The Story of How Medellin Turned Its Water Reservoirs into Public Parks

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While developing a master plan for Medellin's urban lighting system, EPM, Medellin's public utility company, analyzed the Colombian city's infrastructure and nocturnal lighting system by superimposing a map of the system over a map of the city. What they found was an urban landscape blotted by "islands" of darkness.

Much to the surprise of the utilities company, the dark spots were actually 144 water tanks that were initially built on the city's outskirts; however, thanks to the progressive expansion of Medellin's city limits, the tanks now found themselves completely surrounded by the informal settlements of the Aburra Valley. Even worse, they had become focal points for violence and insecurity in neighborhoods devoid of public spaces and basic infrastructure. 

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Cite: Valencia, Nicolás. "The Story of How Medellin Turned Its Water Reservoirs into Public Parks" [La historia de cómo Medellín convirtió sus tanques de agua en verdaderos parques públicos] 16 Jun 2020. ArchDaily. (Trans. Johnson, Maggie) Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/941465/the-story-of-how-medellin-turned-its-water-reservoirs-into-public-parks> ISSN 0719-8884

UVA Los Sueños. Image Cortesía de EPM

14个神秘封闭的蓄水池,变开放互动的城市公园

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