It is impossible to comprehend the emergence of Medellín’s Library Parks without first placing them in the context of the city’s most troubled decades. Medellín gained international notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s as the home of Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel. Systemic violence resulted in homicide rates that rose to some of the highest in the world, with over 350 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in some years. Daily life was tinged with fear, and entire neighbourhoods—especially the barrios erected on the hillside by themselves—became associated with narco-territorial domination [1]. The violence was exacerbated by stigma; Medellín was not just viewed as violent but also as unredeemable.