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Team 2-o Proposed Solution → Community integrated mobility system for reducing ‘time and money tax’ and inequality in Bello, Colombia
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Maria Navarro
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maríafenavarroleon/
Izzy Dardis
www.linkedin.com/in/izzydardis
Mackendy Duvelson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackendy-duvelson-cpi-m-ing-61357220b/
Marcus Karuppan
www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-karuppan-907019104
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This challenge focuses on structural isolation and mobility barriers in Bello’s hillside informal settlements, particularly Granizal and La Nueva Jerusalén. Located on steep Andean slopes and shaped by limited state presence, these areas are home primarily to internally displaced people and migrants, who make up as much as 90% of the population. Students and medical patients are especially affected, as access to schools and healthcare is physically restricted by terrain and unreliable transport.
Isolation creates a daily ‘time and money tax’. Residents spend hours commuting and pay a disproportionate share of income for unsafe, informal transport. During heavy rains, unpaved roads become impassable, causing absence from work and school. A reliance on mule transport also raises the cost of essential goods by around 30%, reinforcing poverty, stigma, and exclusion from city opportunities.
Our solution is a community-integrated mobility system that connects hillside settlements to Bello’s transport hubs through flexible transport and safer access routes. Instead of replacing existing systems, we strengthen them through a social enterprise model that is locally run, financially sustainable, and scalable.
A micro-mobility layer uses small, terrain-adapted vehicles, building on existing colectivo vans and motorbikes to provide reliable first-mile transport where buses cannot reach. These routes connect neighbourhoods to Metro stations and key service hubs, reducing travel time and cost for residents.
The model formalises and trains informal transport operators, creating stable local jobs while building community trust. Alongside transport, the project enhances physical infrastructure by improves walking paths, lighting, and drainage, enhancing safety.
This solution is technically feasible, low-cost, environmentally sustainable and socially accepted because it works with existing infrastructure, partners and community knowledge to deliver safe, affordable and inclusive mobility.
Our solution assumes informal colectivo operators will be willing to collaborate, even though formalisation may feel like a threat to their independence, and that community ownership can help overcome long-standing distrust of institutions. To address these uncertainties, Stage 1 begins with a six-month co-design phase led by local organisations to build trust, map existing routes and ensure the system strengthens rather than replaces current practices.
Stage 2 pilots the model in one neighbourhood cluster for 6–12 months, testing pricing, governance, and partnerships, while embedding transparent financial management and community oversight in response to past failures such as Proyecto El Cinco.
Stage 3 focuses on scaling, supported by professional soil studies and engineering assessments to ensure path and drainage improvements are safe, durable and resilient to landslide risks.