How are civil society organizations responding to COVID-19’s impacts on informal settlements? In Latin America, civil society organizations have developed a repertoire of collective action, seeking to provide immediate and medium-term responses to the emergency. This paper aims to map these initiatives and identify strategic approaches to tackle the issues, given the strengths of those undertaking the initiative, and the scope, purpose and sphere of intervention. Using direct contact, a survey, and a virtual ethnography with social organizations has allowed us to identify and characterize the initiatives. The repertoire focuses on emergency measures around food security, and pedagogies for prevention, sanitation and income relief at the neighbourhood and district levels. We argue that the civil society response repertoire is diverse in form and resources but limited in scope; meanwhile the urgency of the situation and the mismatch with state action mean that crucial spheres of informality, vital to cultivating grounds for a healthy recovery phase, are being neglected.
The circulation of ideas about 'best practices' and policies shape multi-scalar governance networks. This paper examines the role of the international press, both as an actor and as a medium for the circulation of urban planning models. We aim to deepen the theoretical notions on the role of media, particularly the written press, in building narratives of 'urban models', and their circulation in other contexts. And second, by extending the reaches of multi-sited ethnography as the main methodological approach to follow policy mobility. This research monitored, and analysed news items published about Medellín on the digital editions of several newspapers across the globe between 2004 and 2017. The resulting examination shows, firstly, how the changes of the image of the city has been portrayed over time, with a growth of news items highlighting Medellín's urban model as an inspirational source for other cities in the world. Secondly, the research shows the importance of international media for building a particular storytelling about urban transformations. We argue that newspapers constitute a key informational infrastructure for urban policy mobility contributing to amplify mythical narratives of 'urban models' and to institute new metrics of good governance.
La cultura como estrategia de transformación y promoción urbana en Bogotá y Medellín 1Isabel Duque Franco 2
RESUMENEn décadas recientes, diferentes ciudades en el mundo han emprendido procesos de planeamiento urbano utilizando la cultura como principal estrategia. Este artículo, a partir del concepto de planeamiento urbano cultural, explora el papel que ha desempeñado la cultura en la transformación urbana de las ciudades de Bogotá y Medellín durante las últimas dos décadas y que les ha permitido alcanzar un cierto reconocimiento internacional. Con base en el estudio de diferentes políticas, planes y proyectos, el artículo muestra cómo ha sido abordada la cultura en cada caso, los repertorios de intervención urbanística asociados a la cultura y las estrategias de promoción internacional de ambas ciudades como centros culturales.Palabras clave: Cultura, planeamiento urbano, gobernanza urbana, Bogotá, Medellín
ABSTRACTIn recent decades, different cities around the world have undertaken urban planning processes that focus on culture as their main strategy. This article, based on the concept of cultural urban planning, explores the role that culture has played in the urban transformation of the cities of Bogota and Medellin over the last two decades, which has brought them international recognition. By studying various policies, plans and projects, the paper analyzes how culture has been addressed in each case, the repertories of urban intervention associated with culture and the strategies used by both cites for their international promotion as cultural centers.
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