Learn about Barranquilla and its four year Development Plan
Barranquilla has undergone a positive transformation for the last 12 years, achieving great progress that provides a solid city foundation to continue working for the well-being and quality of life of its residents.
Barranquilla is located on the northern coast of Colombia and on the west bank of the Magdalena River. It is s a city with 207 years of history located 100 kilometers from Cartagena and Santa Marta by car (major tourist cities on the coast), and 90 minutes away by airplane from the country’s capital. Its population of 1,274,250 inhabitants makes it the fourth most populated city in the country with an economy that currently represents 18% of the added value produced in the Caribbean region, being the main city in the Colombian Caribbean region.
It is known for being the “Golden Gate of Colombia” due to its history as a maritime and river port that throughout the 19th and mid-20th century was a flourishing commercial and industrial center where great innovations and national milestones occurred. However, the city also went through stagnation and decay for more than three decades, hitting its infrastructure, development and economic growth.
During the last 12 years, public administrations have worked to improve the quality of life of Barranquilla´s residents. Continuity in public policy guidelines and institutional processes have made it possible to capitalize on the learned lessons and consolidate greater trust in citizens, allowing progress in all fields to a greater extent, going from quantitative leaps to qualitative progress in administration results. Leadership and governance, management continuity, work aligned to a city vision and well-managed public finances have been translated into social, urban and economic progress.
These efforts have helped the city become a national success. For example, in the last 12 years, Barranquilla has been the city with the highest reduction in poverty concentration, with one of the highest growths in terms of household income and with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Also, its public education system is known for its high quality, having the most high-ranking public schools in the country. In 2008, the city couldn´t receive a credit risk rating and in just 10 years, it achieved a AAA rating, enhancing its capacity to finance high-end infrastructure projects and social programs. This has led to the construction of urban projects such a 5.5-kilometer Riverwalk and the second-biggest Expo-Center in Colombia, and also to host international events such as the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, World Cup Qualifiers, the 2021 IDB Assembly, the 2027 Panamerican Games, among others.
Hence, Barranquilla´s 2020-2023 Development Plan aims to continue the city´s path of economic growth so it can close socioeconomic gaps, enhance its productive apparatus and overcome environmental, public health, education, housing, urban security and other social challenges. Its main objectives are:
- Continue the improvement of access and quality of public utilities and services.
- To be an equitable city for basic, middle and higher education opportunities, not only in terms of coverage, but also quality.
- Maintain health coverage and continue improving quality provision of this basic and fundamental service for society.
- Consolidate opportunities for women, youth and people with disabilities.
- Generate new and better job opportunities.
- Improve citizens’ mobility.
- Provide new high quality public spaces.
- Environmental responsibility and a mitigation plan for the evident climate change.
Based on spatial, economic, urban and social data analysis, with inputs given by our citizens expressed in more than 60 community roundtables, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations New Urban Agenda and Colombia´s National Development Plan these objectives were compressed into 4 main city challenges:
- Equitable City Challenge
- Attractive and Prosperous City Challenge
- Connected City Challenge
- BiodiverCity Challenge
Equitable City Challenge
A more equitable city implies a social agenda continuation and expansion that aims to expand social, economic and political opportunities for Barranquilla residents, with special attention to the city’s vulnerable population. We aim at a city where early childhood, young people, the elderly, women, LGBTIQ community and our population with disabilities are an active city segment, where access to public utilities and opportunities are assured to achieve their goals and consolidate their future.
The “Equitable City Challenge” contains 5 policies that are divided into 33 programs and 143 specific projects related to high-quality education, public housing, healthcare, social inclusion, human rights, urban security and others.
Attractive and Prosperous City Challenge
One factor for city development is the local actors’ fluid articulation: Public and private sectors, and civil society, with companies being the main source of employment, income and productivity. One of the administration´s main objectives is to make Barranquilla a city that has the capacity to attract national and international private investment, which promotes the creation of a regional ecosystem based on competitiveness, productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship, which has a city brand that positions it internationally.
The “Attractive and Prosperous City Challenge” contains 8 policies that are divided into 22 programs and 81 specific projects related to city branding, tourism, culture and heritage, sports and recreation, efficient public administration, public spaces and others.
Connected City Challenge
The connection between territorial actors is not only a unidirectional physical or virtual relation, but a process that implies two-way communication, in which the public administration, the citizens and the private sector can communicate effectively to maximize the scope of government decisions, as well as knowing the achieved progress and results. The main objectives of this challenge are to improve mobility speed and quality, citizens’ connectivity and communication with their peers, citizens’ relationship with the city’s administration, and city’s connection with the rest of the world, and to increase civic culture as a basis for co-existence, civic spirit, participation, collective action and citizenship exercise. The “Connected City Challenge” contains 2 policies that are divided into 8 programs and 45 specific projects related to government-citizen enhanced relationship, citizen civic culture, smart and safe mobility and public transportation.
BiodiverCity Challenge
The Biodivercity aims to guarantee connectivity between urban and rural areas, involving citizens in the city’s ecosystem conservation and sustainable development. Barranquilla is a privileged city at an ecological level, since it is located in the Caribbean basin, it has high biological value ecosystems made up of mangroves, swamps and wetlands that promote adaptability to climate change. The “BiodiverCity Challenge” contains 3 policies that are divided into 8 programs and 23 specific projects related to the renewal of the Mallorquin Swamp System, the creation of urban forests, environmental and risk awareness, alternative renewable energy sources, and others.
Download here the summary of the Development Plan 2020-2023 in English.