Unprecedented levels of urbanization coupled with revolutions in transport, energy, and data technology offer new opportunities to reshape cities, – suggests the recent Report by the Coalition for Urban Transitions.
The Report finds that dense development can bring about not only new risks, but also opportunities to improve the economic, social, and environmental performance of cities, create vibrant dynamic urban centres that are more competitive, inclusive, and resilient as well as cleaner, quieter, and safer, and have lower carbon emissions.
The study underscores that urban development is highly impacted by the global context of the economic development that affects urban economic and employment structure, good density, and real estate investment. Urban areas now account for approximately 80 per cent of global economic output, and by 2050 two-thirds of the global population are expected to live in urban areas.
The largest 150 world metropolitan economies constitute only 13 percent of the global population but generate 40 percent of global GDP. It is evident that cities become important centres of global economic production. The estimates also show that the world’s population is expected to double in 43 years, whereas the urban land cover is expected to double only in 19 years.
In this changing context, many studies underscore the need in climate-resilient and sustainable development of the cities, point to an inherent contradiction of climate change mitigation and adaptation processes that are directly linked to urban density and the form of urban development. Cities of the future need to be planned strategically to support environmental and social well-being as well as economic productivity.
Good density and climate change mitigation require more space for blue and green infrastructure and greater energy efficiency and emissions reductions. For instance, the study suggests that only a 10 percent increase in investment in green infrastructure in high-density centigrade urban areas with little existing green space could negate a four-degree increase in temperature over the next80 tears.
Sustainable green and blue infrastructure provision need to be led by the coherent and well-coordinated public governance that encourages and supports new investments. The Report underscores that governance is critical for delivering “good density”.
Modern city governance faces a range of challenges, including coping with forces that are beyond local in scope, such as changes in climate, population growth and movement, trade patterns, technology, and policy and regulatory environments. To effectively cope with the drivers of future change in cities, four elements of coordinated urban governance are essential. These are multi-level governance with effective coordination of national, regional, and city policies; city leadership and financial authority; transparency and accountability; and policy integration at the local level.
