The rapid growth of cities in the developing world and
increasing rural-to-urban migration has led to a boom in urban sprawl and
mega-cities - those with more than 10 million inhabitants. The first, New York,
emerged in 1950. By 1990, there were ten mega-cities; in 2004, 19; in 2014, 28;
and in 2016, the UN predicted there would be 5 billion inhabitants in 41
megacities by 2030 (World Urbanization Prospects), with 25 in Asia alone by
2025. Today, in 2020, there are already 47 mega cities.
Cities can offer more efficient economies of scale for
providing goods, services and transportation, and with sound planning and
management, can become incubators for innovation and growth to drive
sustainable development, attracting people seeking greater opportunities and a
better life.
But extreme poverty is often concentrated in such urban
spaces as governments struggle to accommodate rising populations. Projections
indicate that urban growth over the next 25 years will be in developing
countries, with much of the population living in areas categorised as slums.
And as accelerating climate change adverse weather extremes hit our cities, so
greater are impacted infrastructure and population.
Urban growth related
challenges
Whilst the proportion of the world’s urban population living
in slums fell from 28% in 2000 to 23% in 2014, the total number of people
living in slums continues to grow: In 2019, an estimated one billion urban
residents lived in slums, compared to 792 million in 2000 (UN).
30% of the urban population in developing regions lives in
slums. In sub-Saharan Africa, it was 56% – the highest of any region. In
Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda, three of the world's most rural countries, over
90% of the urban population live in slums. By 2030, over 2 billion people in
the world will be living in slums (UN).
These areas have high rates of unsanitary conditions,
malnutrition, disease and lack basic health care and are often also in energy
poverty. Unplanned urban sprawl is associated with increased per capita
emissions of carbon dioxide and hazardous pollution, major risks to health. As
of 2019, 90% of urban dwellers have been breathing unsafe air, resulting in 4.2
million deaths due to ambient air pollution. More than half of the global urban
populations were exposed to air pollution levels at least 2.5 times higher than
the safety standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In many ways, cities are our greatest risk. The challenges
presented by climate change, rapid migration, and disasters—both man-made and
natural—most acutely affect cities. But cities are also our greatest
opportunity. They are the places where innovation happens, where solutions that
improve lives are born, where wealth generation is accelerated and where
efficiency gains are most achievable. And as the world becomes increasingly
urban, there has never been a more important time to be undertaking this work.
We must support the
critical work happening in cities.
To achieve the bold vision set forth in SDG 11,
representatives of the General Assembly must ensure that their national
governments are setting the right policies that empower cities to take control
of their own destiny—institutionalizing best practices for urban development
that will allow them to reap the multiple benefits of a resilience dividend for
years to come—through political turnover and through whatever shock or stress
confronts them next.
Achieving SDG 11 will also require countries, donors, local
governments, and other stakeholders to make substantial
investments in our cities and communities. Baseline estimates of local
needs, regularly updated and tailored to different contexts, will help inform
these critical decisions and direct resources to address the world’s most
pressing urban issues.
Furthermore, making cities safe and sustainable means
ensuring access to safe and affordable housing, and upgrading settlements’
conditions, including water and sanitation, energy, infrastructure, investing
in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning
and management to be participatory and inclusive.
Finally, improving the lives of urban dwellers across
the world—will not be determined merely by our ability to rally support around
the cause of building more sustainable and resilient cities. True success
in this space will be determined by how well we plan for, resource, and
ultimately implement the projects that will make our cities sustainable,
prosperous, and resilient well into the 21st Century. And the good news is
that many of these solutions are already out there, waiting to be scaled across
the world #UrbanDevelopment #SDG11 #SDGS #GlobalCities #Habitat #DecentLives
#SustainableCommunities
No comments:
Post a Comment