The Wall Street Journal and Citi announced today that Medellín, Colombia, is the winner of the City of the Year competition, a global program developed in partnership with the Urban Land Institute to recognize the most innovative urban centers. More than 980,000 online votes were cast by the public during the program.

The program launched in June 2012 with a list of 200 cities compiled by the Urban Land Institute. Cities were selected based on eight criteria:

• Environment & Land Use
• Culture & Livability
• Economic/Investment Climate
• Progress & Potential
• Places of Power
• Education & Human Capital
• Technology & Research
• Mobility & Infrastructure

The public was invited to vote online, with Medellín beating out finalists Tel Aviv and New York City.

Read about Medellín’s turnaround from a capital of narcoterror in Urban Land magazine.

Photo courtesy of Omar Uran.