TRANSFORMAL
Creating a Community/Recycling Center for an Informal Settlement Medéllin, Colombia | Julie Morningstar | Advisor: Natalie Malawey-Ednie
Formerly the “murder capital of the world,” Medellín was recently named “Innovative City of the Year” by Urban Land Institute, Citibank, & Wall Street Journal. The city’s fast transformation has been in large part due to the number of projects completed in the poorest neighborhoods. However, like many large cities, Medellín is running out of landfill space and has not fully implemented a recycling plan. Learning from the city’s “library parks” and its mission of social urbanism, this recycling center, located in an informal settlement, will include its residents by offering community space as well. Visitors will have a place to learn about the recycling process and their role in it, and the informal waste picker community will be supported and connected here. This recycling/community center typology will be an icon for the neighborhood and set an example for the rest of city.