Medellín-Barcelona: Redefining the Ways of Cooperation and Urban Policy Circulation (1995-2017)

Abstract

This article deals with cooperation and friendship agreements as a mechanism for learning, exchange and mobility of urban planning models between cities of North and global South. It analyzes the relations maintained by Medellín and Barcelona during the last two decades. First, the article traces the different forms of cooperation and solidarity between these cities, with their main milestones, agendas and actors involved. Second, identify the learning process in each city, emphasizing the features of the Barcelona model present in the recent transformation of Medellin. The paper reveals how those cooperation relations have contributed to the Medellín recognition as an urban reference in the international arena and at the same time to redefine the circulation flows of urban policies.