In honor of its 200th anniversary, Citi is sponsoring the City of the Year competition. ULI has helped by analyzing 200 of the most innovative cities in the world, and the public helped narrow the field to Medellín, New York and Tel Aviv. The winner will be named in March. Learn more about the City of the Year contest at the Wall Street Journal.
I would like to know more about the eight criteria to choose the initial list of 200 cities. Is there a report with the methodology?
It is counterproductive for this city to be awarded by the Urban Land Institute in this moment. The city would be reassured that everything is ok, and it is not. Medellin has potential as well as Colombia, and it could do better (certainly it was 5 years ago under other mayor). Playing ostrich is doing a disservice for this land.
dago, ser innovadores no significa ser perfectos… no confundir el propósito de este reconocimiento. Su intento por demeritar el excelente e innovador sistema de transporte público de Medellín es patético.
dago, Innovation doesn’t mean perfection. Your attempt to devalue the excellent and innovative public system transportation of medellin is pathetic.
It is true that there has been progress and that the city is better than before. However, this doesn’t mean that there are no problems. Other thing is that the city rulers (yes, you Medellin Mayor) minimize them and not face anything but reality, following their own agenda (http://www.semana.com/opinion/articulo/preguntas-hillary-clinton-sobre-medellin/331075-3) hiding in the smoke of a slight mention of the city from Hillary Clinton in her recent hearing, the pursuit of the World’s Most Innovative City Award and future (and higher) government jobs.
The webpage says about Medellin: “The city has seen great advancement in public transportation, with more than 500,000 residents and visitors using its Metro train system each day. The city also boasts a public bike-share program”. To a lesser extent, that is true.
There is greater coverage of the Metro system, but it collapses, all the time, not only in rush hours. Now there are more metro stations but they have reached their peak capacity (bad planning years ago). There is still a long way to reach a real integrated system. There are places where you have to commute in 2 or 3 urban buses because they have coverage from neither Metro, nor Metroplus, nor Metrocable. And also, criminals control the use of certain bus routes, such as forcing passengers to get off of these routes and pay to use cars called piratas and keep your mouth shut. And where are the police? They are nowhere to be found. And also, who would be so brave to call the cops if you have to live or work there? Finally, the bike-share program is just budding.
Among the illegal practices there is the vacuna (vaccine) that is a payment from the merchant to the criminals as an insurance to protect their business; an extortion indeed. Also, there is a growing increase in the rate of street crime, as petty theft on street and Metro system, fights, aerial gunfire from rival neighborhoods (with stray bullets impacting innocent bystanders even in the so-promoted touristic sites as metrocable – http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/27901-2-injured-after-shots-fired-at-medellin-metro-cable-car.html – http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/medellin/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-12558193.html – http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/medellin/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-12555109.html). In short, there is still a lot of violence.
Dago, unfortunately I agree with you, I love Medellin and I recognize many things have changed since the 80′s & 90′s but today the people from Medellin are more scare than ever, there are many “organize” crime groups controlling the city in every aspect. The mayor and the governor and all the politicians know very well about these problems, but they cover up with events like this, today the only subject in Medellin is: We won, we are the most innovative city in the world. But they can’t talk about kids , I just learned of a case in a school, where a 11 year old kid and his friends are being asked to pay a “vacuna” “vaccine” how do you explain this to a kid that is trying just to go to school to study? in every aspect people in Medellin today are very much afraid of everything and everybody, is does not matter how good, yes good or bad is your neighborhood, houses and apartments are getting robbed every day in the most dangerous ways, business are paying vacunas-vaccines, regular good hard working citizens of Medellin are under serious threats and intimidated to pay just for living, the administration knows very well about this unhealthy lifestyle people and visitors in and from Medellin have to endure every day…even writing this, makes me feel a target but…Let’s celebrate, we need to distract people.
I vote for Medellin because is the more welcoming and lovely city in the world. Even social issues every day, in Medellin is more exiting to walk and hope for a wonderful future because this is a place where relationship is more important and intense and if you are not rich or well fashion person you will have no a problem, only watch beautiful women an smell flowers all around to fill and release your senses.
Have the nicest days there.
for real?
My question to Dago, have you been to Medellin at all? did you visit the city during the 80′s or 90′s? and can know first hand this place has come a long way?. I voted for Medellin more than once actually, it is a city plagued with social problems but it’s actively working towards narrowing the social gap. The scalator and first class public transport is not just about improved infrastructure and progress is also about integrating ‘marginalised’ people from the comunas closer to the community. I urge you to get yourself informed
I vote for Medellin as the most innovative city. Every year there are new projects to improve the lives of the less fortunate, and the transformation of the whole city has been amazing!
MEDELLIN mejor ciudad innovadora del mundo, estoy orgullo de mi ciudad
January 24, 2013 has already passed. Why is voting still open? Has the winner been announced?
Voting has been closed in the City of the Year competition sponsored by Citi, and the winner will be announced March 1 by the Wall Street Journal.
Here it is, March 1, over a month after the winner was supposed to be announced (*), and it still hasn’t happened yet.
(*) From the website:
•Winner announced January 24, 2013, and in the February 2013 issue of WSJ. Magazine
Thanks for asking about this! Citi and the Wall Street Journal announced the winner today.
Um…no, no they didn’t. At least, not at the site you linked. It still just says “Voting has closed! Check back on March 1, 2013 to see which city is Most Innovative City of the Year.”
I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the site, DSR! Here is the site again.
Voto por mi hermosa Medellín a la ciudad mas innovadora del mundo
I vote for the Medellin city because innovation in any aspect is very significant and very high performance…
I vote for Medellin – Great place -
por Medellín como la ciudad más innovadora.
I vote for Medellin as the most innovative city in the world that is the city every body should get to know
I vote for Tel Aviv for most innovative city.
I vote for Medellin for most innovative city. I love that city!
I vote for Medellin for most innovative city
I VOTE FOR MEDELLIN FOR MOST INNOVATIVE CITY.
I vote for Medellin as the worlds most innovative City, the city deserves it.
I vote for Medellín as the most innovative City.
I vote for Medellín as the most world innovate City.
I vote for Medellín as the most innovative City.
I vote for Medellín as most world innovative city
Medellin is my choice for innovative city. It is a young metropolis with limited land space but making the most use of that space and resources to provide housing and transportation to a growing population fed mostly by migrants from the rural areas displaced by the
terrorists and narco-traffickers.