Strategic urban planning through urban macro projects: citizen perception of the linear park "La Ronda del Sinu" in the city of Monteria, Colombia

Since the beginning of the century, strategic urban planning has dominated the organization, conception and imagination of Latin American cities. Following its precepts, urban centers began to develop strategies that would allow them to deal with and position themselves at the global level. Urban icons are a tool that allow cities to rapidly achieve singularity and notoriety in international urban marketing and with this the capacity to attract and bring new influx of investment. The Colombian city of Monteria, expected the creation of the lineal park Ronda del Sinu to change their image. Prior to this project, the city surrounding it was characterized by socioeconomic inequality which led to violence and unemployment. 10 years after the inauguration of the project, one can evaluate the results of it. After interviewing people who lived in the area, it was possible to identify that the aesthetic of the area surrounding the river had improved, which has given Monteria national and international notoriety. However, it is also apparent that there are a series of deficiencies and problems that emerged as a result of the actualized project. The Lineal Park, Ronda de Sinu, could be an example of strategic urban planning, but due to the lack of dialogue with current residents, it was centered in material interests more than actual needs of the residents. This led to discrepancies between the final results obtained and the initial plan during the design stage.