Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

From 15 to 17 November, several representatives of the Metropolitan Area of Valle de Aburrá (Colombia) visited the AMB to see first hand how they work in areas such as innovation, public spaces, and sustainable mobility, as well as to consolidate their relationship which began in 2014 during the Urban Forum of Medellín,  with the signing of a technical and political cooperation agreement between the two institutions.

During the visit, representatives of Aburrá showed special interest in the field of smart cities, and they had an opportunity to meet with the heads of the Innovation Service of the AMB at the booth set up by the AMB during the last Smart City Expo World Congress.

The other key issue the Valle de Aburrá wanted to explore in greater depth was that of bicycle rental systems, and it therefore met with the AMB Directorate of Sustainable Mobility. In doing so, they were able to exchange experiences on metropolitan works and projects with the Management of Public Spaces of the AMB. Together with the Department of International Affairs and Cooperation, they shared their respective international strategies.

The Metropolitan Area of Valle de Aburrá encompasses 10 municipalities (Medellin, Barbosa, Girardota, Copacabana, Bello, Envigado, Itagui, La Estrella, and Sabaneta Caldas), with a population of 3.8 million inhabitants. It manages two-thirds of the economy of the region and operates an important strategy of economic attraction. It currently performs operations in areas such as territorial planning, the environment, mobility, and metropolitan transportation, areas in which the AMB is also involved and on which they discovered synergies and exchanged key knowledge and experiences during the visit.