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National Urban Policy Review of Colombia This OECD National Urban Policy Review of Colombia provides a comprehensive assessment of the country’s national urban policy ‘the System of Cities’ and of different sectoral policies that affect urban life: transport, housing, land use, and digitalisation. Colombia has entered the 2020s facing five intertwined crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, rising levels of poverty and inequality, a wave of mass international migration, the peace process consolidation, and the climate emergency. As the country seeks an answer to all those challenges, Colombia’s social and economic prosperity and environmental sustainability will be more tightly linked to the functioning of its cities and its urban governance system. This OECD review makes the case for an integrated, placed-based and inclusive urban development model and urban agenda that seize immediate opportunities that arise in fiscal, economic and sectorial policies, and protect hard-won gains from years of experience of urban policy implementation in the country. Designing a new national urban policy for Colombia – Ciudades 4.0 – demands a critical rethinking of whether urban areas are meeting the needs of all Colombians, and how different urban-related policies could help transform them for the better.

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National Urban Policy Review of Colombia

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OECD Urban Studies

National Urban Policy Review of Colombia

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia Policy Highlights

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OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia

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The full book is accessible at: OECD Urban Studies National Urban Policy Review of Colombia OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9ca1caae-en.

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OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia 3

Policy highlights

Colombia has entered the 2020s with a twofold task: managing the accumulated consequences of fast but disorderly urbanisation spanning several decades, and addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities. Colombia’s 2014 national urban policy (NUP) -the System of Cities - has helped view urbanisation via the prism of functional rather than purely administrative boundaries of cities. Colombia is a highly urbanised and polycentric country The share of the Colombian population living in urban areas almost doubled between 1950 and 2018, rising from 38.3% to 75.5% according to the latest national census. Colombia has a polycentric urban system, i.e. its population is concentrated in several major cities, in contrast with most Latin American countries. Almost 40% of the urban population (13.2 million people) live in the municipal cores of 5 municipalities (Bogotá, D.C., 7.4 million; Medellín, 2.4 million; Cali, 2.2 million; Barranquilla, 1.2 million; and Cartagena, 1.0 million). By contrast, less than 15% of Colombia’s urban population live in the 942 municipalities that count fewer than 20 000 inhabitants in their urban cores. Colombia’s urban population is concentrated in functional urban areas (FUAs). The functional urban system is also characterised by the high share of small FUAs with fewer than 200 000 inhabitants (60%), compared with other OECD countries where small urban areas account for 42% of FUAs (Figure 1).

Colombia has urbanised both through densification and through urban expansion. Between 1990 and 2015, the urban footprint in Colombian cities grew by 2.5% per year on average while the urban population increased by 2.3% (Castillo Varella, 2020[1]). This has significant environmental, economic and social consequences, including higher emissions from road transport and higher costs of providing key public services (such as water, electricity and public transport).

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia

4 Figure 1. Percentage of FUAs by population size, Colombia and OECD Colombia

OECD

Higher than 1.5 million Between 0.5 and 1.5 million

8 9 36 20

55 28

Source: OECD (2020[1]) Country compilation of functional urban areas, https://www.oecd.org/cfe/regionaldevelopment/Appendix_all_fuas.pdf

Urbanisation has not brough about benefits for all inhabitants Migration flows from rural areas, the displacement of rural inhabitants during 50 years of armed conflict, and international migration have stretched the capacity of cities to absorb and accommodate newcomers. Informal settlements now represent around a quarter of the built-up area of Colombian cities and are home to almost 5 million people, 11.2% of Colombian households in 2016 (IDMC, 2020[3]). Despite considerable improvement in social indicators in recent years, inequality and insecurity remain high in cities. In 2020, the Gini index was 0.54 in municipal cores, compared with 0.46 in less populated centres and dispersed rural areas (0.36 in other OECD cities in 2016). In 2021, 9.2% of people were victims of a crime in urban areas, compared to 6.6% in rural areas (DANE, 2020[4]).

Urban areas are the economic engine of the country Cities account for about half of Colombian national gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past 40 years and for 85% of the country’s total GDP today. Economic activity is highly concentrated in a few municipalities. Half of Colombia’s real GDP is produced in 23 municipalities and almost 40% in only 5 cities. Bogotá, D.C. accounts for 22.9% of Colombia’s total GDP, while Medellín comes next with 5.6%, then Cali with 4.1%, Barranquilla with 2.6% and Cartagena with 2.1% of Colombia’s total GDP in 2018. Colombia’s labour market has a high level of informality. Even though labour informality decreased in recent years, especially since the 2012 tax reform that cut social security contributions and reduced non-wage labour costs, nearly 60% of all workers still work in the informal sector – a high share compared to other countries in Latin America (Figure 2).

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia 5

Figure 2. Share of workers in informal sector, 2018 % 90 80 70 60 50

40 30 20 10 0

URY

CRI

CHL

BRA

ARG

COL

MEX

PER

Source: OECD (2019[4]) OECD Economic Surveys: Colombia 2019, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/e4c64889-en

Productivity in Colombian cities is low and agglomeration economies limited. Labour productivity (i.e. GDP per worker) in Colombian metropolitan areas on average is the lowest among all metropolitan areas in OECD countries. With around USD 43 800 per worker in 2018, Bucaramanga is the most productive metropolitan area in Colombia but one of the least productive of all metropolitan areas in the OECD for which data is available. The low level of skills compared with other OECD countries; the lack of competition in key sectors, such as transport or telecommunications; the high regulatory burden; and the relatively low integration in international trade may explain the low levels of productivity.

Critical sectoral policy challenges remain and undermine urban outcomes Colombian cities face both a quantitative and qualitative housing shortage to meet the population’s housing needs. Between 2005 and 2020, real house prices more than doubled in Colombia (+107.3%, the highest growth rate in all OECD countries) (Figure 3). At the national level, around one in three households need a housing solution (e.g. housing for ownership or rent, or housing improvements). Three in four households in a situation of housing deficit need a better home, not a new one. About half of households who face a housing deficit live in urban areas, and many of them work in the informal economy, which limits their prospects of accessing housing credits. In response to the housing challenge, Colombia’s housing policy has focused primarily on the production of social housing and has been steering low-income households towards homeownership. However, a significant share of social housing units is purchased by higher-income households as an investment strategy rather than by those most in need, especially as there is no condition of income or subsidy attached to social housing transactions. A housing rent subsidy has been introduced, but its final purpose is to lead low-income households towards homeownership.

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia

6 Figure 3. Evolution of real house prices, OECD contries, Q4 2005 - Q2 2021 % 120 100 80

60 40 20 0 -20 -40

Note: Data for Chile are available until Q4 2020, for the Czech Republic from Q1 2008, for Hungary from Q1 2007, for Latvia from Q1 2006, for Lithuania from Q1 2006, for Luxembourg from Q1 2007, for Korea until Q1 2021, for New Zealand until Q1 2021, for Slovenia from Q1 2007 and for Turkey from Q1 2010. Source: OECD (n.d.[5]) Analytical House Prices Indicators (database); https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=HOUSE_PRICES.

While more than a quarter of Colombian households face a qualitative housing deficit, housing conditions have improved in recent years. The share of households living in unliveable conditions 1 decreased in all departments since 2008. People living in urban areas generally enjoy better housing conditions that people living in rural areas. Land use plans (planes de ordenamiento territorial, POTs) are the main instrument to implement urban policy but most of them are outdated and underused. In 2021, 80% of POTs were outdated or in the process of being updated. Similarly, cadastral information for territorial planning is outdated as only 7% of municipalities had updated cadastral information in 2020, according to the MVCT. Formulating or updating a POT following requirements established by law is a costly and lengthy process for most municipalities. POTs are required to include a large number of topics to meet spatial and urban development objectives. Municipalities tend to lack access to up-to-date and accurate data that are necessary to elaborate a POT. In addition, they do not always have the financial resources or the technical capacity to process data to generate information and knowledge. The process to formulate or update a POT can also be framed by political interest rather than by actual local needs. Despite improvements, COVID-19 exposed and exacerbated urban inequality. GDP per capita has steadily increased between 2012 and 2019. However, regional inequalities are high and among the highest among OECD countries (OECD, 2019[7]). In particular, the COVID-19 crisis exposed and exacerbated inequality in large cities, where the most vulnerable groups such as migrants, the poor, women and the elderly have been hit particularly hard. A striking manifestation of this inequality is the proliferation of illegal or informal settlements due to the lack of land for affordable housing and the difficulties in benefitting from housing programmes when workers lack stable jobs. Although social indicators in Colombia have improved significantly over the past decade, the pandemic has wiped out pre-COVID progress. For example, the share of the population living below the poverty threshold had decreased in most capital cities and metropolitan areas between 2012 and 2019. However, that share increased again sharply in 2020 partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing the incidence of extreme poverty in municipal cores in 2020 back up to higher levels than in 2012 (14.2% in 2020 compared with 7.9% in 2012).

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia 7

Colombian cities remain unsafe despite recent improvements. The lack of safety and security has long been a significant challenge for Colombian cities, stemming in particular from a history of armed conflict triggering violence, civil conflict and illegal activities, high inequalities and the prevalence of marginalised areas and informal settlements characterised by the lack of access to basic services and high poverty levels. Insecurity is still higher in urban than in rural areas. In 2020, 7.8% of people aged 15 years old or more reported being victims of a crime in urban areas, while this share was 6.6% in rural areas (DANE, 2020[8]). On an international scale, Colombian metropolitan areas are amongst the least safe OECD metropolitan areas (e.g. the number of homicides per 100 000 inhabitants was 23 in Colombian metropolitan areas, against 5.6 in the United States [US] and 2.8 in Germany). Congestion, fatalities and pollution are the main mobility challenges in Colombian cities. Urban mobility systems are grappling with low quality and low reliability in public transport, high levels of congestion and road fatalities. This is partly due to the fact that cities lack reliable sources of financing to operate and maintain their public transport systems. Moreover, transport planning and land use planning are often carried out as separate functions, which leads to inconsistencies between urban mobility plans and land use plans. Colombia is 1 of the 8 OECD countries where the number of road deaths increased between 2010 and 2018, with a 25% rise in road deaths over the period – the secondhighest increase behind Costa Rica (ITF, 2020[9]). Despite recent improvements, air pollution in Colombian cities remains high, posing health threats with increased risks of heart and respiratory diseases. The transport sector is responsible for 12% of GHG emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, HFC, SF6 and PFC) in the country, of which 90% are produced by road transport (DNP, 2020[10]).

A national urban policy to face urban challenges In 2014, the national government published the National Policy for the Consolidation of the System of Cities in Colombia (CONPES 3819, hereinafter “System of Cities”) to guide urban development to support economic growth and competitiveness, and improve the quality of urbanisation to upgrade people’s well-being.

The System of Cities has helped modernise Colombia’s approach to urban development. It has consolidated the functional urban approach, reinforced the notion of interdependency between urban and rural areas, stressed the need to foster digital connectivity and introduced tools for overseeing the development of cities (e.g. the Modern Cities Index and the Observatory of the System of Cities). Despite progres, the System of Cities has at least three weaknesses. First, intra-urban issues have been largely left to sectoral policies (i.e. housing, transport and environment) and regulations such as the Organic Law for Territorial Organisation (LOOT) and land use plans (POTs). This has prevented coherence across policy sectors and the emergence of a long-term vision for urban development. Second, the NUP lacks a strong environmental and climate change dimension, as it does not define an urban green growth strategy that guides cities in their transition to a circular economy and links urban and environmental performance. Third, housing policy remains largely separated from urban policy and there has been little consideration of how housing finance could affect urban outcomes. Colombia is developing a new version of its NUP called Cities 4.0. The current proposal aims to consolidate the progress already achieved and take urban development to the next level by promoting inter-sectoral co-ordination and an integral vision of urban development. It contemplates five axes around which urban policy should be based: i) improved capacity of local administrations; ii) sustainability; iii) planning and land use; iv) productivity; and v) innovation. Cities 4.0 has the opportunity to develop a coherent and self-reinforcing strategy to deliver compact, connected, clean and inclusive cities. Box 1 highlights some elements that could be considered when revising the current proposal to ensure it is in line with national challenges and international practice.

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia

8

Box 1. Key recommendations to unlock the potential of a new NUP for Colombia International experience suggests to revise the national urban policy in the medium-term to reflect changing national priorities. Figure 4 shows a comparisson between the System of Cities, the proposed Cities 4.0 and the OECD recommendation on what the new NUP should prioritise.

Figure 4. Desiging a new national urban policy – objectives and axes of action Cities System

OECD - Colombia recommendation

CONPES 3819

Cities 4.0

General objective: System of cities as an engine of growth, competitiveness and improvement of the quality of life and environmental sustainability

(in progress) General objective: More sustainable, equitable and productive cities.

General objective/vision: More compact, connected, clean, inclusive, coordinated and productive cities.

Axes of action:

Sustainable vision and green growth

Capacity

Physical and digital connectivity

Comprehensive urban planning

Sustainability

Productivity

Social inclusion Ordering (planning)

Quality of life and equity Adequate and efficient financing

Productivity

Coordination and governance

Innovation

Inclusive urban prosperity (productivity)

Improved governance

To improve the quality of urbanisation and shape competitive, inclusive and sustainable cities in the post-COVID world, Colombia’s NUP could be recalibrated by: 

Reinforcing a place-based approach to resources at the local level;



Using the new NUP as a tool to move forward recovery from COVID-19 and the national development agenda;



Continuing to promote compact cities to make better use of the existing city and manage urban sprawl by setting specific compact city goals and retrofitting built-up areas;



Mainstreaming climate change and disaster risk management into urban planning;



Promoting urban-rural partnerships by linking urban and rural development planning;



Introducing an evaluation system on the implementation of urban policy and its different programmes to inform future urban policy reform.

make more efficient investments with national

Source: OECD (2022) National Urban Policy Review of Colombia, OECD Publishing, Paris

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia 9

Improving the quality of urbanisation requires leveraging urban-related sectoral policies Putting in place a national urban policy per se is no guarantee of better-quality urbanisation. Its success will depend on the government’s ability to leverage the contribution of sectoral policies to the NUP. Adopt a housing and habitat policy geared towards sustainable and inclusive urbanisation. Providing affordable, decent and safe housing options for all, in particular for low-income households, is a crucial challenge for Colombia from a social and economic point of view. However, housing policy should not be pursued at the expense of urban sustainability, for example by building urban spaces that are not viable nor resilient in environmental, economic and social terms. Moving forward, Colombia could introduce quality and sustainability standards in subsidised social housing based on a multidimensional approach. Efforts should also focus on developing intraurban decent and affordable rental housing options for low-income households, and developing alternative housing programmes to enlarge the spectrum of the housing and habitat policy, for example via subsidies to foster urban regeneration and housing subsidies for assisted self-help production. This housing and habitat policy for sustainable urban development should be supported by in-depth and upto-date data and knowledge on the local dimension of the housing deficit and a more accurate measurement of housing affordability. Modernise land use planning to manage urban development. Simplifying land use planning tools and making them more flexible could offer a critical tool to shape more accessible and sustainable cities. Colombia could consider streamlining the number of issues to be included in the POTs, emphasising the need to strengthen urban-rural linkages, evaluating projects according to the extent to which they serve community needs, and avoiding restrictive and single-use zoning regulation. Shift the focus from urban mobility to urban accessibility. Expanding access to opportunities through public transport and active mobility should be at the top of the transport agenda in Colombian cities. To support its goal of compact urban development, Colombia could further prioritise affordable mass transit and high levels of active mobility to promote access to opportunities while boosting economic competitiveness and protecting the environment. For this purpose, Colombia could ensure that economic development, land use and mobility planning are conducted with a functional urban perspective and consider the development of a new strategic document on urban development and land use to complement the current mobility policy. Colombia should include affordability issues (i.e. housing and transport costs) in urban planning to build more affordable and connected neighbourhoods. Financing public transport should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia

10  Leverage digitalisation for more productive, innovative and inclusive cities. While the digital transformation is still at an early stage in Colombia, it can underpin efforts to build more competitive, sustainable and inclusive cities. The national government should play an enabling role to support the delivery of innovative solutions, capacity building and upscaling, including through a national smart city framework adapted to the local circumstances. A smart city policy framework could help Colombia assess to what extent new (digital) technologies can improve the efficiency, sustainability and quality of public services and infrastructure projects for all residents. With a view to promoting equity and inclusiveness, this smart city agenda should address the heterogeneity of cities in terms of their needs and capabilities. Harness urban policy to advance equity and social justice. This requires improving the provision and management of public space, by including qualitative aspects (e.g. access to green areas) in the norms and policies rather than purely quantitative ones (e.g. square meters of public space per person); ensuring there is an economic use of public space where relevant; and connecting public space strategies with public transport to make the most of existing infrastructure. Colombia needs to upgrade informal settlements, provide them with basic services and affordable infrastructure, and improve housing conditions as well as security of land occupancy rights (i.e. titling). Possible actions include recuperating urban spaces for communities in a situation of vulnerability and exclusion and allowing them access to basic health, environmental, education and cultural services.

Improving Colombia’s ability to enhance its urban development outcomes depends on addressing the limitations of its governance structure. A key part of success rests in bringing a wide range of actors from both the public and private sectors to work together on achieving a shared vision for cities. It will also entail enhancing capacity for crosssectoral policy making and ensuring that policy initiatives cascade down from broader national objectives to the neighbourhood level. Key actions to consider include: o

Reinforcing inter-municipal co-ordination mechanisms through corporate joint committees with clear responsibilities and authority.

Facilitating metropolitan planning and investment by defining a multi-sectoral, cross-cutting strategy that guides inter-municipal co-operation at the functional scale.

Enhancing vertical co-ordination of investment across levels of government, notably by focusing Territorial Pacts on concrete investment projects with clear financing responsibilities for each level of government.

Leveraging fiscal instruments to reinforce urban finance and investment by improving and expanding the use of land-based financing instruments.

Reducing the shortage of skilled public workforce in subnational governments by professionalising the subnational public workforce and investing in strategic workforce planning.

OECD National Urban Policy Reviews: Colombia  11

References Castillo Varella, J. (2020), Atlas de Expansión Urbana de Colombia, Departamento Nacional de

[1]

Planeación, https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/es/operations/colombia/document/presentaci%C3%B3n -dnp-atlas-de-expansi%C3%B3n-urbana. DANE (2020), Encuesta de convivencia y seguridad ciudadana,

[4]

https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/seguridad-y-defensa/encuesta-deconvivencia-y-seguridad-ciudadana-ecsc. DANE (2020), Encuesta de convivencia y seguridad ciudadana, DANE,

[8]

https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/seguridad-y-defensa/encuesta-deconvivencia-y-seguridad-ciudadana-ecsc. DNP (2020), Política Nacional de Movilidad Urbana y Regional,

[10]

https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Conpes/Econ%C3%B3micos/3991.pdf. IDMC (2020), From Aid to Empowerment: Addressing Urban Displacement in Colombia’s Informal

[3]

Settlements, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Urban%20displacement%20columbia_EN_ 26-11.pdf (accessed on 5 April 2022). ITF (2020), Road safety annual report, https://doi.org/10.1787/f3e48023-en.

[9]

OECD (2020), Country compilation of functional urban areas,

[2]

https://www.oecd.org/cfe/regionaldevelopment/Appendix_all_fuas.pdf (accessed on 5 April 2022). OECD (2019), OECD Economic Surveys: Colombia 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris,

[5]

https://doi.org/10.1787/e4c64889-en. OECD (2019), OECD Economic Surveys: Colombia 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris,

[7]

https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/e4c64889-en. OECD (n.d.), Analytical Hpouse Prices Indicators (database), OECD, Paris,

[6]

https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=HOUSE_PRICES.

Note 1

Unliveable conditions are defined using the DANE methodology. It includes reviewing minimum habitability conditions such as infrastructure materials, cohabitation, independent kitchen areas and access to public services.

For more information please visit: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/national-urban-policies.htm

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