El Poblado is the 14th commune in the metropolitan area of the city of Medellín, Colombia. According to a 2005 census the population was 94,704, distributed among its land area of 23 km2, and by the year 2015, it had a population of 128,839. The comuna consists of 24 barrios, and is located in the south-east of the city. Its western boundary with the comuna of Guayabal runs along the Medellín River; to the south, it borders the city of Envigado, to the east, the township of Santa Elena, and to the north, the comunas of La Candelaria and Buenos Aires.
El Poblado is also known as Las Manzanas de Oro (The Golden Apples) because it is the main center of the industrial and commercial life of the second largest economy of Colombia.
The name El Poblado (The Village) derives from the first Spanish settlement of the Aburrá Valley in 1616 that was built in what is today its main square. In 1675, the Spanish administration founded another village in El Sitio de Aná (The Aná Place), today's Berrío Square, designed to become the center of the future Medellín; instead, El Poblado itself became the main economic center during the 20th century.
History
The Spanish explorer Francisco Herrera y Campuzano established the first European settlement in the Aburrá Valley, in what is today El Poblado Square, by a royal edict of March 2, 1616. The new village, called San Lorenzo de Aburrá had a population of 80 indigenous people. A later edict stated that indigenous people, white and mestizos, could not live together, and by 1675, the Spanish administration moved the center to a new village in what is today the Berrio Square. El Poblado became a marginalized township until the 20th century.
In 1845, the parish was given the name San José del Poblado and had a plaza, streets and land for sale. At that time the most famous fincas (estates) were Provenza, Manila, Patio Bonito, Vizcaya, Castropol and Astorga, that would remain the barrio names.
At the beginning of the 20th century, El Poblado was the preferred area for wealthy families of the city to buy rural villas. At the time, travel between El Poblado and Medellín was difficult, but the area was attractive for the industrialists and business families that settled Barrio Prado in what is now the downtown area. With the construction of the Medellín - El Poblado Avenue, the land became valuable for urban settlements, and the villas or "fincas" were built in Envigado. During the 1930s, farming families from outlying areas came to Medellín looking for new opportunities, and were attracted by the industrialization of the city in El Poblado. This inspired the creation of a new barrio, Barrio Lleras, financed by Banco Central Hipotecario.
In the 1950s, El Poblado was included in the city due to the extension of industrial activities along the Medellín River to the south. The rich families of Barrio Prado started to move to El Poblado because La Candelaria became overpopulated and the land rose in price.
In the 1970s El Poblado became the place for Medellín's wealthy residents and was the second urban center; it was given the nickname Milla de Oro (Golden Mile) and the Zona Rosa was established – an exclusive tourist area for business, night clubs and general activities for locals and visitors.
Geography
El Poblado consists of , encompassing 39% of the Medellín municipality. It is located in the southeastern zone of the city towards the mountains of the Aburrá Valley. The Medellín River borders its western side, separating it from the Guayabal Commune and its elevation east of the river rises from approximately above sea level to over at its highest point.
Several streams descending from the eastern mountain flow into the Medellín River and pass throughout El Poblado. The most important ones are El Poblado and Aguacatala creeks.
Demographics
According to the 2005 Annual Medellín Statistics Report, El Poblado has a population of 94,704 inhabitants (53,561 males and 41,143 females). The age distribution is (63.9%) under age 39, (39.4%) from ages 15 to 39, and (5.6%) who were 65 or older.
In addition, another 2005 report from the Medellín municipality estimates that 66.5% of the housing in El Poblado belongs to the richest class in Colombia known as (estrato 6); 27.5% belongs to the high-middle class (estrato 5); 4.2% belongs to the middle class; 1.3% to the low-middle class and 0.5% to the poor class.
According to figures presented by the DANE census 2005, the ethnographic composition of the district is: White (78.4%), Mestizos (20%) and Afro-Colombians (1.6%).
Neighborhoods
The commune is divided into 22 "barrios" or neighborhoods: