Medellin (Colombia): a case of smart city

In this paper we analyze the case of Medellin, using the methodology of the Smart Cities Service Integration Project, led by Smart City Consortium [1,2]. Externado University of Colombia as member of this Consortium, carried out in 2013 Medellin's case study. Medellin was voted as the innovative city of year in 2012 by the conquest organized by Wall Street Journal Magazine, the Citi and the Urban Land Institute, due to its efforts and results in reduction of CO2 emissions, construction of cultural spaces and reduction of crime [3]. In 2014 we will study the case of Bogota in order to characterize smart cities in Colombia. In the first part of this paper we provide some basic data of the Medellin in order to contextualize readers about this city. Then, we provide background information to justify the implementation of smart city initiatives in Medellin. After that, we highlight differences and complementarities of these initiatives. Finally, we identify lessons learned during the implementation of Medellin's smart city initiatives, and how they could be avoided to resolve problems and to successfully implement similar initiatives in their own cities. These lessons are organized according to factors of the Smart City Initiatives Framework, defined by Chourabi et al [2].