WORLD URBAN FORUM 6 Prosperity for Sustainable Cities: Balancing Ecology, Economy and Equity Version 3.0
BACKGROUND DOCUMENT
Urbanization: a Truly Global Experience
Urbanization is inevitable. It makes countries change from a rural to an urban experience. Yet more than a transitional process, urbanization is a transformative process. As countries urbanize they become more advanced, developed and richer, in most cases.
Urbanization is part of an old ‘recent’ history. Narratives of urban biographies tell us of human preference to get together to exchange, learn, produce and protect each other in an environment that was rather hostile. As towns and cities grew bigger more and more people came to them in search of jobs, opportunities and different forms of prosperity.
Moving to a city is an objective desire to have a better life. The search of prosperity is therefore one of the main causes of the existence of cities. They are the places where humanity realizes needs, ideas, ambitions and aspirations.
Cities over time and throughout the world have developed in unique ways, and no single history can account for them all. Yet, it is clear that places where human beings can flourish, feel happy and healthy, and where business, trade and different forms of productivity can thrive, develop and generate wealth are prosperous places. Prosperity is the essence of progress and the way development materializes.
In 2008, the world reached an invisible but momentous milestone: for the first time in history, more than half of its human population, 3.3 billion people, was living in urban areas. By 2030, this number is expected to increase to 5 billion, when 6 out of every 10 people in the world will be urbanites.1
Urbanization has become, to a large extent, synonymous with modernization, industrialization and development. No one can deny that economic growth, social and political change, technical and scientific advances and progress are direct results of the urbanization process. Levels of income and performance in human development indicators are also strongly linked to urbanization. Norway and Denmark, two countries with around 80 percent of their population living in urban areas, have infant mortality indicators that are 30 or 20 times lower than the same indicators of Malawi and Yemen, where urban population represents 17 and 27 percent, respectively.2
1 UNFPA (2007), State of the World Population, New York. 2 Harmonized estimates WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, Statistics Database, 2004, website.
1 Even if urbanization is not happening at the same pace and form in different regions, it is becoming a truly global experience. Despite clear growth disparities, reversals and problems, the associated benefits of urbanization speak for themselves: life expectancy, infant mortality, absolute poverty and deprivation, and other development indicators, show general improvements almost everywhere. People in both developed and developing countries live longer, healthier and more productive lives than anyone could conceive to be possible 200 hundred years ago, when the human existence was overwhelmingly rural, with less than 3 per cent of the total population living in urban areas.
Cities and human beings are both the agents of progress and the beneficiaries of it. They are the means and the ends in achieving prosperity. As they contribute to prosperity they prosper in turn. Of course, prosperity means different things for different people. For some it may be eating a cooked meal every evening; for others it may be to own a business worth millions; for some it may be expanding choices in every aspect of life, or having decent property in an adequate environment.3
Unfortunately progress has not been evenly spread and prosperity has not been given for every one. The process of urbanization and its intended benefits has not been without its share of problems: poverty, child labor, human exploitation, poor access to education and healthcare, environmental pollution are rampant in many parts of the world. Yet, it is not right for any human being to live in such circumstances. The inequality that urbanization fosters is the Achilles’ heel of prosperity.
The World Urban Forum seeks to discuss and find ways to make it easier for everyone to share the improvement in living standards, overall economic welfare and personal fulfillment that urbanization offers. The pursuit of prosperity is not a luxury; it is neither a waste nor a new form of consumption per se; it is a form of justice and a search for equality.
The World Urban Forum
The previous sessions of the World Urban Forum (WUF) made it clear that managing rapid urbanization will be one of the most pressing problems confronting humanity in the 21st century.
The Third session of the WUF in Vancouver in 2006 (UN-HABITAT’s 30th anniversary) focused on Sustainable Urbanization and Inclusive Cities. One of the Forum’s messages was that the urban population of developing countries is set to double from two to four billion in the next 30 years. This will require the equivalent planning, financing, and servicing facilities as for a new city of one million people to be built every week for the next 30 years.
The Theme of the Fourth session of WUF held in Nanjing in 2008 was Harmonious Urbanization. This session made it clear that a society can not be harmonious if large sections of its population are deprived from basic needs while other sections live in opulence. An important message from this Forum was that harmony in cities can not be achieved if the price of the urban living is paid by the environment. The concept of harmony entails the synchronization and integration of all the Earth’s assets: physical, environmental, cultural, historical, social or human.
3 Adapted from http://www.living-prosperity.com/definition-of-prosperity.html
2 The Fifth session of the WUF was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second largest city, and it built upon the technical and substantive lessons of the previous four sessions. It focused on the Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide. The Forum shared perspectives and view points on the relevance on this right, identifying what is needed to bridge the urban divide, and to facilitate a prompt and sustainable transition from a city that is partially inclusive to one that is fully inclusive. The Fifth session started at an earlier stage through a world-wide E-Debate on different aspects of the Right to the City. The on-line discussions generated important contributions in the form of ideas and messages that were used for the preparation of the WUF. They were also incorporated in the preparation of the final report of the Forum, which was delivered to local authorities, national governments, international organizations, research centers, universities, NGOs and other stakeholders.
The Sixth Session of the WUF will be held in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This Forum is conceived as a privileged space where various segments of society concerned with building a better future for our cities can discuss, learn, practice, agree and disagree on different ways to build prosperity. They can identify initiatives and commitments that can be effectively implemented to create cities that are more democratic, just, sustainable and humane, based on principles of solidarity, freedom, equality, dignity and social justice.
The Forum is also intended to reaffirm the manner in which UN-HABITAT and its partners contribute to guiding and enriching the policy work on sustainable urbanization through an open dialogue.
Conceptualizing the Prosperity of Cities
The word prosperity implies success, wealth, thriving conditions, wellbeing or good fortune. When applied to cities or urban areas, a key question that arises is: what are the essential conditions and elements that are required for a city to thrive or for urban areas to be described as successful, or for the wellbeing of its citizens? Put differently, what are the manifestations of a prosperous city?
Several elements come to mind. First, a prosperous city should have an economy capable of contributing to (national) growth and providing employment in order to allow its own citizens to earn a decent income and to enjoy a certain standard of living and to meet their basic needs. Second, a thriving city should also have the necessary infrastructure and physical assets– in terms of adequate water, sanitation, power supply, roads, telecommunication including digital technology etc– to sustain urban living and productivity.
A third component of a prosperous city relates to the extent to which poverty is reduced. No city can claim to be prosperous when large segments of its population live in abject poverty. Similarly, prosperous cities should seek to reduce the incidence of existing slums and decayed areas to provide alternatives to the emergence of new slums and poor neighborhoods. There are several ways to achieve these, including the provision of affordable low-income housing, facilitating access to land and finance, and enacting realistic and enforceable planning regulations. Fourth, prosperous cities should provide the necessary social services such as education, health, recreation, etc. in order to enable their citizens to attain their full potential by developing their intellectual capacity and ability to live full, productive, healthy, and fulfilling lives. Fifth, a prosperous city should seek to be socially inclusive. This in part can be done by enhancing gender equality, protecting the rights of minority and vulnerable groups, as well as
3 ensuring civic participation by all in the social, political and cultural spheres. The failure of cities to fully integrate all groups, particularly the excluded into their decision-making process creates and reinforces poverty and reduces overall wellbeing.
Sixth, the benefits and opportunities associated with a prosperous city should be distributed or redistributed in a fairly equitable manner; this means that the level of inequality within a city should not be high. Seventh, there are the environmental aspects of a prosperous city. The process by which urban areas create and distribute prosperity should not destroy or degrade the environment, but rather, should seek to protect the city’s environmental assets and contribute to the goals of sustainable urbanization.
The World Urban Forum 6 “Prosperity of Cities: Balancing Ecology, Economy and Equity” endorses the idea that all these components are interlinked. As they are interconnected and interdependent in the urban development process, when one component changes, moves or progresses (i.e. economic development in the city); it can affect positively other components (improvements of people’s standards and poverty reduction); it can also affect negatively or neglect other components (i.e. poor human and social development and destruction of natural resources and the environment). Imbalance in any of these components is therefore a threat to order and justice of the whole system, the city.
The World Urban Forum 6 recognizes that balancing ecology, economy and equity is a dynamic process that is not mechanical or automatic. Cities can be affected by bad governance, poor urban management, spatial inequalities, natural disasters, and the like; as a result of this, the stability of these components is constantly disturbed and the prospects of sustainable urban development menaced, for instance by increasing the risks of depleting natural resources, intensifying poverty and marginalization, concentrating further wealth in few hands, reducing levels of wellbeing, exacerbating risk of social unrest, etc. Cities that are prosperous have more possibilities to design and implement process of synergetic integration and co-evolution of the different components. Prosperous cities do play a key role in achieving sustainable urbanization, which results in livable, productive and inclusive cities and towns.
Some Features of a Prosperous City: • An economy capable of contributing to local/national growth • Provide employment in order to allow its citizens to earn a decent income and to enjoy a certain standard of living and to meet their basic needs • The necessary infrastructure and physical assets– in terms of adequate water, sanitation, power supply, roads, telecommunication including digital technology etc– to sustain urban living and productivity • Contribute to poverty reduction by upgrading slums and preventing the formation of new poor neighborhoods • Provide the necessary social services such as education, health, recreation, etc., in order to enable the citizens to attain their full potential by developing their intellectual capacity and ability to live full, productive, healthy, and fulfilling lives • Socially inclusive by enhancing gender equality, protecting the rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, as well as ensuring civic participation by all in the social, political and cultural spheres • Distribute or redistribute the benefits, opportunities and resources in a fairly equitable manner • Protect the city’s environmental assets and contribute to the goals of sustainable urbanization.
4 World Urban Forum 6
The substantive objectives of the Sixth session of the WUF are to take stock of where the world stands with respect to the Prosperity of Cities concept, analyzing how prosperity is perceived and who is getting the benefits of the urbanization process and who is left out. The Forum aims to share perspectives and viewpoints on the contemporary relevance of prosperity and what is needed to balance ecology, economy and equity as a fundamental principle for sustainable urban development.
The Forum 6 takes into consideration current global thinking in this theme. UNDP celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Human Development Report 2010 addressing the issue of wealth and prosperity at national level as a pathway to human development.
The Forum aims to identify which are the old and new factors creating prosperity, who are the actors that trigger positive change, what kind of strategies do they use, what prevents cities to be more prosperous and how can they engage in interdisciplinary analysis to develop policies and plans to meet their goals for urban-based social and economic development that is environmentally safe and sustainable.
The World Urban Forum 6 will take place in the Kingdom of Bahrain in March/April 2012. This international gathering intends to reaffirm the manner in which UN-HABITAT and its partners contribute to guiding and enriching the policy work on sustainable urbanization through an open and frank dialogue, which for the Fifth session in Rio de Janeiro started at an earlier stage through a world-wide E-Debate on different aspects of the Right to the City. The on-line discussions generated important contributions in the form of ideas and messages with the participation of more than 1028 contributions from 95 countries in 63 topics related to the Right to the City concept, which was the theme for WUF 5.
The background paper for the World Urban Forum 6 is structured around six important domains that provide critical responses to some fundamental questions around the concept of Prosperity of Cities. These questions revolve around issues such as: how municipal authorities are coordinating their actions with other authorities at local, regional and national levels to be more prosperous? What actions, platforms and strategies are cities deploying to have more balanced and harmonious urban development? Are cities integrating environmental protection plans into economic development strategies? What are cities doing to be more equitable while still generating economic outputs? Is local and regional infrastructure development contributing to supporting economic growth, lifting people out of poverty or improving quality of life? Which is the role of entrepreneurship, innovation, competition, investments and skill development for cities to become more productive?
The six domains that structure the Forum unfold the essence of the theme “Prosperity of Cities: Balancing Ecology, Economy and Equity” and each one of them presents clear opportunities for effective action in normative and operational terms in order to create conditions for more sustainable urban development (refer to Graph 1). The following six chapters of this background paper are structured according to these domains that have been chosen as the topics of the Dialogue sessions, which are the highest profile events of the Forum (refer to Graph 2).
5 The six domains are:
1. Productive Cities 2. Quality of Life 3. Equity - Inclusive Cities 4. Infrastructure Development 5. Environmental sustainability 6. Sustainable Urban Development
Cross-cutting Actions
Needless to say, these six domains of prosperity are interlinked and overlap. For instance, the provision of adequate water and sanitation is a fundamental condition for better Quality of Life; it is also crucial to ensure an equitable distribution of the benefits of development (Equity); it is essential to induce industrialization and facilitate growth (Productive Cities) and to reduce regional and spatial disparities through the provision of social infrastructures (Infrastructural Development). However, the linkages between the six domains of prosperity do not occur automatically, and a change in one does not necessarily means a change in the other. For instance, poverty and inequalities could increase in the face of rapid economic growth. The interrelatedness of the six domains of prosperity is in part facilitated by policy and efficient institutions.
UN-Habitat policy research suggests that intersectoral action is strongest and outcomes best achieved when planning and implementation occur simultaneously in all six domains of prosperity. The WUF 6 identifies two cross-cutting actions to lay the foundations for more sustainable development: Urban and regional planning and Urban Governance for prosperous cities (refer to Graph 2).
Urban and regional planning for prosperous cities articulates strategically different policies and plans related to the six domains of prosperity. This involves prioritization of actions, selection of interventions through appropriate decisions, and monitoring activities in order to ensure that action in these six domains happens at the same time, even if with different intensity. This strategic synchronization of actions contributes to improve the long-term social, economic and ecological health of the entire city or some specific parts of it.4
Urban Governance for prosperous cities involves efficient and effective public leadership in which individuals, groups and institutions, public and private, manage strategic decisions based on broad consensus and the mediation of differences. Through formal and informal participatory processes –including the poorest and most vulnerable populations– priorities are defined and the allocation of development resources agreed for the advancement of these domains.5
These two cross-cutting actions reduce the likelihood of fragmentation in public policy formulation and the risk of excessive sectoral interventions that can be detrimental to the search of prosperity. Urban and regional planning and Urban Governance for prosperous cities will be discussed during the Forum as Thematic Open Debates.
4 Definition adapted from UN-Habitat, GRHS 2009 and Wheeler Stephen (1998), Planning Sustainable and Livable Cities, ISBN 0-415-27173-8, Routledge, New York. 5 Adapted from Mehta, Dinesh (1998), Urban Governance: Lessons from Best Practices in Asia. UMP- Asia Occasional Paper no. 40.
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8 Productive Cities
A Prosperous City fosters economic development, creates conditions to provide decent jobs and equal opportunities for everyone by implementing effective economic policies and reforms using creativity, innovation, research and development, science and technology.
“Cities are engines of economic growth and development”. As much as it has been said before, this fact still needs to be emphasized. Urban areas are crucial for national development. They are the drivers of wealth creation, or stretching Adam Smith’s phrase “Cities are the Wealth of Nations”.
The evidence on the positive link between cities (urban areas) and economic development is overwhelming. Cities account for about 70% of global GDP6. Economic activities in urban areas account for as much as 55% of the GDP in low-income countries, 73% in middle-income countries, and 85% in high-income economies7. Indeed, it is anticipated that 80% of the future economic growth will happen in cities8. In some countries, a single city can account for a significant share of the national wealth. For example, Seoul, Budapest and Brussels respectively account for over 45% of the GDP of South Korea, Hungary and Belgium9. In other countries, a group of cities can contribute to a significant share of GDP. For example, in South Africa, six major cities collectively account for 55% of the GDP. The case of China is quite remarkable, with 50% of the GDP generated in the coastal areas that constitute only 20% of the Chinese territory10. For all cities, the contribution of a city to GDP is greater than its share of the national population.
Besides the positive contribution of cities to growth, urban areas are associated with higher levels of income. Indeed, the relationship between the level of urbanization and per capita income across countries is positive. Figure 1 suggests that very few countries have reached income levels of $10,000 per capita before becoming 70% urbanized. Among developing regions, few countries attain income levels of $5,000 before becoming 60% urbanized. What this clearly shows is that as countries urbanize, they become richer. The positive relationship between urbanization and income also applies at the regional level. The regions that have the highest levels of urbanization are the ones with the highest levels of GDP per capita. Among developing regions, Latin America and Caribbean with 78% of its population residing in urban areas has a GDP per capita of $4580, compared to $601 and $647 for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia which are 36% and 29% urbanized respectively11.
6 World Bank (2009) Systems of Cities: Harnessing Urbanization for Growth and Poverty Alleviation– World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy, World Bank: Washington, DC. 7 UN-HABITAT and DFID (2002) Sustainable Urbanisation: Achieving Agenda 21. Nairobi: UN-Habitat. 8 SIDA (2006) Fighting Poverty in an Urban World – Support to Urban Development, Department for Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation, Division for Urban Department. 9 UN-HABITAT (2010) State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide, London: Earthscan. 10 World Bank (2009) The World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy: Concept and Issues Note, Finance Economics and Urban Department Sustainable Development Network. 11 UN-HABITAT (2010), op cit.
9 Figure 1: Urbanization and GDP 100
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% urban 40
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0 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 GDP per capita Source: UN (2010), percentage urban; World Bank (2010), GDP per capita
A prosperous city has an economy capable of contributing to (national) growth and providing employment in order to allow its citizens to earn a decent income and to enjoy a certain standard of living and to meet their basic needs.
Cities that are oriented towards global or national growth sectors specializing in industrial development, or are transport hubs and markets centres, tend to experience the fastest urban and economic growth. In general terms, these cities have access to greater infrastructure investments, robust labour markets, more employment opportunities and higher incomes. All these factors make these cities attractive to potential migrants in search of economic opportunities. Expectedly, the reasons for growth vary according to regions.
Cities that are part of regional and global networks of cities such as urban corridors, city-regions and mega-regions, produce disproportionate economic outputs. For instance, recent research shows that the world’s largest 40 mega-regions, which constitute less than 18% of the world’s population account for 66% of economic activity worldwide and about 85% of global technological and scientific innovations12. In many quarters, these ‘new’ configurations of urban areas are regarded as the new natural economic units. Without political boundaries, these large agglomerations of cities concentrate innovation, production and consumer markets13. They use geography in a strategic way cutting across the global North and South, defining an emerging link, a global trend and new patterns of economic activity.
The WUF 6 is persuaded that economic development and productivity of cities is largely driven by knowledge and innovation. These two elements are a major source of modern productivity growth and constitute a central process of economic advance not only in industrial countries, but most recently in the more dynamic developing countries, particularly in some Asian nations, and the Gulf countries, where this Forum is taking place.14 Innovation is about applying knowledge to
12 Florida, R., Gulden, T., and Mellander, C. (2008) “The rise of the mega-region”, Journal of Regions, Economy and Space, Vol. 1, pp: 459-476. 13 Florida et al (2008, p.461) 14 Oyeyinka Banji and Gehl Sampath Padmashree (2010), Latecomer Development: Innovation and Knowledge for Economic Growth, Routledge Studies, London.
10 introduce new goods, new methods of production, opening new markets or new organizational schemes to make cities more productive and prosperous.15
Cities that foster innovation are looking more and more to green economy and green growth strategies. They are in the process of reconfiguring business, infrastructure and systems to deliver better returns on natural, human and economic capital investments, while at the same time reducing energy consumption.16 The green economy contributes to the prosperity of cities by generating jobs in the energy efficient construction industry, the public transit sector (i.e. manufacturing trams, buses, and rail equipment) and by making the city more productive through urban density and proximity solutions. Moreover, “green cities” tend to reduce congestion that has tremendous costs in terms of time loss, wasted energy, higher accident risks and higher pollution. A World Bank study shows that these costs range between 1 and 1.3 per cent of GDP in the developed world and they represent a much higher proportion in the rapidly growing cities of the developing countries: 3.4 per cent of GDP in Buenos Aires and Dakar, and 2.6 in Mexico City 2.6.17
Productive Cities (Dialogue 1): Competitive and Innovative Cities
ISSUES This Dialogue takes place against the backdrop of a global financial crisis that dramatically reduces the capacities of cities to deploy resources to enhance productivity. In these conditions it is relevant to ask how cities can make their labour market more flexible, promote self- employment and attract new businesses in order to increase economic competitiveness and achieve economic prosperity.
Cities compete each other to gain recognition as important urban centers and to be included in regional and national development plans and strategies, and in order to be more successful these cities allocate resources to the most efficient economic sectors and actors through competitive mechanisms. They also stimulate and support a process of innovation by developing new ideas, products and systems through research and development to foster economic structural transformation and economic growth. OBJECTIVE The Dialogue will focus only on one dimension of productive cities: competitive and innovative cities. It will explore what cities are doing to be more attractive and productive in order to become or remain competitive by developing innovative solutions in different areas through learning, research or experience. It will analyze the drivers of productivity of cities such as the economic geography and the potentials of local and regional economic development that can be maximized by the use of research, science and technology.
INITIAL QUESTIONS The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:
• What are cities doing to enhance their competitiveness and foster innovation? • How a city can remain productive while adopting a green economy that increases the use of renewable energies? • What are local authorities and national governments doing to strengthen public-
15 Ibid. 16 UNEP-ILO (2008), Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable Low-Carbon World, UNEP Commissioned Study. 17 World Bank 2002.
11 private partnerships to render their cities more competitive and innovative? • How can poor cities become innovative in order to increase productivity? • Can export-oriented strategies be ‘green’?
THEMATIC OPEN DEBATE (TOD) (to be developed)
Quality of Life
A Prosperous City is one that provides all its citizens irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender or socio-economic status with adequate housing and decent basic services, facilitating equal access to social amenities, public goods and sound environmental conditions.
Quality of life is essential for a city to prosper. The term is now broadly used in the development agenda by decision-makers, practitioners and inhabitants. Everyone agrees on its importance, but also everyone agrees it is an elusive term that has different meanings and facets. There have been many efforts to create an operational definition for this; yet the essence of quality of life remains vague when applied to urban areas.
Nevertheless, the basic idea of what constitutes quality of life is much the same both in the developed and the developing world. A resident from Jakarta, Naples, Nairobi, Los Angeles or Bogotá has, to large extent, common concerns, including having a decent job, material wellbeing, satisfactory family relations and good health. It is possible that individuals and specific contexts may value more one of these factors over the others; yet, as expressed by Amartya Sen, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, quality of life exists when people “can be who they want to be and do what they want to do”.18
Studies and surveys have used a variety of indicators and approaches to measure quality of life. The first Survey conducted in Europe in 2003 by the European Environment Agency investigated 8 domains of individual life situations in 25 member states, ranging from economic situation, housing, employment, work-life balance, health, subjective well-being and perceived quality of life.19 The Economist Intelligence Unit designed a Quality of Life Index using 9 factors similar to the determinants used by the European Agency, but expanding to other dimensions such as political stability and security, gender equality, political freedom, climate and geography.20 Mercer, a private human resources consultancy firm, looked at criteria such as consumer goods,
18 Dennis P. Andrulis, Hailey M. Reid, Lisa M. Duchon (2004), Quality of Life in the Nation's 100 Largest Cities and Their Suburbs: New and Continuing Challenges for Improving Health and Well-Being, The Social and Health Landscape of Urban and Suburban America Report Series, USA. 19 European Environment Agency (2009), Ensuring quality of life in Europe's cities and towns: Tackling the environmental challenges driven by European and global change, ISSN 1725-9177, EEA Report 5/2009. 20 The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (2005), Quality-of-life index, London.
12 economic environment, natural environment, political and social environment and recreation, when measuring quality of life. Determinants and approaches to the measurement of quality of life can differ; yet, in one way or another, they look at how prosperous a city is. They also look at the ability that a city has to maintain balance between ecology, economy and equity aspects.
In line with these thoughts, the WUF 6 endorses the idea that quality of life is the product of the interplay among political, social, health, economic and environmental conditions which affect human and social development.21 The Forum recognizes that cities are the places where this interaction takes form and where quality of life can be experienced and delivered. Well-designed cities create adequate conditions for quality of life to nurture and flourish in order to produce attractive, secure, quiet, clean, energy-efficient and durable surroundings.22 Cities that offer all these favorable conditions are attractive and function as magnets to pull creative people, productive firms, efficient knowledge institutions, artists and culture institutions. As this critical mass of organizations and people use the city’s spaces and interact in the street, public and private areas, gardens and parks, civic places and business locations, they contribute to developing a sense of identity, belonging and a spirit of the place. All these intangible assets are part of a prosperous city.
The WUF also recognizes that despite the improvements in quality of life in the last century, lots of people both in the developed and developing nations can not benefit from extraordinary advances in medical technology, schools and better education, new recreational facilities and the staggering progress in information technology. Life expectancy in the last century has increased from 35 years to 65 years, but still the urban poor die younger, experience more diseases and have fewer opportunities than the rest of the residents of the city.23 By virtue of who they are, where they are born, what they believe and where they live, they are denied the urban advantage. They have limited access to opportunities; they do not enjoy the goods, services and amenities that are available in cities; and do not have access to all aspects of basic and decent living conditions such as housing, transportation, employment, culture and the judiciary among others. They are also deprived of the less tangible aspects of urban living, such as experiencing a sense of belonging, identity and place. The quality of life that prosperity generates is denied to them.
Quality of life is a public good that is not available for everyone; this is particularly notorious in most cities of the developing world. However, more refined studies show that even rich nations face serious challenges to extend the benefits of prosperity to all their inhabitants, but mostly to ethnic minorities. A research on quality of life in the 100 largest cities and their suburbs conducted in the United States in 2004 shows that “extreme poverty, unemployment, violent crime and social deprivation had a positive and statistically significant association with the proportion of Hispanic and foreign-born populations living in suburban areas”. Quality of life and prosperity is not to be found in all parts of the city, and as this study suggests “suburban areas may be facing new challenges related to the growing racial and ethnic diversity of their residents”.24
Quality public spaces are an excellent entry point to improve the standards of urban life for all citizens. When a city decides to create or enhance public spaces it is expressing its commitment to promote collective values and favor democratic action. The creation/improvement of civic
21 Refer for instance to the Global Development Research Center (2010), Notes on Quality of Life, downloaded from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/qol-define.html, the 30/09/10. 22 European Environment Agency (2009), op cit. 23 UN-Habitat (2006), State of the World’s Cities Report 2006/7, London. 24 Dennis P. Andrulis et al (2004), op cit.
13 spaces, play areas, parks and gardens matters in everyone’s lives. Streets and sidewalks are fundamental elements of public space and when a city plans and develops streets not only to move cars and people, but to build communities and re-shape the concept of place, it has already successfully designed about one-third of the city, which would certainly have an immense impact on the rest of the city.25
However, some factors are having a detrimental effect on public space. The idea of free and open access to all is being challenged by safety and security matters in many cities; the rise of privately owned “public spaces” such as malls and out-of-town shopping centers, and individual and social preferences that divide public spaces into a patchwork of specialized enclaves, defined by income, age, ethnicity and taste.26
Cities need to enhance the use of public spaces in order to increase community cohesion, civic identity and quality of life. The provision of open areas, sport and recreation spaces help create urban environments that are attractive, clean and safe, which are fundamental elements of a prosperous city. In addition to the possibility of attracting business and investments, high quality public spaces improve people’ sense of well being in the place they live. They also have valuable repercussions on various dimensions of quality of life such as health, safety, economic wellbeing and mental health.
Quality of Life (Dialogue 2): High Quality Public Spaces.
ISSUES It has long been accepted that material well being, as measured by GDP per person or other economic indicators, cannot explain or measure the broader notion of quality of life.27 This notion is related to subjective aspects such as feeling good, happy, and being satisfied with what life offers. It is also related to more objective aspects such as fulfilling the societal and cultural demands for material wealth, social status and physical wellbeing.28 Quality of life means many things: having good transport, accessible health services, cultural facilities and public spaces to enjoy. It also means finding a decent job and having adequate housing. Views, perceptions and definitions are manifold, and because of this it is difficult to find an objective, universal definition.
OBJECTIVE The dialogue will focus on one critical dimension of quality of life: the provision and management of high quality public spaces. It will analyze the benefits associated to public spaces in promoting more sustainable development and the impediment to create and manage them. It will also look from a more operational perspective, how this can be connected to planning policies, strategies of social inclusion and environmental improvement for more harmonious and prosperous urban development.
INITIAL QUESTIONS The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:
25 Jacobs Alan (1995), Great Streets, Paperback. 26 Mean Melissa, Tims Charlie (2005), Enhancing the use of public spaces in cities, Foundation Joseph Rowntree. UK. 27 The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (2005), Quality-of-life index, London. 28 Quality-of-Life Research Center (without year), Notes on Quality of Life, Denmark. http://www.gdrc.org/uem/qol-define.html
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• Despite the benefits associated to public spaces, over the past decades the quantity and quality of public spaces has reduced significantly in many cities, why is this happening? • How do national governments participate in the provision and management of public spaces as a contribution to people’s wellbeing and city prosperity? • Public spaces can be created by a range of different institutions: central governments and local authorities, civic and community organizations. How can this be realized in practical terms? Which are the positive experiences of this and what can we learn from that? • What cities are doing to transform their streets into quality public spaces? • Increasingly the private sector is playing a role in providing or maintaining public space. On balance, is this a positive or negative development?
THEMATIC OPEN DEBATE (TOD) (to be developed)
Equity - Inclusive Cities
A Prosperous City is an inclusive city that dramatically reduces poverty and inequality by ensuring a systematic distribution and redistribution of the benefits of development by protecting the rights of the poor, minorities and vulnerable groups, enhancing gender equality, and ensuring civic participation by all in the social, political and cultural spheres.
Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed an increase in income inequalities. Other forms of inequality related to opportunities in life, political participation, consumption and access to resources, among others, have persisted. Simultaneously, new forms of inequality have emerged, such as inequalities in access to communication technologies, skills development and abilities.
Inequalities can be generated and sustained by different factors that relate to power imbalances, socio-cultural values and identities and different forms of exclusion. A person is treated in an unequal manner on the basis of group identity such as gender, ethnicity or religion, or due to the birthplace or parental background. This reduces chances in life and impairs the enjoyment of basic rights and freedoms. 29
No city can claim to be prosperous when large segments of its population are excluded or live in abject poverty. One of the most visible and enduring manifestations of urban poverty and social exclusion is the proliferation of slum and squatter settlements. People living in these settlements experience the most deplorable living and environmental conditions, characterized by inadequate water supply, squalid conditions of
29 Jones Harry (2009), Equity in Development: Why it is important and how to achieve it? Overseas Development Institute, London.
15 environmental sanitation, breakdown or non-existence of waste disposal arrangements, overcrowded and dilapidated habitation, hazardous location, insecurity of tenure, and vulnerability to serious health risks. They are also excluded from participating in the economic social, political and cultural spheres of the city. It is in recognition of the challenges posed by the proliferation of slums, that Target 7.d of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) seeks to significantly improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. While many developing countries especially in Asia have met or even exceeded the slum target, a lot more still needs to be done, particularly in those countries that are falling behind. Prosperous cities should therefore seek to reduce the incidence of existing slums and provide alternatives to the emergence of new slums. There are several ways by which these can be achieved, including the provision of affordable low-income housing, facilitating access to land and finance, and enacting realistic and enforceable planning regulations.
No city can claim to be harmonious if large sections of its population are deprived of basic needs while other sections live in opulence.30 The search for equity is not only fundamental to reduce poverty and exclusion; it is also co-constitutive to progress and development.31 Cities that look at a more fair distribution of resources and opportunities, more fair application of the law, more fair use of rules and relationships that govern institutions, more fair access to services and social amenities, are cities that can be more prosperous.
More equal societies do not only have fewer poor people, they also have less ill-health, less inhabitants living in vulnerable situations, less violence and crime, less mental illness, and less environmental problems.32 Equal cities guarantee the protection of their inhabitants through different means, creating conditions to distribute the benefits of growth and development in a non-discriminatory manner. They do that ensuring that everyone collaborates according to their possibilities and financial means.
In recent years, equity has attracted growing explicit attention in the development discourse; unfortunately much less in the development agenda. Policies that promote equity are still poorly integrated to national programmes and plans, especially if they are compared with the prominence that is given to efficient economic growth policies.33 Yet, it is now widely documented that equitable societies are in the long-run more efficient. As the World Bank stated in 2006: “by placing equity and fairness as central elements of an efficient development strategy, developing countries will be better able to reach sustainable growth and development trajectories”.34
Equity does not only contribute to enhance efficiency levels, which are extremely important to increase general well-being in the city; but it also creates conditions for people to improve their capacities to represent themselves and participate in a more decisive manner in cultural and political life. UN-Habitat State of the World’s Cities Report 2010 laid down a series of practical steps to help cities to become more inclusive from an equity perspective. These include: providing universal public services, social protection, targeted action for disadvantaged groups, and redistribution mechanisms of wealth.
30 Earthscan, UN-Habitat, State of the World’s Cities Report: Harmonious Cities 2008/9, London. 31 Jones Harry (2009), op cit. 32 Wilkinson Richard, Pickett Kate (2009), The Spirit Leve;: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always do Better, England. 33 Jones Harry (2009), op cit. 34 World Bank (2006), World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development, Washington DC.
16
The WUF 6 endorses these policy recommendations and insists that the Distribution of Wealth, Resources and Opportunities is fundamental to promote equity that is an objective in and of itself because of its intrinsic moral importance and its intimate link with fairness and social justice.35 Distributive and re-distributive policies contribute to a reduction in poverty and to greater investments in human capital that in turn encourage economic growth. Although many of the wealth redistributive policies and actions emanate from central governments such as fiscal policies and reforms, targeted subsidies, cash compensations and cash transfers, pensions schemes, etc., local authorities have a key role to play in implementing these policies and devising other programmes to influence a better distribution of income such as the promotion of labor-intensive work methods, the support for small-scale enterprises and micro-credits.
A significant intervention of city authorities is to ensure optimal urban land-use with clear mechanisms that guarantee that benefits are for all people. Through equitable land tax systems the authorities are able to discourage speculation and prevent exorbitant land prices that lead to highly skewed land distribution patterns. Moreover, revenue generated from land taxation can be put into egalitarian ends such as the provision of services by ensuring that those with greater capacity to pay bear a proportionate cost of municipal services.
Equity (Dialogue 3): Distribution of Wealth and Opportunities
ISSUES In close cooperation with national governments, a number of cities in the developing world are implementing various forms of distributive and re-distributive policies and actions in a bid to expand access to economic opportunities for those traditionally excluded from mainstream wealth creation and economic development. They are also coordinating with national institutions involved in human capital formation, deploying dedicated programmes to enhance individual knowledge, skills and abilities that in turn pave the way for personal, social and economic wellbeing. All these equity-oriented policies have a salutary effect on social cohesion and the reducing of political conflicts. They also can contribute to reduce poverty and enhance economic growth in the long run.
Many other cities have serious constraints to implement equity-oriented policies that range from financial problems, poor governance, lack of administrative capacity, poor technical skills, lack of political power and poor coordination with national authorities. This limits their capacity to redistribute opportunities and fundamental assets, such as land.
OBJECTIVE Dialogue 3 will focus on one fundamental aspect of equity: the distribution of wealth and opportunities. After providing an overview on economic development and equity, the dialogue will address equity issues in policymaking, particularly those related to an efficient distribution of income, resources and opportunities. It will devote some time to the analysis of city policy responses both at the design and implementation level, looking at the various interactions with the national (e.g. fiscal, education, labor markets) and supranational spheres (globalization and demand driven policies).
INITIAL QUESTIONS The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:
35 Internationally Monetary Found (1998), Economic Policy and Equity, IMF Conference. Washington.
17 • How have redistributive policies been addressed in policy-making? What instruments have been used to implement these policies at city level? • What roles do economic, cultural and political factors play in determining the attitude of governments toward wealth distribution? • What policy instruments and actions have successfully increased opportunities for all promoting equity in the city? • What can cities do to redistribute wealth and opportunities, as a way of promoting equity? • How important is the support to human capital formation for promoting equity? • Which are the successful cases of efficient land-use mechanisms and land taxation systems for a more egalitarian access to land and basic services?
THEMATIC OPEN DEBATE (TOD) (to be developed)
Infrastructure Development
A Prosperous City provides adequate infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications including digital solutions, highways, urban and inter-urban transport systems in order to enhance spatial mobility and connectivity supported by sound financial mechanisms and regulations that increase accessibility and quality of life to its residents.
The prosperity of a city largely depends on the development of infrastructure. Physical infrastructure like transportation, power and communication facilities contribute to economic development, induces industrialization, and encourages trade and mobility of labour. Social infrastructure like water supply, sanitation, sewage disposal, education and health facilities has a direct impact on the quality of life. 36 Both types of infrastructure connect people to people, goods to markets, workers to jobs, families to services, and the poor in rural areas to urban centres37; a connectivity process that is essential to induce economic growth and reduce poverty.
Countries, regions and cities across the developing world are actively pursuing far-reaching initiatives to improve urban infrastructure and address the challenge of rapid urbanization, or in some cases of population decline. Many of these cities, particularly in Africa and Asia, are facing severe problems to expand infrastructure facilities fast enough to keep up with their rapidly growing populations and –in many parts of Asia– industrial activity.38 The proliferation of slum neighbourhoods with poor, or non-existent, water and sanitation facilities are notorious for the extent and intensity of their deprivation. Today, one every ten urban dwellers in the developing
36 Lalnunmawia H, (2010), First Thing First-Infrastructure Development, T.Romana College, http://www.trcollege.net/articles/77-infrastructure. 37 AusAid (2009), Infrastructure: Making the wheels go round, Focus Feb-May, http://www.ausiad.gov.au/publications/focus/feb09/focus_bef09_03.pdf. 38 AFD, JBIC, KFW (2006), Urban infrastructure for Poverty Reduction and Environmental Sustainability: The Role of the Bilateral Development Banks, issue paper, may 2006.
18 world live in slum –like conditions; this situation is aggravated in most cases by important deficits in other physical and social infrastructures such as roads and transport networks, electricity supply systems, sewage solutions and poorly connected health and education centres.
It is well known that the poor suffer the most these infrastructure deficits. In India, for instance, the 6 major metropolitan cities experienced an increase of sevenfold in the number of motor vehicles between 1981 and 2001, while at the same time the road infrastructure was not noticeable increase, neither alternative ways of transport were developed. As a consequence, lower-income groups pay more in terms of higher traffic time and also in traffic accidents.39 It is estimated that due to poor infrastructure as many as 200 million people were affected each year during the 90s in developing countries, on average, by climate-related disasters, such as floods, droughts and extreme winds; needless to say that the poor endure the worst consequences of these disasters.40
Obviously, the under-development of infrastructure affects the city as a whole in different ways. Life becomes more difficult and more costly, discouraging the development of tourist industry, trade as well as investments. The dearth of infrastructure reduces city competitiveness and generates negative externalities in terms of air pollution, wasted time, fuel cost, safety cost, noise and GHG emissions. The OECD estimates that traffic congestion and related costs represent 3 percent of Seoul GDP and 4 percent of Bangkok GDP.41 Poor urban infrastructure is an institutional barrier towards social inclusion that constrains individual and social welfare and denies people’s opportunities in life. It can also contribute to the degradation of natural resources and the economic marginalization of residents.
However, the provision of urban and regional infrastructure is linked to urbanization, which in turn is positively associated to economic development and societal advance. A study of the World Bank shows that in many countries a one percent rise in infrastructure goes with a one per cent increase in the GDP.42 UN-Habitat State of the World’s Cities Report 2008 demonstrated with strong empirical evidence that transport connectivity was one of the most important drivers of city growth. Indeed, investments in transport infrastructure and related reforms in the sector, including finance and regulations, delivered major economic development benefits that contributed to poverty alleviation and the improvement of quality of life. According to the Report, more than half of the cities that grew because of economic reasons did so due to investments in transport infrastructure: roads, ports, airports, and the like.43
Emerging economies such as India and China are giving high priority to the rapid expansion of infrastructure. Chinese cities that specialize in industrial development or are transport hubs and markets have huge infrastructure developments that allow them to connect to global circuits and national domestic markets. The Indian Government realizes that in order to achieve fast and sustained economic development, there is a need to support major infrastructure investments in urban areas. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is focussing
39 Ibid. 40 Ibid. 41 UNESCAP (2010), Developing Eco-efficient and Sustainable Infrastructure, Expert Group Meeting on Sustainable Transport Development, Bangkok. 42 Lalnunmawia H, (2010), First Thing First-Infrastructure Development, T.Romana College, http://www.trcollege.net/articles/77-infrastructure. 43 Earthscan, UN-Habitat (2008), op cit.
19 attention to integrated development of infrastructure by accelerating the flow of investments through grants-in-aide that are expected to leverage additional resources.44
A certain number of countries, with the support of bilateral and multilateral development banks, are focusing on the provision of transport and communication infrastructure in existing and promising urban corridors and city regions, as part of a renewed vision of urban/regional planning activities and economic growth. Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard Infrastructure with more than 150 km of transport infrastructure is a good example aiming to reduce economic disparities by counter-weighting the excessive concentration of economic activities in the capital city.
At urban level, more and more local authorities are realizing that transportation is the lifeline of cities. They understand that residential areas, work places, commercial zones and recreation facilities need to be connected and accessible to everyone. They want to make of urban mobility and integral part of urban planning in order to create a “city of short distances”.45 For that purpose, they are developing, or planning to develop, intelligent transportation systems with intermodal transport offers that connect mass transit solutions to cycle networks and pedestrian areas.
Mobility in urban areas is a basic condition for participating in working life, engaging in social cultural and political activities46 and getting access to education and health facilities. It is an important facilitator for economic growth and employment and for the prosperity of the city. At the core of urban mobility is mass transportation, which is a fundamental engine for growth and development. Cities that are adopting mass transportation solutions are becoming more competitive and attractive by reducing the unit cost of trips for users, reducing congestion thereby decreasing travel time and offering reliable access to different areas in the city. Mass transport solutions contribute to energy conservation and protection of the environment in regard to urban air quality, health, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emission that is crucial in addressing global climate change at city level. It is therefore increasingly apparent that urban mobility plays an important role in the achievement of the city’s wider sustainability objectives.
Infrastructure Development (Dialogue 4): Urban Mobility as engine for Prosperity
ISSUES Urban infrastructure investments play a critical role in determining which cities prosper and which cities do not. The practice of linking infrastructure development with national and regional development policies, macro-economic strategies, industrial policies and urban development strategies is not always direct and clear; yet empirical evidence shows that the most successful cases of urban/regional growth are those that have managed to articulate infrastructure development to all these dimensions in specific geographic areas. Moreover, evidence also shows that the provision of urban infrastructures is more effective when national, regional and local authorities actively participate in the financing of these infrastructures, integrating the private sector, and using local financial systems.
OBJECTIVE
44 Government of India (2009), The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Inside Brochure, http://jnnurm.nic.in/nurmudweb/toolkit/broucher.pdf. 45 Shuster Wolfang, (2008), Agenda 21 for Urban Mobility, UCLG, Stuttgart. 46 Ibid.
20 Dialogue 4 will focus on the role of infrastructure development supporting urban mobility. At the core of urban mobility is mass transportation that combined with other non-motorized solutions increases connectivity and interactions, which are essential for economic growth and city prosperity. This Dialogue will analyze the prospects and challenges that cities face to adopt the most optimal and efficient solutions for urban mobility. A connection will be established between infrastructure provision, mass transportation and energy conservation and its benefits on climate change.
INITIAL QUESTIONS The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:
• How can cities mobilize huge investments to finance infrastructure development to enhance urban mobility? • Mass transportation has clear benefits, yet many cities have not been able to integrate these solutions in their urban mobility plans. How can poor cities adopt them to increases chances of prosperous development? • Many cities are adopting transport solutions and related infrastructure developments that are not suitable to their functional and spatial context. How can sustainable optimal solutions be adopted? • How can cities move to greener transport options reconciling present needs and possibilities with long-term solutions that are more sustainable?
THEMATIC OPEN DEBATE (TOD) (to be developed)
Environmental Sustainability
A Prosperous City values the protection of the Earth’s environmental and natural assets while seeking for economic growth, looking at ways to reduce energy demand, minimize pressure on surrounding land and natural resources, preventing or minimizing environmental losses by generating creative solutions to enhance the quality of the environment and finding a balance between man and nature
Cities compete with each other to gain recognition as important urban centers. They also compete to be included in national and regional plans and to be part of local and global markets. As they produce economic outputs, they also need to deliver basic and social services, create jobs, fight poverty and increase quality of life. Cities are constantly changing, experiencing economic restructuring, socio-economic transformations and physical alterations that all have a profound impact on the cities themselves and their regions. As part of these transformations, and in the search for prosperity, the need for environmental sustainability is increasingly coming to the fore. It is not only a complement to, but an essential part of progress, development and prosperity.
In recent years important advances have been made in developing an operational applicability on environmental sustainability. Compared to the situation two decades ago, when the concept of
21 environmental sustainability seemed too conceptual and abstract, countries and cities have now a clearer picture on how and where to act and what to measure.
Cities are the engines of economic growth today, and perhaps even more so in the future. The question is how they can be economically productive, while at the same time promote policies and actions that sustain and expand the environmental resource base.
Environmental sustainability is not only for the future. It is about taking decisive political action now to preserve environmental stocks such as forest, land, water, air and the like, creating adequate environmental infrastructure for resource regeneration processes, and ensuring that physical infrastructures are designed and operated according to eco-efficient principles. All this needs to be done as cities continue to prosper and grow.
The success in the management of the human and built environment will ensure the development of better cities, better living standards and less poverty; in short, the possibility of sustainable human progress. In this sense, environmental sustainability has to do with justice, equity and security; all elements of a prosperous city.
At present, the neglect of environmental concerns comes with a very high price. It is estimated that urban air pollution kills about 800,000 people annually and respiratory diseases caused by indoor smoke from solid fuels kill an estimated 1.6 million people annually around the world.47 The uncontrolled growth of cities has seriously affected biodiversity and natural resources. Approximately 13 million hectares of forest are cut every year. This corresponds to one third of Sweden’s area per year, or 40 soccer pitches per minute. The persistence of unsustainable patterns in the use of the environment will certainly bring further environmental decay, poverty, and hardship in an ever more polluted world.48 What's more, the appearance of new challenges associated to global climate change will reduce the prospects of achieving sustainable urban development if corrective actions are not taken today.
Climate change is unavoidably linked to environmental sustainability. Climate change can also be linked to the likelihood of extreme political, economic and social stress and a possible slowdown in economic development. As the Stern Report posits extreme weather could reduce global GDP by up to 10 percent, with developing counties at the higher end of that estimate. Moreover, detrimental climatic changes may significantly impact the availability of regional resources, which could trigger existing societal and political problems.49 For example regions where competition for freshwater has already been a political issue, such as the Middle East, would be particularly vulnerable in this regard.50
Recent Prospective studies do not rule out the possibility that climate change could lead to migration on an unprecedented scale and increase the number of environmental refugees. It can also exacerbate the conditions of poor populations living in inadequate structures in slum areas, making them even more vulnerable not only to extreme weather events, but also to minor problems such as simple rainstorms that can cause serious flooding in these poor neighborhoods.
47 WHO, UNEP (2008), Facts and Figures, New York, http://www.unep.org/health- env/pdfs/Media_FactFigures.pdf. 48 World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), op cit. 49 Foresight (2009), Dimension of Uncertainly 9: Climate Change, London, https://horizonscanning.centraldesktop.com/login. 50 National Intelligence Council (2008), Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World, Washington, 2008.
22 Climate change presents, in this sense, a serious risk to poverty reduction and threatens to undo decades of development efforts.
Prospects to adopt a multilateral approach with a new form of global environmental governance responding to resource management, environmental protection and sustainability show rather poor success in some areas (i.e. Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol) and relative success in others (i.e. global carbon trading scheme). As the WUF 5 held in Rio de Janeiro stated, “it appears more and more evident that the battle against climate change will be won or lost in cities”.51 Mayors around the world, NGOs and some national governments are creating a common front to fight this war at the local level, understanding that cities provide a great opportunity to mitigate and even reverse the impact of global climate change, as they create the economies of scale that reduce per capita costs and demand for resources.
Cities have the obligation to provide leadership and direction and implement practical initiatives for the communities and citizens they represent. They need to develop local strategies towards a sustainable future, addressing climate change impacts; mitigation and adaptation through urban planning and management.52 Some of the most sever impacts will be felt in the poorest countries and in the most deprived neighborhoods, which are least able to adapt to these changes. As UN- Habitat Climate Change Strategy indicates “effective adaptation and mitigation strategies require a concerted approach to pro-poor climate-proof urban and regional planning and economic development strategies to be implemented at the local level in response to local circumstances and conditions”. Ibid
Cities working with national governments and international development partners need to do more efforts to “green the economy” by reconfiguring business and the infrastructure in order to consume less energy and reduce green house gas emissions (GHG) to create a healthy natural and social environment for today as well as for the future generations.
As cities become more prosperous and develop new business, new services, new communication and new industries, they need to engage on a sustainable development trajectory that places a strong focus on efficient energy use and renewable energies. Various cities in the developed world are already doing so, only a few cities of the developing world have managed to implement “green strategies”. The concept of Green Economy is still evolving and more efforts are needed to connect some recommended actions, such as constructing green buildings (retrofits for energy), using clean transportation systems (public transport and alternative fuels), water management (greywater and rainwater systems), waste management (recycling) and land management (urban agriculture and urban forestry) to the real financial and management capacities of cities. Efforts are also needed to look at the employment effects of clean energy solutions that in the short term are threatening the material wellbeing of workers relaying on the use of conventional energy, particularly unskilled people in the low-income groups.
There is no doubt that in the long-run “green economy can create dynamic new industries, quality jobs, and income growth while mitigating and adapting to climate change and arresting biodiversity decline”.53 However, the shift towards a green economy requires education for
51 UN-Habitat, Ministry of Cities, Government of Brazil (2010), op cit. 52 UN-Habitat (2010), Climate Change Strategy 2010-2013, Nairobi.
53 United Nations System (2009), Green Economy: a Transformation to Address Multiple Crises an Interagency Statement of the United Nations System, http://www.unep.org/pdf/pressreleases/Green_Economy_Joint_Statement.pdf.
23 sustainable development including training in new job skills and significant additional financial and technical assistance. Cities need this support to be able to shift their economies to a greener and more inclusive economic development path.
Environmental Sustainability (Dialogue 5): Energy Use and the Green Economy
ISSUES More than half of humanity now lives in cities and by 2050 –just 40 years from now– an astonishing 75 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. Cities represent the place in which the ecological, social and economic implications of current policies and actions are manifested the most. Economic activities have clear implications in environmental sustainability and often economic growth is achieved at the expense of the environment.
Cities both from developed and developing countries need to embark now in a transition to develop clean energy solutions, towards a green economy. However, financial limitations impose obstacles for this transition. Further obstacles result from the likelihood of job losses and an eventual decline of economic growth in the initial stages of this transition. Can cities, especially from the developing world, adopt financial incentives, policies and diverse measures to support this transition?
OBJECTIVE Dialogue 5 will focus on fundamental aspects of environmental sustainability: energy use and the green economy. After presenting in concrete terms what represents the green economy concept, the dialogue will discuss why cities should have a key role in the new green growth model and what kind of actions they can implement. This dialogue will respond to a fundamental question, how can the green economy contribute to the prosperity of cities?
INITIAL QUESTIONS The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:
• Which are the economic opportunities that the green economy provides in cities? • Can the green economy reduce inequalities? • What is the role of urban planning and governance in prioritizing clean energy solutions? • Can cities adopting clean energy use and the green economy concept persuade national governments to do the same? What are the persuasion mechanisms needed? • Which are the benefits of the green economy for the general welfare of cities? • By adopting a green economy model, do cities become more competitive and attractive?
THEMATIC OPEN DEBATE (TOD) (to be developed)
Sustainable Urban Development
24
The present urban population is at a defining moment in history. It has a choice to leave a legacy of poverty, hunger, ill health and a continuous deterioration of the environment in the cities. It has the choice to integrate sustainable urban development practices to fulfill basic needs and improve quality of life in a safer, protected environment that will guarantee a more prosperous future for all.
Obviously, this is not a real dilemma or a possible choice between two options. The confrontation of these two scenarios: one entailing disaster and chaos and the other order and harmonious urban development talks about the urgent need to change for a better urban future. A future where prosperity will be achieved without sacrificing the resources and assets of these and future generations; a future where prosperity will not be achieved at the expenses of the majority for the benefits of the few; a future where prosperity will not be guided by economic greed and short- term considerations. Yet, in order to achieve a better future, the integration of different disciplines is crucial, but not enough. For real change to happen, there is a need of a political and social commitment that can balance the core values of economic prosperity, environmental integrity and social equity.
Sustainable urban development is not an easy concept. It goes beyond environmental protection, and the viability of existing life-styles. It means different things for different people. Yet everyone agrees it is a good and desirable state of development that countries and cities should commit to.54 It is both a process and an aim to improve the long-term social, economic and ecological health of cities and towns by reconciling the future vision of the city with its present needs; by reconciling the dreams and aspirations of city dwellers with the present realities; and by reconciling future progress and development with the present prosperity.
Sustainable urban development will only happen if it is explicitly planned. It requires management of demands, rather than meeting all demands. A clear definition of how resources are to be administered, allocated and re-distributed to ensure efficiency and equity, with a strong participation of inhabitants in the management of the city. It requires more effective and stronger institutions that are able to promote sustainable development, and reduce poverty and inequality. It requires innovative urban planning and greater entrepreneurship and a clear cooperation of the three tiers of government. All these are central elements of good urban governance.
Sustainable urban development is a concept that signals a new way of doing things based on the notion that there are some fundamental unresolved questions to address: the issues of equity, poverty and social justice, among others. As the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) affirmed in Istanbul nearly 15 years ago, “there is a need to make efficient use of resources within the carrying capacity of ecosystems and provide to all people, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, equal opportunities for a healthy, safe and productive life in harmony with nature and their cultural heritage and values, and which ensures economic, social and environmental protection, thereby contributing to the achievement of national sustainable development”.55
In search of sustainability, cities need to consider a wide range of issues together and make explicit decisions about priorities, trade-offs and sacrifices. They need to look at present needs but keep in mind long-term frameworks to guide them and help them to control the process,
54 ESCWA (2001), Sustainable Urban Development: A Regional Perspective on Good Urban Governance, E/ESCWA?HS/2001/7, New York. 55 UN-HABITAT (1996), Habitat Agenda: Commitments, paragraph 42, Istanbul.
25 providing incentives and motivations as well as corrective mechanisms to ensure targets are met.56
To make sustainable development a feasible objective, there is a need of operational and inter- linked series of actions, integrating the different domains of prosperity that have been analyzed in this concept paper:
Productive cities generate a proper environment for economic growth based on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship that altogether contribute to improve urban productivity. Cities that are productive and sustainable actively seek to retain and enhance a locally based economy, protecting assets and resources, and developing a strong sense of place that values local comparative advantages while integrating opportunities that regional and global markets offer.
Quality of life offers people the option of living a sustainable life by improving ecological, cultural and social conditions without leaving a burden on the future generations. Cities that embark successfully on the path toward local sustainable development focus on the provision of wellbeing for everyone now and for generations to come. This assumes the construction of an inclusive society in which the benefits of increased economic prosperity are widely shared in all dimensions of human life.
Equity is strongly linked to sustainability. It is an ethical and people-oriented principle that ensures a just, fair distribution of resources and wealth among everyone overtime. Cities that seek to achieve equity are interested in increasing freedoms and different forms of social, cultural and political participation to ensure that there is a minimum level of income, wellbeing and environmental quality below which nobody falls.
Infrastructure development is a key ingredient for sustainable development. All cities need efficient transport, sanitation, energy and communications systems if they are to prosper and provide a decent standard of living for their populations. Cities that attach great importance to infrastructure development create conditions to improve growth, productivity, employment and access to market opportunities and essential services, particularly those required to accelerate progress and fight poverty reduction.
Environmental sustainability is nested within, rather than linked to, sustainable development. It has to do with the way the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional changes are made consistent with future as well as present needs.57 The process by which urban areas create and distribute prosperity should not destroy or degrade the environment, but rather, should seek to protect the city’s environmental assets and contribute to the goals of sustainable urbanization by using clean energy.
Problems and solutions for sustainable development are located in cities. However, to achieve sustainability there is a need to complement urban policies with rural and regional policies. Those cities that have the capacity to balance these spatial dimensions with the different components of a sustainable city have more chances to also become prosperous cities.
56 Adapted from “Agenda 21”, which was adopted by more than 178 Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992. 57 World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), op cit.
26
Sustainable Urban Development (Dialogue 6)
ISSUES Prosperous cities can play a key role in achieving sustainable urbanization. As countries rapidly urbanize, the issue of sustainable urbanization becomes crucial since unsupported or unplanned urbanization will constrain the achievement of this goal.
Sustainable cities are liveable, productive and inclusive cities. As a dynamic process, sustainable urbanization captures a vision of inclusive growth that is people-centred, and includes achieving all aspect of sustainability— economic, environmental, social and political-institutional within the opportunities and challenges posed by scale of urbanization. Put differently, sustainable cities should be environmentally safe, socially inclusive and economically productive.
OBJECTIVE The objective for Dialogue 6 is to engage in a discussion on how to achieve sustainable urban development in the world’s cities. The Dialogue will respond to questions such as what is required to achieve this desired goal and what decision-makers should prioritize.
Participants in Dialogue 6 will explore innovative, integrated approaches that cities are taking in pursuit of sustainable urban development, trying to balance environmental safety, social inclusion and economic development. The discussion can be framed along the 5 dimensions of city prosperity that were analyzed in the previous 5 dialogues.
INITIAL QUESTIONS The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:
• What is needed to govern for sustainable urban development? • How to reconcile an urban and a regional perspective for sustainable development? • Is it possible to define a common action towards sustainable urban development? • What comes first when achieving sustainable urban development? • What is the role of the different levels of government and the international community concerning sustainable development? • What is the role of planning and urban management when addressing long- term sustainable development issues? • How to bring unsustainable patterns of urban growth such as urban sprawl to an end?
THEMATIC OPEN DEBATE (TOD) (to be developed)
27