In Medellin, Colombia, green corridors filled with trees and plants are helping cool the urban environment. Launched in 2016, the project has reduced temperatures by up to 2°C in key areas and helped trap pollution.

Medellín

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

In Medellin, Colombia, a unique initiative is effectively addressing the challenge of rising urban temperatures through the development of green corridors. These corridors, filled with trees and plants, were introduced in 2016 to mitigate the effects of the city's increasingly scorching heat. The lush pathways connect parks, roads, and streams, offering a respite from the cement-laden environment. This project has successfully lowered temperatures by approximately 2°C in key areas of the city.

Gardener Irina Montoya, alongside many others, is involved in the upkeep of this extensive network of greenery. The presence of these corridors not only helps in reducing heat but also in trapping pollution. Residents appreciate the transformation, noting improvements in the greenness, safety, and walkability of their neighborhoods. Additionally, the reintroduction of birds and other fauna to urban areas underscores the project's positive environmental impact.

President Estrid Barrera indicates that Medellin's initiative is still evolving, with an emphasis on experimenting with different tree species like mangoes, which are particularly effective at trapping pollution particles. This experience has underscored the importance of innovation and adaption to boost urban sustainability. The success of Medellin’s green corridors has garnered international acclaim, offering a replicable model for other cities seeking to address urban heat and pollution concerns.



Colombia’s Medellin combats rising heat with green corridors

As cars zoom by along Medellin's busy Avenida Oriental, Irina Montoya is weeding a thick strip of tree-lined greenery running between the lanes. She's part of an army of gardeners maintaining a huge network of hundreds of thousands of trees and plants across the city. I love keeping the city clean. I really love it. And apart from that, these plants help us beat the heat that we feel in Medellin. I think the plants are very important and also very pretty. Nestled in a narrow and deep valley, Medellin's once-perfect, year-round, spring-like weather had turned in recent years into a scorching heat, until local authorities devised a solution. Lush, tree-filled pathways connecting parks, roads and streams where cement once ruled, known as green corridors. We were growing very fast, building roads, infrastructure, pavements and all, and we had forgotten about our strengths, our mountains, parks, hills, that are part of the city, and that's when our people started to demand change. Since the project's inception in 2016, the corridors have helped cool the city by an average of two degrees Celsius in key areas, entrapping pollution, among other benefits. We started seeing birds and other fauna returning to the city, again able to come down from the mountains to reach and feed in our parks, and having again a city that is connected to nature. Residents say the corridor have made their neighborhoods greener, safer and more walkable. Besides the corridors, massive vertical gardens like this one are also part of the project that has been so successful in cooling down the city that it gained international recognition. Forest engineer Estrid Barrera says they're now focusing on trees like mangoes that are proving particularly effective in trapping pollution particles. The lesson here is to dare, to dare to change, to dare to try. We have made mistakes in this process. Some plants don't work well together, others have died, but we keep experimenting and learning every day which species is better and which brings more benefits, and that's how you can make change happen. Though still a work in progress, Medellin's green corridors offer a low-cost, replicable model for more sustainable cities, one tree at a time. Alessandro Rampietti, Algecira Medellin.

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