Urban Development: Ever-growing Challenges before Regional Planners

Dr BK Mukhopadhyay

A noted management economist and an international commentator on business and economic affairs.

He may be reached at m.bibhas@gmail.com

The World Economic Forum observes thus: “Cities are evolving faster than ever and encountering unprecedented demographic, environmental, economic and social challenges. Sustainable urban development is the current global priority; however, most cities lack the capacity and resources to ensure that the city develops in a sustainable manner. Multi-stake holder cooperation is essential to fill this gap and build transformation strategies to better shape urbanization outcomes and lead cities towards growth, well-being and prosperity for all.”

The global rise of cities has been unprecedented. Every week, nearly 1.5 million people become urban dwellers. By 2050, the urban population will account for more than two-thirds of the world’s population. The world population has risen seven-fold over the last 200 years. For the first time in history, a majority of the world’s six billion people are living in cities. Between 2000 and 2025, the world’s urban population will double.

The French Institute of Demographic Studies has 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, it 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.

Urban population is expected to increase by 1.5 billion over the next 20 years, while the number of mega-cities will double. The UN predicts that by 2015 there will be 358 “million cities” with one million or more people and 27 “mega-cities” with ten million or more. Much of this growth will happen in developing countries. What a big challenge! India is set to become the world’s most populous country by 2050.

Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting programme launched by the Government of India with an aim to developing 100 cities all over the country making them citizen-friendly and sustainable – indeed a very good example of a participatory approach between the Centre and the States. The Smart City solutions identified for the selected cities would have a far-reaching demonstration effect for the entire range of towns and cities across India.

What eventually makes a city smart is an integrated effort in smart technology, smart users and smart governance. The role of the local agencies thus becomes paramount.

One should not forget that urbanization is not a curse in as much as it creates huge wealth and opportunities, enables better use of assets, and creates new ones. Urbanization, being a continuous and spontaneous process, in most developing countries is bringing about enormous changes in the spatial distribution of people and resources as well as in the use and consumption of land. The unfortunate part is that though such process is strongly linked to development (social, technological and economic), many countries lack appropriate policies and frameworks that can leverage them for increased development gains and guide them towards sustainable patterns.

Naturally, economic growth will increasingly come from the strength of innovative activities instead of factor accumulation as in the past. Recent researches also suggest that such innovative activities remain concentrated in high-tech clusters in globally linked cities.

It is clear that globalization and urbanization will bring enormous challenges as well as opportunities to both developed and developing countries. Noted urban planner Douglass has rightly opined that development is likely to be polarized in a limited number of urban regions. That is to say, while convergence of production and income may happen across countries, divergence is likely to occur within each country as globalization will bring a concentration of activity to a few sites. The emergence of mega-urban regions with the development of world cities and links among them is a strong possibility. Formation of trans-border regions, development of international corridors, and significance of international networking cannot be ruled out.

Following Mila Freire, World Bank, it may be said that the main challenges include: (a) the need to keep urban planning and management flexible and to be ready to adapt to new developments in the economic or social front; (b) getting the best possible technical analysis; (c) pushing the agenda of excellence; (d) thinking big-term and long-term; (e) looking at the big picture – overall competitiveness, labour market, environmental quality, and standing as far as capital and human capital both are concerned; (f) engaging the private sector; (g) understanding and discussion with community leaders as to how much limited resource local governments can offer; and (h) establishing contracts vertically with the central government and horizontally with other municipalities.

There is great need for integration of urban development in national sustainable development policies. Such policies serve as enabling frameworks for transport corridors, job creation, and at the same time development of (within and between) cities. This apart, they can also empower local authorities to work more closely with national government.

Clearly, successful national urban policies have the ability to yield multiple results: identification of urban development priorities towards socially and economically equitable and environment-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.

It is also crystal clear that the near future of globalization and urbanization will bring enormous challenges as well as opportunities to both developed and developing countries.

We must seek to address major urban challenges and transition towards smarter, more sustainable cities in a rapidly urbanizing world. Actions must be taken by government, the private sector and the civil society to achieve sustainable urban development, which should involve inclusion of the best practices and innovative solutions from around the world.