Polin Kumar Saha :
Today, 3.5 billion (about half of the global population) people lives in cities and expected to be increased by 10 percent in 2030. As a result, the process of urbanization will take place maximum 95 percent in developing world. This expansion of cities promotes a vast need of consumption in the particular area. Interestingly, the present form of consumption versus emissions in city areas, that the world’s cities use only 3 percent of the global land whereas the energy consumption is about 80 percent that account almost 75 percent of global carbon emissions. This picture has been caused by rapid urbanization that yields an extra pressure in managing many issues, e.g. supply of fresh water, flexible transportation, sewage management, keeping the living environment friendly, good public health etc. In other way, urbanization accelerates rapid growth of slums where almost 828 million of world population that is a huge pressure on us to move forward to sustainable urban development.
Undoubtedly, cities contribute developing diffusion of ideas, business, culture, science, technology, productivity and much more. At the best usage of these, cities enable people to make better living with sufficient social and economic advantages. In addition to these opportunities, many challenges have been emerging that keep apart maintaining city’s sustainability. That means the concept of sustainability could be integrated in the city management process leading towards Sustainable Cities and Communities which is in the probation of 11th goal of 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) framed by UN sustainable development vision of 2030. Under the SDG goals for sustainable cities and communities, the UN objective declared as to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
There is no complete agreed definition on a sustainable city and the concern is that what components should be considered for an ideal sustainable city. Generally, sustainability experts say “a sustainable city should meet the needs of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In this aspect, the visioning of sustainable cities is still ambiguous in terms of recovering the worst situation of many cities, especially cities of highly dense population like Dhaka.
However, I think the sustainable cities should ensure the improvement of city’s socio-ecological and environmental resource that we have been over-exploiting over the years in diverse ways. Therefore, for a sustainable city we first need a sustainable community with a common understanding of sustainability behavior in people’s daily activities. The future of sustainable cities for what we want, such a city holds opportunities for all, with access to 9 fundamental human needs, not only for city people, but also for all communities. In that sustainable society, the human satisfaction is termed as the fundamental human needs, classified to ensure the social sustainability of city people as: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, recreation (in the sense of leisure, time to reflect, or idleness), creation, identity and freedom. The satisfaction of sustainable community people will be familiar with these 9 fundamental needs according to the categories of qualities, things, actions and settings that may generate an integrated policy briefing towards achieving sustainable community, as social sustainability of our cities.
The international climate politics is now considered as a prime agenda to global leaders, working together with the aim to reach the UN sustainable development goals by 2030. The related initiatives such as sustainable city planning for reducing the global warming effect ultimately lead to achieve SDGs. Achieving vision of SDGs is multidimensional and diversified. That is why; building up a sustainable community could be a priority based approach to understand municipality’s operation that includes strategic city planning and design. Obviously, awareness of the community people in city planning should be the first initiative towards sustainable cities and communities. Then, urban laws could be reviewed collectively based on relevant policies and practices of different countries that may govern the urban management and development empirically. Under this legal process, the present socio-economic and ecological resources of countries could be contextualized in line with SDG goals for sustainable cities and communities.
Finally, the multiplicity and flexibility of laws and regulations could compel city communities under the following 3 key routes: 1. Implant sustainability into our culture and operations of City Corporation. 2. Develop a comprehensive, understandable and integrated plan to guide the community toward sustainability. Under this route the following 5 phases could be initiated for our city corporation: Phase I: sustainability value assessment, Phase II: baseline assessment of current reality, Phase III: setting sustainability goals, Phase IV: roadmap and timeframe to reach the goals, Phase V: continuing implementation and learning from functions. 3. Build the capacity of all stakeholders to facilitate them leading toward sustainability. However, an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) could be introduced in making a sustainable city and community. Realistic plan for integrating sustainability into city planning is much more appreciative by the process of engaging stakeholders in the following discussion phases: phase i: the invitation and understanding the system, phase ii: community visioning, iii: understanding the sustainability gap of existing system in line with the designated sustainability principles (social, ecological and economical), phase iv: setting up strategies to bridge the sustainability gap of the existing system, phase v: configuring the process of existing system, and phase vi: continuing the journey and tools development for the monitoring sustainability progress.
(Polin Kumar Saha is Researcher at BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] )
