Cartagena is undergoing a major economic boom due to the dynamism of
sectors such as manufacturing, tourism, and port activity. We study social exclusion
and environmental vulnerability in Cartagena in the current economic
growth scenario. We describe the main socio-economic indicators of the city and
compare them with other major cities and metropolitan areas of Colombia. The
results show that Cartagena has high levels of poverty and low coverage in basic
public services. Environmental vulnerability is greater in areas inhabited by people
of lower income, neighborhoods with populations of mostly African descent.
Through principal component analysis, we calculate an index of social exclusion
and find that in this dimension Cartagena ranks first among the thirteen major
cities of the country. This result reflects the need to take advantage of the current
economic boom to design policies to reduce social exclusion and to better
address climate change.