Published on and written by Cyril Jarnias
Colombia is changing its face. In a country where over 75% of the population already lives in cities – and where this proportion could exceed 85% by mid-century – the battle for development is being waged in urban territories. Behind the grand words – climate transition, smart cities, decent housing, sustainable mobility – lies a much more concrete reality: metro systems finally breaking ground, waterfronts returned to residents, restored wetlands, reclaimed central neighborhoods, innovative financial tools, and, underlying it all, a constant challenge of social justice.
From Barranquilla to Bogotá, via Cali and Medellín, Colombia is testing new urban development models on a large scale. These ongoing or upcoming projects simultaneously integrate environmental, mobility, and social inclusion objectives, thereby helping to reshape the country’s urban landscape.
Barranquilla, Laboratory of the “BiodiverCity”
On the Caribbean coast, Barranquilla illustrates in a spectacular way the possible trajectory of urban and social reconversion for a major Colombian city. Long nicknamed the “Golden Gate of Colombia” for its role as a port hub in the 19th and mid-20th centuries, the city then experienced over three decades of stagnation. Yet, in about fifteen years, it has initiated a profound transformation that today makes it a textbook case.
The city of 1.27 million inhabitants, whose economy represents 18% of the added value of the Caribbean region, first tackled poverty head-on. Between 2008 and 2019, the poverty rate fell from 43% to 20%, with rapid growth in household income and one of the country’s lowest unemployment rates. Another symbol of this turnaround: in 2008, Barranquilla was unable to obtain a credit risk rating. Ten years later, it boasted a triple-A rating.
This economic and social revitalization was accompanied by a vast urban redevelopment program. The municipality structured its recent development plan around four major challenges – equitable city, attractive and prosperous city, connected city, and “BiodiverCity” – clearly prioritizing green and blue infrastructures.
Parks, Waterfront, and Restored Wetlands
The “BiodiverCity” initiative serves as a framework for flagship projects combining ecological restoration, public spaces, and economic attractiveness. The most emblematic is arguably the Gran Malecón, a nearly 5-kilometer linear promenade along the Magdalena River, developed from a heavy industrial brownfield. This waterfront, combining walkways, leisure, and economic activities, is now one of the main connectors between the city and its river.
Number of mangroves being restored citywide to rehabilitate the ecosystems of the Ciénaga de Mallorquín.
Barranquilla is not content with isolated masterpieces. The strategy aims to weave a network of proximity green spaces across the entire city. The “Todos al Parque” program, launched in 2011, has already led to the recovery or creation of over 250 parks, covering approximately 1.5 million m² of vegetated surfaces. Where, in 2011, a resident had on average only 0.86 m² of effective public space, they now have 2.8 m². Result: 93% of the population lives within an eight-minute walk of a park.
The renovation of parks transformed residents’ perception, from 90% dissatisfaction in 2009 to 98% estimating an improvement in family well-being less than ten years later. This transformation also led to a decrease in thefts nearby and better tax compliance, benefiting both security and municipal finances.
The key figures of this program illustrate the speed of the transformation:
| Indicator | Starting Value | Recent Situation |
|---|---|---|
| Parks recovered / created (“Todos al Parque”) | almost zero in 2011 | 253–258 parks, in 188 neighborhoods |
| Green spaces created | – | ~1.5 million m² |
| Effective public space per capita | 0.86 m² (2011) | 2.8 m² (2021) |
| Residents within 8 minutes of a park | – | 93 % |
| Satisfaction with green spaces | 10% satisfied (2009) | 98% consider parks beneficial |
Tools, Funding, and Partnerships
This urban policy requires sophisticated financial structures. Barranquilla has a budget of less than 1,000 US dollars per capita but has committed over $380 million to green infrastructure, renewable energy, and water management. To achieve this, the city relies on partnerships with international financial institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), CAF (the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), the French Development Agency, Deutsche Bank, and the European Union.
The IDB, for example, approved a loan of $100 million and a grant of $6.12 million to support the BiodiverCity and Equity Urban Program. The latter is expected to directly benefit over 1.24 million residents and encompasses 138 parks, squares, and green spaces, as well as actions targeting approximately 19,000 people in neighborhoods marked by migrant arrivals.
Barranquilla uses Tax Increment Financing (TIF), an innovative financial tool that allows infrastructure investments to be funded by leveraging future increases in tax revenue within a defined area. A 128-hectare TIF district project is underway on the Magdalena River waterfront, centered on the Avenida del Río and La Loma – Barranquillita – Barlovento areas. A 20-year analysis forecasts the development of over 21,000 housing units, as well as commercial and office space. Projections estimate a bond issuance capacity between $42 and $47 million to address an infrastructure deficit of $54 million, within the framework of total identified investments of approximately $194 million.
| Component of the Riverfront Redevelopment Project | Estimated / Decided Data |
|---|---|
| Surface area of the overall strategic operation | ~1,372 ha |
| Surface area of the proposed TIF district | 128.02 ha (189 lots) |
| New housing units (baseline scenario) | 21,390 units over 20 years |
| Commercial space | ~6,233 m² |
| Office space | ~18,000 m² |
| Unfunded infrastructure need | ~$54M out of $194M total identified |
| Potential TIF bond issuance | ~$42.6–$47.1M depending on scenarios |
| Property tax revenue (20 years, district) | ~$72.6M (baseline scenario) |
These structures are in addition to traditional public-private partnerships. For “Todos al Parque,” the city mobilized alliances to finance tree planting (“Siembra Barranquilla”), infrastructure (“Puerta de Oro”), or even public lighting (“APBAQ”). The program has inspired action even at the departmental level: the Governor of Atlántico launched “Parques para la Gente,” modeled on this approach.
A Showcase City for Climate Transition
Beyond its own territory, Barranquilla seeks to weigh in on regional and global debates about the sustainable city. In collaboration with CAF, it hosted the signing of the Barranquilla Declaration by the mayors of eight major Latin American cities, the founding act of a “biodivercities” network that today includes 64 cities, from Argentina to Brazil and Ecuador.
Furthermore, the city is the first in Colombia and South America to have enrolled, in 2025, in the LEED for Cities program, which assesses urban performance in energy, water, waste, mobility, and quality of life. In a country where over 770 projects have already adopted LEED certification, and over 23 urban projects the LEED for Communities framework, this move positions Barranquilla as a showcase for Colombia’s environmental ambitions.
Bogotá: From the Long-Awaited Metro to the “Digital Capital” City
In the capital, the urban transformation is of a different nature but just as structuring. A metropolis of over 8 million inhabitants, choked by decades of dependence on cars and buses, Bogotá has become a global symbol of congestion. It is also one of Colombia’s main testing grounds for sustainable mobility, climate planning, and the digital city.
The Bogotá Metro: A Long-Delayed Project Finally Materializing
The idea of a metro in Bogotá dates back to the 1940s, when the capital’s tramways collapsed. Since then, the project has gone through countless studies, political crises, corruption scandals, and route changes. The first major feasibility study, conducted in 1981 by Fedesarrollo, envisioned five lines at a cost of $797 million. In the 1990s, a Metro de Bogotá company was created, a law mandated financial participation from the central government, and successive administrations failed to finalize the financial structure.
It wasn’t until the second half of the 2010s that the project politically got back on track. In 2016, the municipal administration opted for a first elevated line, deemed less costly than the underground solution advocated until then. A $4.3 billion contract was finally signed in 2019 with the Chinese-led consortium APCA Transmimetro (China Harbour Engineering Company and Xi’an Metro Company) to design, build, operate, and maintain the first line.
Overview of the key features and progress status of the new fully electric and automated metro.
Physical work began in October 2020. Overall progress was about 24% by summer 2023, with a target of 70% by the end of 2025.
Line 1 is approximately 24 kilometers long and will have 16 stations. It will primarily serve working-class neighborhoods, with 88% of its route in low-income sectors.
Fully electric and automated system. Transport capacity: up to 72,000 passengers/hour/direction. Initial daily capacity of 656,000 passengers, potentially reaching 1.55 million by 2050.
End-to-end travel time will be reduced to 27 minutes, compared to over an hour currently by bus.
Environmentally, the expected gains are significant: the metro is projected to reduce approximately 938,000 tonnes of CO₂ by 2049, in addition to efforts already made via the massive introduction of electric buses in the TransMilenio system. For a country that represents only 0.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions but aims to reduce its emissions by 51% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, this type of project is central.
The metro’s financial structure matches the scale of the challenge. The total cost, including all components – viaduct, stations, a 32-hectare maintenance depot in Bosa, control center, telecommunications, ticketing, public space redevelopment – is estimated between $5 and $5.3 billion. The central government finances 70% of the project, the city 30%. The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank have each committed hundreds of millions of dollars. More original structures are also involved: a $515 million financing package was concluded in 2024, combining a dollar loan based on the SOFR rate, led by Chinese banks via their Panamanian subsidiaries, and a tranche in Colombian pesos syndicated by local banks like BBVA Colombia or Banco de Bogotá.
Bogotá is developing an ambitious multimodal transportation network, including the extension of the existing metro line, the creation of a second line towards Suba, bus corridors, an electric commuter train (RegioTram), an urban cable car (TransMiCable), and an extensive cycling network (target of 830 km). The city aims for every resident to be within one kilometer of a mass transit system by 2050.
From Mobility to the Low-Carbon and Digital City
The metro is just one element of a much broader strategy. Bogotá has adopted a series of long-term plans: public space policy (2019–2038), the “Bogotá Reverdece” master plan (2022–2035), environmental management plan (2023–2038), climate action policy until 2050, and the “Bogotá Camina Segura” development plan for 2024–2027.
These documents align the city with national climate commitments, with a local target of reducing emissions by 20% by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Concretely, Bogotá is investing in:
– the widespread adoption of electric buses within TransMilenio,
– the restoration of the Bogotá River and its tributaries,
– the protection and rehabilitation of wetlands,
– energy efficiency standards for new buildings and the renovation of the existing stock,
– the installation of solar panels on public buildings and the promotion of residential self-consumption,
– a growing network of parks, green corridors, green roofs, and vegetated façades,
– sustainable urban drainage systems to limit flooding.
The city claims a pioneering role in “smart cities” at the national scale with the “Bogotá Capital Digital” strategy, deploying environmental sensors, smart security cameras, open data platforms, and digital services for citizens, within the national framework set by MinTIC and the National Planning Department until 2026.
City of Bogotá
More targeted projects illustrate this shift, such as the “Corredor Verde Carrera Séptima” between streets 99 and 127, recently recognized with an international sustainability certification (Envision Silver). This north-south spine aims to rebalance the space given to cars, prioritize walking, cycling, and public transport, while creating an “ecotone” – an ecological transition zone – between the dense urban fabric and the eastern hills. Enhanced vegetation, protection of local species, and stormwater management through sustainable drainage devices form the basis of a redevelopment that must also prepare the city for climate shocks.
Large Real Estate Projects and Controlled Densification
Alongside this infrastructure, the capital is seeing the emergence of a new generation of dense, mixed-use real estate projects, often linked to transport hubs: office and residential towers near the future metro, residential complexes with integrated shops and offices, or large-scale cultural centers. Among them are projects like “Entre Calles,” a 95-story tower announced in the city center and destined to become the tallest in Latin America, or the Proscenio cultural center, combining theater, galleries, shops, a hotel, and offices near El Virrey park.
The logic of the “15-minute city” is gradually taking hold, particularly in new mixed neighborhoods like those in the “Nomad” family of projects (Cabrera, Salitre, Central) which combine residences, commercial space, and sometimes offices, with particular attention to public transport access and public spaces. However, this controlled densification raises classic questions of gentrification, speculation, and housing accessibility, echoing debates in other Colombian metropolises.
Cali: Waterfronts, Green Corridors, and Contested Renewal
The Salsa Capital, Cali, is also a laboratory for new models of urban renewal… and a terrain of acute tensions around spatial justice. The city, which suffered a deep crisis in the 1990s – economic decline, institutional crisis, rising violence, explosion of informal urbanization – has developed ambitious planning tools.
A New Development Plan and Long-Term Visions
The municipal development plan 2024–2027, named “Cali capital pacífica de Colombia”, is structured around three major objectives: reconciliation, biodiverse renewal, and good governance. It must fit within the framework of the national development plan, the departmental plan, the Constitution, and especially the Land Use Plan (POT), in effect since 2014. The new administration has announced its intention to propose a revision of the POT in 2025, to integrate new climate, mobility, and housing challenges.
Simultaneously, a “Plan Maestro Visión Cali” aims to restructure strategic sectors in the center and north of the city – San Pascual, El Hoyo, El Piloto, San Vicente, Avenida Sexta, Corredor Verde, Ciudad Paraíso. The goal: to organize these spaces to offer commercial, residential, service, and public space functions, while creating jobs and consolidating existing vocations.
A vast masterplan of 56,400 hectares, developed in 2016 by the international firm Benoy with local partners, proposes a city structured into six large interconnected districts, combining education, leisure, business, commerce, health, hospitality, and transport, with at its heart a “Global Centre” celebrating Cali’s architectural heritage and a large central park inspired by Central Park.
Bringing the Cali River Back to the Center
At the heart of upcoming projects, the Cali River holds a singular place. Historically the origin of the city, its valley is now under pressure: urban densification, informal housing on its banks, environmental risks, deficit of public spaces, pollution from wastewater and certain mining or livestock activities.
Several projects seek to transform this corridor into an ecological and social backbone. One of them, covering 88 hectares between Calle 25 and the river’s mouth into the Cauca, plans for a 20% increase in trees and shrubs and a rise in green surface per capita. The landscaping is designed based on biophysical analyses, with species chosen for bank protection and feeding local birdlife. Low-impact anti-erosion structures, placed parallel to the current, are meant to slow water speed and create shelters for urban wildlife.
The urban planning of this river corridor is not limited to ecological aspects. Plazas, urban landmarks, and open spaces are designed to promote visibility and pathway continuity. The idea is to reconnect the city to its river, notably through the redevelopment of two major parallel road axes, transformed into supports for calmed mobility and public transport.
The Paseo del Río is a linear park along the río Cali, developed in several phases since 2015. The first section, between streets 15 and 25, transformed car lanes into a pedestrian and cycling promenade, with an extension planned towards the mouth of the Cauca. This public-private project aims to improve the downtown living environment and stimulate its economic revitalization.
Green Corridors and Commuter Rail
At the metropolitan scale, Cali is betting heavily on its “Corredor Verde”, designed as a structuring axis that partially reuses an old railway right-of-way. The challenge: to restitch the links between the hills and the river, to articulate green infrastructure and urban fabric, and to insert a clean transport system – notably a future commuter train that should connect Jamundí to the south, Cali, and surrounding towns like Palmira and Candelaria. This project is among the priorities for local future development.
The second phase of the Corredor Verde is under design, with the stated ambition of combining environmental rehabilitation, new public space, and sustainable mobility. In the background, Colombia is also deploying a national Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) strategy, supported by partners like the German development bank KfW and the agency FINDETER. Cali is one of the pilot cities selected for this type of project, meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by densifying urbanization around mass transit stations.
The Tensions of Urban Renewal
While these projects promise a greener and better-connected city, they also crystallize strong tensions. The case of Ciudad Paraíso, a vast transformation operation in the historic center, is emblematic. Launched over a decade ago, this project has led to the eviction of residents from neighborhoods like El Calvario, often under conditions denounced by the inhabitants: compensation deemed insufficient, reclassification of the socioeconomic stratification to artificially reduce compensation values, relocation to apartments delivered as “obra gris” (bare structure) imposing additional costs of at least 10 million pesos on occupants.
The displacement of families into already dense neighborhoods exacerbates overcrowding and tensions. Observers denounce an accelerated gentrification process, where the public company EMRU would negotiate individually with aging and vulnerable communities, creating a stark contrast between new constructions and the degraded state of surrounding sectors.
Thus, Cali joins Bogotá and other Colombian metropolises facing the same dilemmas: how to finance urban renewal without producing exclusion? How to reconcile environmental improvement, real estate attractiveness, and the right to the city for existing residents? The answers remain partial, but the debates are now at the heart of urban planning.
Medellín: From Social Urbanism to the City of Innovation
Medellín is arguably the Colombian city most studied internationally for its urban transformation. Considered one of the world’s most violent cities in the early 1990s, with a peak of 381 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 1991, it is now cited as a model of “urban renaissance” and resilience. The story is well-known: a metro inaugurated in 1995, Metrocable cable car lines starting in 2004, library-parks planted in the heart of poor neighborhoods, outdoor escalators in the steep favelas of Comuna 13, a policy of “Urbanismo Social” that primarily targets areas with the lowest human development index.
A New Generation of Projects for 2024–2027
Far from stopping at the achievements emb emblematic of the 2000s–2010s, Medellín now projects a new urban agenda for 2024–2027. The municipality announces in particular the creation of approximately 30 million m² of new public spaces – a considerable volume – based on five axes: valley geographies, the stream and river system, green corridors, blue corridors, and a “natural” growth from the periphery towards the center.
The territory’s hydrographic network comprises nearly 1,900 km of rivers and streams.
The agenda also includes the construction of 50 social facilities (schools, cultural centers, sports and recreational installations) distributed across the 16 communes and 5 corregimientos, the renovation of about 1,030 existing sports facilities, and the creation of CASA centers (Culture, Academy, Sports, and Attention) to strengthen the supply of proximity services.
Temperature reduction in degrees Celsius achieved in some sectors of Medellín thanks to its green corridors plan.
Mobility and Innovative Financing
On the transport front, the city now relies on the new Avenida 80 tram line, which will add to the existing network (two metro lines, several Metrocable lines, a BRT system). Around this corridor, an urban redevelopment project is envisioned, with a potential estimated at over 520,000 m² of new built surfaces over 20 years. Here again, the TIF tool is on the table: the analysis conducted with the World Bank identified a bond issuance potential of about $190 million, capitalizing on the expected increase in land values along the route.
This is the number of jobs generated by Medellín’s innovation district in 2021.
A pilot TIF district was also designed within this “Medellinnovation District”: on 26 hectares, subdivided into 45 development units, the initial plan envisioned 1.4 million m² of new surfaces (including 600,000 m² of housing, nearly 30% affordable), before being scaled back to 950,000 m² after market studies. Over a 16-year horizon, the municipality estimates that property tax could generate $48 million, an increase of over 400% compared to a scenario without the project, allowing for bond issuances between $16 and $22 million.
| Medellín Urban Project | Main Indicators |
|---|---|
| Innovation District (IDM) – initial masterplan | 180 ha, 1.4 M m² (600,000 m² housing, 600,000 m² tertiary) |
| IDM after revision | ~950,000 m² |
| IDM TIF District | 26 ha, 45 development units |
| TIF Period | 2021–2035 (16 years) |
| Base Property Tax (2017) | $397,000 |
| Projected Property Tax Revenue (16 years) | $48M (+418%) |
| Estimated Bond Issuance Capacity | $16–22M |
| Avenida 80 – redevelopment project | ~521,000 m² of potential development, TIF ~$190M |
This combination of physical projects, financial instruments, and social programs fits into a long-term vision but is not free from criticism. Local organizations warn of gentrification effects, rising speculation – also fueled by the massive arrival of tourists, digital nomads, and foreign investors – and pressure on rents, particularly in neighborhoods like El Poblado or Laureles.
A National Framework in Transition: Climate, Funding, and Smart Cities
Local projects can only be understood in light of a national framework that, over the last thirty years, has significantly strengthened legal, financial, and planning tools for urbanism.
The 1991 Constitution launched a decentralization that gives municipalities broad responsibilities in urban planning, while maintaining a strong financial dependence on transfers from the central state. Key texts – Law 9 of 1989 on urban reform, Law 99 of 1993 on the environment, Law 388 of 1997 on territorial planning, Law 1454 of 2011 on territorial organization, Law 2169 of 2021 on climate action, not to mention specific climate laws (Law 1931 of 2018, Decree 298 of 2016) – compose a dense legislative arsenal.
84% of Colombia’s population is exposed to at least two major climate threats.
In this context, upcoming urban projects are no longer mere roadworks or beautification operations. They become pieces of a resilience strategy: systematic integration of climate vulnerability into urban plans, widespread adoption of disaster risk management at the municipal scale (over 1,000 municipalities have developed risk management plans), use of parametric insurance devices against floods, or promotion of Nature-Based Solutions in city design.
To bridge an urban infrastructure deficit estimated at several tens of billions of dollars, Colombia uses several financial mechanisms. In addition to TIF (Tax Increment Financing), supported by the World Bank and regulated by a national decree (requiring, among other things, a property tax collection rate of at least 60% and integration into planning tools), cities mobilize other levers.
– the unified property tax,
– the industry and commerce tax,
– the fuel surcharge,
– intergovernmental transfers,
– royalties,
– public debt (municipal bonds),
– public-private partnerships.
Major cities with relatively reliable cadastres – Bogotá, Medellín, Barranquilla, Cali – are better positioned to exploit these tools. A multipurpose cadastre being deployed in over 300 municipalities is expected to improve the situation elsewhere.
Number of households in a housing deficit situation in Colombia, two-thirds of which require structural rehabilitation.
Finally, the digital agenda overlays these material challenges. With an expanding digital economy – 12.8% of digital enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean, Internet penetration rising from 38% in 2014 to 63% in 2023, but still over 40% of households without access – Colombia sees smart cities as a lever for efficiency but also a source of potential new inequalities. Medellín, recognized as a world-class smart city; Mompox, which aspires to become the country’s first 100% smart city; or Bogotá’s experiments with sensors and data, give a measure of an ongoing transformation.
What Upcoming Projects Reveal
The upcoming urban development projects in Colombia are not isolated islands. They form a coherent panorama where several constants emerge.
First, mobility remains the backbone of transformations. Bogotá’s metro, Medellín’s tram, Cali’s commuter train, reconfiguration of Barranquilla’s riverfront around promenades and parks: everywhere, urban densification is conceived around public transport, in a Transit-Oriented Development logic financially supported at the national and international levels.
Natural spaces in cities are no longer considered a luxury but as vital infrastructure, on par with transport or water networks. Projects like Medellín’s green corridors, the restoration of Barranquilla’s wetlands, the rehabilitation of the río Cali, or the renaturalization of banks in Bogotá demonstrate their multifunctional role: they combat urban heat islands, improve flood management, protect biodiversity, and create spaces for social life.
Third, the social question – poverty, inequality, migrant reception, housing access – is omnipresent, without the responses always matching the stated ambitions. Barranquilla shows that massive investment in parks can reduce crime, improve well-being, and even strengthen local finances. Medellín demonstrated the power of a social urbanism that deliberately places the best facilities in the poorest neighborhoods. But Cali also reminds us that urban renewal can translate into forced displacement and gentrification if citizen participation and land rights are not at the heart of the processes.
Colombia stands out for its large-scale experimentation in the financial and institutional domain. The country is actively testing instruments like TIF (Tax Increment Financing), parametric flood insurance, integrated programs combining housing and resilience, as well as city networks dedicated to biodiversity. These innovations are closely watched by many other international actors.
At a time when half of humanity already lives in cities and this proportion continues to grow, the Colombian experience says something about the global urban future: a tight race between the aggravation of risks (climatic, social, economic) and the capacity for invention. The upcoming projects in Colombia do not, on their own, guarantee a more just and sustainable city. But they show that, from the Caribbean marshes to the Andean valleys, it is indeed in the making of urban spaces that a large part of the country’s future is being played out.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. We encourage you to consult qualified experts before making any investment, real estate, or expatriation decisions. Although we strive to maintain up-to-date and accurate information, we do not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the proposed content. As investment and expatriation involve risks, we disclaim any liability for potential losses or damages arising from the use of this site. Your use of this site confirms your acceptance of these terms and your understanding of the associated risks.
Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.
On his website, cyriljarnias.com, he shares his expertise on international real estate, offshore company formation, and expatriation.
Thanks to his expertise, he offers sound advice to optimize his clients' wealth management. Cyril Jarnias is also recognized for his appearances in many prestigious media outlets such as BFM Business, les Français de l’étranger, Le Figaro, Les Echos, and Mieux vivre votre argent, where he shares his knowledge and know-how in wealth management.
