The Case of Cartagena
The functional urban area (FUA) of the Case Study in Cartagena
Cartagena is historically known as Cartagena de Indias. The city of Cartagena is one of the biggest port cities in the Caribbean region. With a population of more than one million people and an area of 623 km2, it is Colombia’s fifth-largest city. The urban space is intimately connected to its coastal marine environment, with shipping and artisan fisheries as two of its largest economic sectors alongside petrochemicals and tourism. Founded as a major port by the Spanish in the early 16th century, the city’s origins and history are deeply tied to colonization, which has shaped its political and environmental context today.
Catagena’s shallow bay and lagune connected the coastline to the inland settlement, with the two rivers, the Rio Magdalena and the Sinú river, facilitating trade and easy modes of transportation. Between the 16th and 17th century, the port of Cartagena becomes a central market for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, linking colonial projects in South America and the Caribbean. Today, Cartagena has a rich and vibrant culture that intersects with struggles of poverty and inequitable access to natural resources. For example, some of our partners mentioned it feels like there are at least two Cartagenas: one rich and expensive, attracting millions of tourists every year, and one poor, informal, and vulnerable to the volatility of politics and climate change.
We support each other, I don’t have she has, we exchange. We all sell together. I give her for her to sell also. It’s not about who sells most. We sell together for the community. There is more than enough demand for all of us.
Three examples of nature-based solutions in Cartagena
Patios Productivos is designed to support individuals and their families in cultivating vegetables and revitalizing local soil plots - many of which had previously served as informal landfills between informal houses. The program’s success gradually transformed it into a source of income for urban gardeners, who began participating in informal street vending economies.
The “Parque Espíritu del Manglar”, situated just outside of the historic walled city centre of Cartagena is currently the biggest green space in the urban area. The area was historically covered in mangrove forests. However, as the city grew and developed, it became one of the first places to be cut down and filled in and used as a trash dump.
Serena del Mar, also known as the “Dreamed City,” is a new neighbourhood currently being built just 12 kilometres from the historical centre of Cartagena. It is located along the city’s northern coastline on 2,400 acres of land, situated within a diverse natural ecosystem that includes 1.5 miles of beaches, lush hillsides overlooking the Caribbean Sea, a network of navigable mangrove lagoons, and tropical dry forests
Figure 1: Top photo is salad dish of the flowers harvested and served in Celele Restaurant. The bottom photo is one of the urban gardens. Photo source: Philipp Montenegro
Figure 2: Closed entrance to the Parque Espiritu Manglar with the abandoned cats waiting for their food. Photo source: Philipp Montenegro
Figure 3: Rendering of Estuario, a part of Serena del Mar from an aerial perspective.