CONTEXT

Medellín is home to a significant number of self-built neighborhoods, many of which are located on the steep hillsides surrounding the city. These communities, often established without formal planning or adequate access to basic services, are particularly vulnerable to landslides, floods, and other environmental hazards. Despite significant advances in urban inclusion policies, many residents continue to face barriers to accessing secure land tenure, infrastructure, and essential social services. Furthermore, the availability of reliable and up-to-date data on these areas remains limited, which restricts the capacity of both local authorities and communities to effectively plan for resilience and formal development. Mapping these self-built neighborhoods through participatory and open approaches provides key information to guide public policy, strengthen service delivery, and reduce disaster risk.

APPROACH

The project seeks to consolidate the Hillside Mapping School as a collaborative ecosystem, bringing together community, academia, and institutions, oriented toward the production, use, and advocacy of open data, strengthening local capacities in participatory mapping for disaster risk management and climate resilience in hillside territories and rural districts of the city of Medellín. To this end, a capacity-building process will be implemented through a training program that equips 15 community leaders from hillside neighborhoods and rural districts of Medellín with open cartography tools, contributing to the consolidation of a local network of active community mappers.

Likewise, the development of communities of practice and communication channels focused on risk prevention, climate resilience, and the protection of life will be promoted through the use of ChatMap. The production of open, quality geographic data on risk factors and community actions in hillside neighborhoods and rural districts of Medellín will be carried out using orthophotographs, field data collection, and remote mapping, covering a total of 20 projects.

Finally, the project envisions the consolidation of a roundtable bringing together academia, community, and public institutions, with the goal of incorporating community maps into information, management, and monitoring systems for risk prevention and climate change adaptation in hillside neighborhoods and rural districts of Medellín.

OUTCOME AND IMPACT

The project will generate a direct and sustainable impact on hillside communities and rural districts through the strengthening of local capacities in risk management and the production of territorial knowledge. At least 30 people from 15 organizational processes and 40 community leaders will develop practical skills in participatory mapping and the use of open tools, supported by a local team of five certified trainers that will ensure the replicability of the process. The production and validation of 20 community mapping projects, 10 orthophotos, more than 1,000 photographic records, and 10 risk analysis maps will allow for more precise identification of homes, pathways, and critical points, strengthening prevention and local decision-making. The activation of 10 community monitoring and early warning networks will contribute to improving territorial surveillance and emergency response capacity. Finally, the formalization of a Government–Community Roundtable, with the participation of 15 public officials from four agencies, will consolidate mechanisms for shared responsibility, open data use, and risk governance, directly and indirectly benefiting hundreds of residents.

Photo credits: ALONSOZAR | Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0