Colombia’s Medellin Named World’s Most Innovative City

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MEDELLIN, Colombia – This metropolis in northwestern Colombian was named Friday as the winner of the Innovative City of the Year competition, beating out New York and Tel Aviv.

The organizers of the competition, Citigroup, the Marketing Services Department of WSJ. Magazine and the Urban Land Institute, said Medellin was chosen for its modern transit system, environmental policies and its network of museum, schools, libraries and cultural centers that “enrich the community.”

Colombian authorities welcomed the positive recognition for Medellin, which in the 1980s bore the dubious distinction of being the world’s most violent large city, thanks to the carnage unleashed by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.

“Congratulations, Medellin, the most innovative city,” President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter. “Innovation is more employment and investment.”