Group6_A | SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

 

SDG 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

Group Members:  

Anushka Jain BJ20010 | Manav Hirani BJ20020 | Isha Gupta BJ20021 | Ramsha Marufi BJ20041 | Simran Jain BJ20051 | Sonal Gupta BJ20053 



INTRODUCTION TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL (SDG 11)

Cities in the world represent a mere 3% of the Earth's surface but are responsible for 60-80% of energy usage and 75% of carbon emissions in the environment(2). The majority of the world today resides in cities. By 2050, it is projected that two- thirds of mankind- a population of 6.5 billion will be accounted for as the urban population(1). As a consequence of the growing population in cities and rising migration levels, it has created a boom in mega-cities, particularly in the developing world. Slum areas are becoming an integral part of urban life. It was also observed that about 90% of the global COVID-19 cases occurred in urban areas(3). Hence, we need to fundamentally transform how we create and maintain our urban spaces to achieve sustainability.

The SDG 11 of sustainable cities and communities aims at 'making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable'. It comprises 10 key targets that include upgrading slums by providing safe and affordable housing, accessible and sustainable transport system with careful attention paid to vulnerable groups, inclusive urbanization, protecting the world's heritage, reducing the adverse environmental impact of cities, decreasing the losses caused by natural disasters, universal access to green and public spaces, vital development planning, and providing support to lesser developed countries in the sustainable and resilient building.

SDG 11 is deeply interlinked with other sustainable goals. It helps in reducing poverty in urban areas by providing equal access to essential services (SDG 1 and SDG 6). It pays consideration to air quality, waste management, and overall living standards; hence it may be instrumental in maintaining good health (SDG 3). Its key targets also work towards reducing inequalities by paying attention to vulnerable groups and promoting inclusive urbanization (SDG 5 and SDG 10). It also consists of parameters of SDG 9 through the building of resource-efficient cities with innovation and increasing economic production levels. Additionally, developing urban resilience leads to strengthening the sustainability of urbanization required to protect the environment and reduce the impact of climate change (SDG 13). Thus, an integrated approach across multiple goals is critical to achieving targeted progress.

RELEVANCE FOR INDIA

 


India's urban population has risen by 91 million from 2001 to 2011 and is expected to see a further increase of 416 million by 2050(11). The country will also see the emergence of 7 mega-cities having 10+ million population by 2030. However, as per the census 2011, 65 million people constituted the urban slum population indicating that approximately 1 out of 6 of the city residents lived in slums. This attributes mainly to the migration of labourers from rural areas to the cities in search of better lifestyles and employment in manufacturing and tertiary activities instead of the primary. This economic growth brought with it the need for urbanization. However, it has been characterized by sub-optimal infrastructure, services, and misplanned urban sprawl, creating the risk of unsustainability and disasters. For instance,33% of the confirmed cases and 25% of the active infections for COVID-19 came from India's 9 largest cities(6).

India has it all from the overcrowded slums of Mumbai, overly flooded Chennai to the highly congested capital of Delhi. The hour's need is to manage the disparity in demand and supply of infrastructure and ensure an inclusive economic growth to tackle the rural-urban and intra urban divide. It is imperative to push for affordable and safe housing, availability of basic utilities and green spaces. The government has taken several measures to tackle the gaps in urban governance and infrastructure. The most prominent are (12):

  1. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) (2005): targeted at improving local governance, promote investment and eliminating structural weaknesses.
  2. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) (2015): aims at providing amenities like water supply, sanitation, greenery and reduced pollution in 500 cities with over 100,000 population.
  3. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (2015): launched with the aim of providing housing to all in the urban areas by 2022.
  4. Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojna (HRIDAY) (2015): aimed to support water supply, sanitization and landscaping of infrastructure close to heritage sites.
  5. Smart Cities Mission (2015): employs smart solutions to improve infrastructure facilities in 100 cities to improve the quality of life.
  6. R-Urban Mission (2016): aims at providing urban services and accelerating rural development.

 


The performance of these measures is indicated by the SDG India Index. The scores of states range between 22-79 and UTs between 33-83. Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Chandigarh are frontrunners in terms of SDG11. The prominent achievements till 2020 include completion of 31.01% houses under PMAY, 56% of the total waste generated is processed, 5.41% urban households live in slums, and 90.99% of wards have 100% door to door waste collection. While the achievements are applaud worthy, there is still more scope of improvement with the coordination of government and the people (13).
 

BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS AND RESPONSES

Growing population has led to rapid urbanization. To keep up with the pace, a new city to accommodate 1 million people will need to be built every week! Alternatively, the growth of the existing cities needs to be effectively managed (8). It has become imperative for businesses, one of the most influential forces in cities, to take steps to build sustainable cities. Doing so will in the long-term build a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

An exemplary contribution in this direction is made by the CEO of Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla, called "Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative" (APCCI). On the roads of Pune city, it's hard to miss APCCI waste bins and trucks as there are 200 trucks and machines and 400 employees collecting waste spanning 600km of the city. In addition to this, APCCI provides drinking water to 2000 families and activation programs for schools, Mohalla committees, residential societies to build aware communities (9).

 

Several corporations have made contributions to SDG 11. Some of the noteworthy contributions are as follows: 

Boston Consulting Group 

Trends in urbanization, climate change, and technology have shaped an increasingly dynamic environment for cities worldwide before COVID-19. To ensure the communities and cities are built to succeed perpetually, BCG partners with policymakers and corporations. Some of its featured client works include creating a cultural and tourism plan in a leading city, planning a green urban environment with good quality of life through the use of competitiveness heat map to prioritize areas of improvement: transport, housing and shared facilities, and analyzing the traffic patterns of a European city based on variables such as commutes, motives for commuters, and points of pain(4).

Procter & Gamble 

P&G recognized a unique opportunity to decrease energy consumption and carbon emissions in 2010. It set a target to convert 70% of all machine wash loads into high-efficiency cycles that wash clothes at low temperatures. It achieved this goal one year ahead of time(5). This is an effort towards mitigating the impact of climate change and other disasters, and the resulting economic and human losses in the cities. Additionally, P&G has accomplished its target of manufacturing 100% zero landfill waste sites by 2020. 92% of its production sites are qualified as zero manufacturing waste to landfill (ZMWTL), as of 2019(5). Effective management of waste helps in advancing the goal of sustainable cities and communities. 

Axis 

Axis was one of the first banks to partner with National Highway Authority of India for the FASTag Electronic Toll Collection Project to make toll collection digital. The bank is also associated with 27 smart cities(7) as a part of the national Smart Cities Mission and provides digital and financial solutions.

Steps have been taken to digitize services for Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for example, in the state of Madhya Pradesh they established a common online tax collection portal for 139 ULBs and water collection system for 378 ULBs(7). The bank also increased its investment in urban mass transport, green infrastructure and renewable energy from Rs. 5498 cr to Rs. 6446 cr in FY20 from FY19(7).

Citi 

"Citi for Cities" initiative by Citibank contributes to SDG 11 by way of investments in infrastructure projects like mass transit, green building. Through a combination of bond issuances, digital payments and risk management, the company finances municipal programs and other urban development projects. By partnering with governments, businesses and communities, Citi has helped implement innovative solutions to problems associated with urbanization (10). 

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTED PATH AHEAD 

During the pandemic, SDG 11 proved to be of vital importance by ensuring a significant decrease in exposure to those living in overcrowded areas. The pandemic also affected the cultural and heritage sector as this sector was hit hard and lost funding in 2020. As we observe the quantum of coronavirus cases (90%) in urban areas globally, it shows us that there is still a challenge in optimizing our urban spaces(3).  Recent data in the case of India shows that states with a higher percentage of the urban population had a higher COVID-19 caseload. A third and a fourth of the overall confirmed caseloads and active infections accounted for the nine largest cities in India, respectively (6).


Overcrowding and Sub-optimal housing 

There was no space for social distance for 42% of households in urban India as three or more people share a room in those households, according to data from the NFHS (National Family Health Survey). Approximately 61% and 55% of urban households, respectively, of the poorest and poorer quintiles had houses where more than three people slept per room, implying overcrowding and worsening infection risk(6). This risk can result in physical distancing and self-quarantining becoming almost non-existent due to congestion and space limitations in slums.

Access to green spaces in urban areas and inclusivity 

Our movement was restricted by the pandemic, but the importance of open green spaces in urban areas was also renewed. Under the 2014 guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 25-35% of land use was allocated to open and recreational spaces. However, most Indian cities have not met the standard benchmark. The exclusionary mechanism of their access to the marginalized was another appalling factor that fell flat in envisaging equitable green spaces. Vulnerable groups are denied entry to the urban green spaces, which are systematically located in the vicinity of gated colonies that house the affluent class. This again highlights the deep interlinks between multiple SDGs (here, SDG 11 and 10). 

Water and sanitization 

A by-product of city development was the need for basic water supply and sanitation, however, its condition has been sub-optimal. 20% of households of India collect water from outside their dwelling area, and women face the burden of such activities hampering their socio-economic development and suscepting them to illness. Till 2010, only 2 cities - Thiruvananthapuram and Kota had continuous water supply while cities like Jamshedpur provided 25% of its people with the same (14). This calls for more schemes like AMRUT. 

Suggested Path Ahead 

While steps have been taken by governments, businesses, NGOs and other stakeholders, dream 2030 is still a long way to go. There is a requirement for coordinated efforts by governments, corporations, and civil society for the effective implementation of the SDG. 

  • Grassroot approach: In the modern economy, a trickle-down strategy is often seen to be ineffective. There is a need for development initiatives at a local level across the nation. Dedicated organizations for sustainable development of cities can be set up locally to accommodate region-specific requirements and carry out the implementation in an effective manner.
  • Sustainable practices and innovations: Public-Private Partnership model can be used to build sustainable infrastructure with government investment and business technological and infrastructural capabilities. For example, rainwater harvesting (on roofs and roads) projects can be implemented at a large scale to address the water shortage.
  • Eliminating bureaucracy and corruption: In countries like India, there is a huge leakage in the funds allotted for development projects with regard to corruption and delays due to bureaucracy. This can be done by building a completely transparent process. After ordering a product online, real-time updates about the status of the product are provided to the purchaser till the delivery. In the same way, detailed information about fund allocation can be made available only on projects of public interest with no security risk involved.
  • Involving the general public: It is important to make the general public aware of the sustainable practices they can adopt and incentivizing them to do so. For example, people can be encouraged to use mass transit by rewarding them a 2-day free ride on every 15 days use of public transport. Similar initiatives can be taken for cycling, switching to renewable energy, and other changes in lifestyle.

The absolute accomplishment of SDGs sounds like a utopian vision. But ignorance and inactiveness will lead the world somewhere close to dystopia. Therefore, it is imperative that we rise to the cause of sustainability and make this planet more livable.

 

REFERENCES

  1. https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-sustainable-cities-and communities.html#:~:text=Making%20cities%20sustainable%20means%20creating,in%20participatory%20and%20inclusive%20ways.
  2. https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/sustainable-development-goals/why-do-sustainable-development-goals-matter/goal-11
  3. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11
  4. https://www.bcg.com/en-in/industries/public-sector/cities-of-the-future
  5. http://www.businessfor2030.org/procter-gamble
  6. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/urbanisation/what-covid-19-can-mean-for-sdg-11-sustainable-cities-and-communities-in-india-72987
  7. https://www.axisbank.com/docs/default-source/csr-reports-and-disclosures/axis-bank-sustainability-report-fy-2019-20.pdf
  8. https://youtu.be/-4iGPnF0Wzw
  9. http://www.adarpcleancity.com/aboutus.html
  10. https://www.citigroup.com/citi/about/citizenship/download/Banking-on-2030-Citi-and-the-SDGs-Report.pdf
  11. https://in.one.un.org/page/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-11/
  12. http://www.naredco.in/notification/pdfs/indiaurbaninfrastructurereport-2020.pdf
  13. https://niti.gov.in/sdg-india-index-dashboard-2019-20
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_India


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