How Medellín Transformed from Violence to Urban Innovation Model

I recently attended one of the most interesting conferences I’ve experienced in years: The Greatest Transformation, held in Medellín, Colombia, and led by George Leca, managing director of Adizes Romania and Moldova. At the Adizes Institute, we study organizational transformation. How do you take an organization that is rotting from the inside, be it corruption or just internal fighting and misalignment, and make it healthy again? Thus, when George told me he was organizing a conference on organizational transformation in Medellín, Colombia, I was in. “Where better to study organizational transformation than one of the most transformed cities on the face of the earth,” George explained as I booked my tickets.

At this conference, we sat with former mayors Alonso Salazar and Sergio Fajardo, who walked us through how Medellín went from one of the most dangerous cities in the world to one of the most visited. We called on institutions like Comfama and places like Ruta N. We stood in Comuna 13, where escalators now carry tourists through what was once a war zone.To understand how Medellín was “fixed,” you have to understand how it broke. The city sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. Over time, waves of people moved into those mountains. They were farmers fleeing violence or individuals chasing opportunity. These were not wealthy people. They built where they could, further and further up the mountainsides. Their homes were tolerated but not recognized. They did not own the land. Their homes were not built “to code,” and because of that, the city did not treat them as part of the city. They received no services, no proper schools, no infrastructure, no water, no sewer systems, no roads, no transportation. What emerged was not just poverty, but disintegration. Two cities developed: the official one and the one that lived above it. It was in that gap that Pablo Escobar emerged, bringing levels of violence rarely seen outside of active war zones.

Which raises the very question this conference was designed to uncover: if you were in charge of a city like that, what would you do?One solution (the short-term effective, results-oriented solution) would be to act decisively to produce results. An example is El Salvador under Bukele. Arrest anyone suspected of being a criminal and restore order through force. It works in the sense that it produces immediate results, but it is not precise, as many innocents are caught up in the mass arrests. As such, it is heavily criticized. It is also not a long-term solution. It solves one dimension of the problem while ignoring others.

Another solution (a short-term, efficient administrative solution) would be more policing: enforcing the laws and even creating new laws to make it easier to enforce existing laws. An example of this would be Giuliani’s New York, where the police were empowered to physically check anyone to see if they were carrying a weapon. This policy, known as stop-and-frisk, was also very unpopular because it addressed only one dimension of the problem.

Another solution (the long-term effective strategic solution) would be to try something bold and creative. Legalize drugs like Portugal did or reinvent institutions like Georgia did when it replaced its entire police force overnight, or even rethink governance itself like the ancient Athenians did when they decided to select their political leaders using a kleroterion randomly.

Another solution (the long-term, efficient people solution) is to bring people together through dialogue, reconciliation, and shared understanding. South Africa is an example of this type of approach. Through processes like CODESA and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,  truth was revealed, victims were acknowledged, perpetrators could earn forgiveness, and a shared reality could be created. But talking alone addresses only one dimension of the problem.

What makes Medellín so powerful is that it implemented a solution that, while focused on "people" (long-term efficiency), still included the other elements.

The city invested heavily in infrastructure in neighborhoods that previous administrations had ignored. Libraries, schools, escalators, cable cars connecting the hills to the city, roads, bridges, and utilities were built. This was short-term, effective, "results-oriented" work, but they didn't simply build for the community. They built with the community. That is a critical distinction. By integrating local communities in the process, they created ownership and participation. And from that participation, something else emerged — creativity. Artistic communities formed. New uses for infrastructure appeared. Innovation was not imposed; it was unleashed.

At the same time, everything was done within the existing system. No one overthrew authority or abandoned structure. The transformation respected the city's administrative framework.

And perhaps most importantly, integration did not happen around the past. It did not focus on reconciliation for what had been done. It focused on the future — on solving real problems, in real time, together. Integration was not a conversation. It was participation in building something that mattered.

Today, Medellín is almost unrecognizable from what it once was. It is clean, vibrant, and full of life. The city feels safe, the public spaces are active, and there is a visible sense of pride among its residents. What was once fragmented now feels connected, physically through infrastructure and socially through participation. That transformation is also reflected in the numbers: Medellín now attracts roughly 1 to 1.4 million international visitors per year, with tourism continuing to grow at double-digit rates. Tourists move freely through once-inaccessible areas, and locals actively use and care for the spaces built with them. It is not a perfect city, but it is a functioning, integrated one, and that alone makes it remarkable.

Medellín is not just an interesting case study. It reminds us that even the most broken systems can change — if approached the right way. Seeing that transformation up close, and hearing directly from the people who led it, was an extraordinary experience. My thanks to George Leca for the invitation and for creating a forum where these lessons can be understood, not just discussed.

The Greatest Transformation is a conference series that brings small, intimate groups of senior executives together to learn about organizational transformation by visiting cities and organizations that have recently undergone significant change. The next conference will take place in Medellín from Nov. 21 – Dec. 2, 2026. Visit https://www.georgeleca.com/greatest_transformation_on_earth/for more information on future conferences.