, where different non-state groups have contributed to changing patterns of homicide rates. The paper presents preliminary findings to show how, despite the city experiencing a 90% reduction in homicide rates in less than 25 years, violent non-state groups have become embedded as part and product of their environment, acting as coherent, logical and functional players, linked to the structural inequalities and institutional fragility of the larger society.

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Securing the global city?: an analysis of the ‘Medellín Model’ through participatory research

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Cited by 32 publications

References 13 publications

Insider and Outsider Fieldwork Challenges in Medellín, Colombia

Insider and Outsider Fieldwork Challenges in Medellín, Colombia

Security, Resilience and Participatory Urban Upgrading in Latin America and the Caribbean

Explaining Patterns of Urban Violence in Medellin, Colombia

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