Lesson 1 Treasure out of Trash

New Trends of Urban Renewal Escalators Transform Life in Hillside Neighborhood

Like any living organism, cities eventually grow old A couple of decades ago, Medellin, Colombia’s

and tired. They cannot be left to die. Constant second largest city, was suffering from violence and

efforts should be made to breathe life into them. poverty. Today the colorful city is part of an

New buildings must be constructed and old altogether brighter picture, a rising metropolitan

infrastructure repaired or replaced. If not, old city economy in Latin America.

areas will come to ruin. The importance of urban
This remarkable redevelopment is the result of
renewal cannot be stressed enough, but in fact most
inventive city planning. Comuna 13, a community
cities find it tricky to deal with the issue. What to do
high up on the city’s hillside, was once a shelter for
with the run-down parts of a city generates heated
armed criminals. Steep roads climbing as high as 28
debates among interested parties. From local
stories of stairs made it impossible for vehicles to
government to private property owners,
access this poor neighborhood, leaving the
conservationists to real estate developers, disused city
community isolated, abandoned by law enforcement.
districts are highly fought over.
The city came up with a clever idea to secure

access to the area a 384-meter long series of

A whole new start for the city was once a popular
escalators that scales the mountain. Freely open to
solution. A lot of run-down urban areas were entirely
the public, the journey takes a total of only six
wiped out in favor of massive redevelopment that
minutes. The residents cannot speak highly enough
would meet the demands of the modern city, for
of the simple innovation. It has brought peace, pride,
housing, transport, office or commercial space. Old
and prosperity to a community that had long
buildings were torn down and were soon replaced

with bright, shining buildings. This approach to urban suffered from governmental abandonment and

renewal may have been fast, effective, and profitable, unchecked crime of all sorts. In recent years

but the true cost was ignored. The historical traces Medellin’s crime rate has fallen by more than 80

of the cityscape were forever erased, and residents percent from its peak and the city has become a

with limited means were driven from their homes in global model for successful transformation. The

the newly redeveloped neighborhoods. Because of escalators themselves have become famous; they are

this disregard for the human aspect, new perspectives now a symbol of rebirth and have encouraged

to look at urban renewal are being brought into international corporations to open new facilities in

focus more creative, more community-friendly and the area. Medellin’s renewal has attracted planners
better at preserving a city’s architectural heritage.
from cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, and

Washington, D.C. to see how it was accomplished.

Artistic Inspiration to Build an Ideal Community Upcycling Outdated Infrastructure into Green Space

Hundertwasser Haus in Vienna, Austria, is another Green spaces in densely populated cities are often

creative example of urban renewal. Vienna was few and far between. In particularly populous cities

heavily bombed during World War II and like New York and Seoul, common space for citizens
reconstruction architecture was functional and
is never enough. Providing people with greener
featureless, consisting of cheap grey concrete blocks.
spaces that can be enjoyed outside during the usual
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a globally famous artist
working week is something all cities should struggle
who also worked in the field of environmental
to accomplish. Upcycling or creative reuse of
protection, had long dreamed of transforming the
outdated infrastructure can be a great solution.
dull concrete buildings into more welcoming,

eco-friendly spaces, full of vitality and greenery.

An innovative plan for New York’s old subway line
In December, 1977, the mayor of Vienna offered

Hundertwasser full charge of rebuilding a run-down is a representative example of upcycling urban

site in the middle of the city, allowing him to create infrastructure. Originally built in 1929, the High Line

a unique community composed of 52 apartments, was a 13-mile project that ran high across the west

common playgrounds, and a medical facility. The of Manhattan. Built at an enormous cost, it soon fell

trees in the community are treated as regular out of favor and began to be closed and brought
tenants, just like the apartment residents. They pay
down. In 1999, Manhattan residents and property
their share of the rent by providing fresh air and
owners started an effort to convert the disused rail
noise reduction. The apartment complex was
line into a public park. The High Line Park is now a
designed to function as an integrated eco-friendly
walking bridge, decorated with plants. It runs through
system, where people, plants and animals live
the western part of Manhattan, offering a unique
together in complete harmony. Above all, the best
view of the city. It has revived the run-down area
thing about the colorful apartment site is its

overwhelming beauty and incomparable artistic and breathed new life into the surrounding

uniqueness. Composed of colors and curves, the community.

building itself is a work of art, a wonder to look at.

The beautiful, inspiring complex has now become a

major tourist site in the city. Most significantly,

interest in the project has generated similar housing

designs by architects from all over the world. In this

case, an artist’s vision has literally changed the entire

view of the city.

 In Seoul, Seoullo 7017, now open to the public,

provides an example of upcycling outdated

infrastructure. The Seoul Station Overpass, originally

designed exclusively for cars, has been transformed

into a garden bridge for walking citizens. The Seoul

Station Overpass was once considered a symbol of

the country’s surprisingly fast economic development.

Its transformation from a traffic overpass to a

walking bridge marks how the priorities of one of

the world’s fastest transforming cities have been

reordered. It stands for the slower pace of a nation

that seeks to pay greater respect to its history and

provide better quality of life for everyone.

Meeting the Challenges with Creative Solutions

Every city has pockets of underused and

underutilized land or decaying urban areas. These

pockets of underused land weaken the city’s image

and productivity. Cities from around the world are

struggling to come up with creative urban renewal

ideas to meet the challenges now that everyone is

aware of the importance of urban planning.

Creativity, community-friendliness, and preservation

are the three key words in the current trends of

urban renewal.
Supplementary Reading

Upcycling and Adaptive Reuse

In architecture, a major form of upcycling is
Upcycling is the process through which waste
adaptive reuse. Adaptive reuse refers to the process
materials or useless products are transformed into
of reusing an old site or building for a purpose
new materials or products with a higher value,
different from its original one. Adaptive reuse deals
leading to a reduction in production and
with the issues of conservation and development and
consumption. The term was initially used in 1994 by
tries to reach a balance between the two, thus it
the German engineer Reiner Pilz, but in recent years
becomes an effective way to reduce urban sprawl
has become widely used. In 2013, architect William
and environmental impact. By reusing an existing
McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart released
structure within a site, the energy and resources
a book The Upcycle, which cited upcycling as a
required to create these spaces are significantly
practical way to improve the world.
lessened, with the added advantage of preserving

architectural history. There are many prominent

examples of adaptive reuse around the globe. For a

representative example, the Bankside Power Station in

London was converted for use as the Tate Modern, a

modern branch of the Tate Art Gallery. The once

dark brick structure is now a symbol of rebirth,

helping rebuild the old neighborhood of Southwark.

The Tate Modern is estimated to have created 2,400

jobs and generated at least $80 million annual

income for London.