Announcing This Year's 'City of the Year' Winner

Citi in partnership with the Wall Street Journal would like to congratulate Medellín, Colombia, on being named 'City of the Year,' a title given after nearly 9 months of voting to determine the most innovative city.

When asked what makes Medellín, Colombia, the 2013 'City of the Year,' Mayor Aníbal Gaviria responded, "Innovations in urban development, but also innovations of social programs with a high quantity of equity and social justice. A city that, despite the difficulties that it has lived in the past, reinvents itself constantly and that has become a source of inspiration for other cities of Colombia and the world."

The Urban Land Institute originally chose Medellín as one of the top 200 cities based on their innovative approach to public transportation, new facilities and landmarks and the reduction in the local crime rate.

Based on a combination of the Urban Land Institute's judging and public voting, the original 200 cities was narrowed down to 25 semifinalists and then the three finalist cities: New York; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Medellín, Colombia. Overall, the competition generated more than 980,000 online votes, but Medellín inspired the social community the most and earned the majority of the votes.

"This year's contest fostered dialogue around an important topic - urban innovation - among Journal readers online and offline to determine which city would be named the 'City of the Year,'" said Wall Street Journal's Global Advertising Director Stephanie Arnold. "We were excited to partner with Citi on this campaign and thrilled to announce a very worthy winner, Medellín."

Thank you to everyone around the world who took part in voting for the Wall Street Journal in partnerships with Citi's 'City of the Year'! Medellín's new approaches and improvements certainly deserve to be recognized with the title of most innovative city.