DECENTRALIZATION AND TERRITORIAL PLANNING IN COLOMBIA: A FOCUS ON REGIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY

Abstract

Decentralization has become a key component of territorial reorganization in Colombia in the current context, characterized by persistent regional inequalities and increasing demands for greater local autonomy. Specialized literature has shown that these processes generate differentiated effects depending on institutional, social, and territorial conditions, highlighting the need for situated analyses that go beyond homogeneous approaches. Within this framework, the objective of this research was to analyze how decentralization has reconfigured territorialities and socio-spatial dynamics in the regions of Atlántico, Chocó, Amazonas, and Nariño, considering the impacts of local autonomy on regional identity, spatial appropriation, and intercultural interaction. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach that combined surveys with qualitative work conducted with territorial actors, based on the hypothesis that decentralization tends to strengthen centralities and institutional capacities in regions with greater connectivity, while structural limitations persist in territories with high ethnic diversity. The results confirm this hypothesis by revealing regional contrasts, tensions between planning scales, and inequalities in the spatial distribution of resources. As its main contribution, the research provides a situated understanding of decentralization as a process of multiple territorialization and offers analytical insights for the design of differentiated territorial planning policies sensitive to regional specificities.