Prof. (Dr) Bibhas K Mukhopadhyay
(The writer is Professor of Management and author of the book ‘India’s Economy: Under a Tinsel still Tough’. He can be reached at m.bibhas@gmail.com)
The glaring fact: over 50% of the world’s population now lives in cities, with the numbers expected to double by 2050, but while urbanization poses serious challenges, cities can also be powerhouses for sustainable development. The UN Secretary-General rightly noted that ‘urbanization is one of the megatrends of our times and steering it well, will help address global challenges such as climate change… As we embark on a Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, the world’s cities, towns and communities will be at the heart of this work’.
The world population has risen by seven-fold over the last 200 years. As per the data furnished by the French Institute of Demographic Studies, India is set to become the world’s most populous country by 2050 with a population of nearly 1.6 billion people. The study also projected that by the end of this century, there will be 10 to 11 billion people on the planet. The world population will jump from the current 7.1 billion to 9.7 billion by 2050. In India, the same is assessed to rise from 1.2 billion to 1.6 billion, while that in China will remain at the same level [1.3 billion].
ADAPTATION TO CHANGE
IS NOT OPTIONAL,
BUT NECESSARY
Economic growth will increasingly come from the strength of innovative activities instead of factor accumulation as in the past (Yusuf and Nabeshima, 2004). Recent researches also suggest that such innovative activities are concentrated in high-tech clusters in globally-linked cities. Over time as the share of the rural sector in GDP goes down, urban activities take the lead in the very growth process, ably backed by the service activities [major components of the urban service activities include business and creative industries with high value added]. In fact, globalization [integration with the global economy and interdependence] and the emergence of the tertiary economy have raised the profile of cities in development, especially as innovation and foreign investment are attracted by the agglomeration economies offered by well managed large cities in sectors like the telecommunication, broadcasting, energy, tourism, and major urban infrastructure services — water supply, transportation, and education.
As a matter of fact, in many countries, urbanization is not considered a national development opportunity. In general, the overall understanding of cities in national development is also very limited, and so is the appreciation of the structural transformations represented by the dynamics of growth in urban centres. It is often forgotten that framing a national urban policy is the key step for reasserting urban space and territoriality and for providing the needed direction and course of action to support urban development.
MANAGING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
An appropriate regional growth strategy sets a vision for how the region can manage growth sustainably for the next decades, aiming at improving livability, protecting the environment and getting the right infrastructure in place. The requirement is to identify priority areas for implementation; refine the classification of centres, business areas and corridors; complete plan changes; develop and trial new approaches to encourage quality residential and business intensification and large-scale urban transformation; coordinate infrastructure planning and investment; improve communication, monitoring and information sharing among others. The aim is to help our region secure a better quality of life and at the same time create a sustainable future socially, culturally, economically and environmentally.
Successful national urban policies have the ability to yield multiple results: the identification of urban development priorities towards socially and economically equitable and environmentally friendly urban and national development; future development of the national urban system and its spatial configuration concretized through National and spatial Plans for regional development; coordination and guidance of actions by national functionaries vis-à-vis lower levels of government in all sectors; and, of course, increased and well-coordinated private and public investments in urban development, which, in turn, lead to consequent improvement of cities’ productivity, inclusiveness, environmental conditions and people’s participation in the development process.
Optimum fund arrangement must be made so that the assets created to become extremely useful in future. A number of instances may be shown where the fund invested virtually went begging in as much as the investment made was on the relatively less important arena. Opportunity cost aspect was not adequately studied.
Mila Freire, World Bank, rightly opined that the Third World will continue to see increasing rates of urbanization, and cities will continue to experience the stress of facing increased demands to provide infrastructure and create jobs without much of the needed resources and/or capacity. Yes, the main challenges include (a) urban planning and management have to be flexible and ready to manage changes - adapting to new developments in the economic or social front; (b) focusing at the big picture – competitiveness, labour market, environmental quality, encompassing capital, technological and human capital; (c) greater involving the private sector; (d) establishing contracts, coordinating vertically with the central government and horizontally with other municipalities.
So, the crucial need is for forging ahead - economically situating upcoming metropolitan areas through rigorous trend and empirical research on the top economic, social and demographic issues; innovating locally through redesigning metropolitan economic development strategies that build on distinct assets; bolstering state and Centre’ policy ideas and platforms that are in service of metropolitan areas, and sharing global cooperation by linking decision makers to a global network of metropolitan areas. Global economic growth calling all metropolises to join hands!
Urban development specialist Bainimarama rightly opined, while analyzing on the role of cities in averting crises by making urban living synonymous with sustainability, that ‘living standards in cities had grown remarkably, but that progress has come at the cost of a warming world.
The old model of development is untenable; if we continue to urbanize on carbon-intensive industries, the world’s cities will crumble into hotbeds of inequality and extreme vulnerability’.
Undeniably, cities provide a wealth of opportunities; jobs included, and generate over 80 per cent of gross national product across the globe, according to UN estimates. Urban areas also account for between 60 and 80 per cent of all energy consumption, despite only occupying three per cent of the planet’s surface and are responsible for three-quarters of all greenhouse gas emissions.
The UNESCO has rightly advocated for a ‘people-centered’ development model and aims to ‘re-humanize cities’ in the face of trends impacting them, from population growth, demographic shifts, and increasing the risk of disasters induced by climate change.
Cities may be termed as a battleground for the climate crisis.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres explained “the choices that will be made on urban infrastructure in the coming decades...will have a decisive influence on the emissions curve. Indeed, cities are where the climate battle will largely be won or lost. From electric public transport to renewable and energy and better waste management systems, cities are ‘hubs of innovation and creativity, and young people are taking the lead’.”
Yes, let us commit to embracing innovation to ensure a better life for future generations and chart a path towards sustainable, inclusive urban development that benefits all.