Group4_C | SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
The 11th
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is aimed at making cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It is virtually impossible
to achieve this sustainable goal without fundamentally changing the way we
create and maintain our urban spaces. Cities are the pillars of growth.
Business, culture, ideas, knowledge, all flourish here. Cities give residents
chances to succeed financially and socially.
As per the 2018
statistics, 55% of the world population resided in cities. This comes up to about 4.2
billion people, and the number is only expected
to rise. It is projected to reach nearly 6.5
billion by the year 2050. Cities and
metropolitan regions also contribute about 60 per cent of global
GDP. Unplanned urbanisation, however, will be
harmful to national and international development as cities expand outside
their established borders.
But how does this
impact our everyday lives, and why is it important to us? Cities account for
over 70% of
global carbon emissions and over 60% of resource consumption. Such disparity can escalate unrest. Moreover, pollution degrades the
health and impacts the efficiency of people, and therefore the economy.
Majority of the urban population breathes air which is 2.5
times more polluted than deemed fit by the WHO.
There were about 4.2
million premature deaths in 2016 due to air pollution. With 90
per cent of the cases being metropolitan, even the COVID
19 pandemic affected the urban population more severely.
Now that we are
aware of the seriousness of SDG 11, how can we go about achieving these goals?
There are 10 targets to be achieved for the same. These are broken down into 7 “outcome”
targets and 3 “means of achieving” targets as follows:
|
Outcome Targets |
Means of Achieving Targets |
|
1.
SAFE AND
AFFORDABLE HOUSING 2.
AFFORDABLE AND
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS 3.
INCLUSIVE AND
SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION 4.
PROTECT THE WORLD’S
CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE 5.
REDUCE THE
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS 6.
REDUCE THE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF CITIES 7. PROVIDE
ACCESS TO SAFE AND INCLUSIVE GREEN PUBLIC SPACES |
1.
STRONG NATIONAL
AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING 2.
IMPLEMENT
POLICIES FOR INCLUSION, RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION 3.
SUPPORT LEAST
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT BUILDING (Source) |
Relevance of Sustainable Cities in Indian Context:
The final report
of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare by National Commission on
Population (NCP), projects India’s population to rise 25%
compared to 2011, to 1.52 billion by 2036. This would lead
to a rise in urbanisation with an increase in urban population from 31% in 2011
to 39% by 2036. UNDP data states that India will have seven
megacities with a population of 10 million each by 2030. At the same time, it states that still 13% of urban households do not
have access to proper sanitation and 17% of the urban population lives in
slums. Consequently, urban sustainability becomes crucial from the policy as
well as implementation context in India.
The first
official mention of sustainability in Indian policy dates to after the
Brundtland Commission in 1987. In response to the UN’s declaration of the 1980s
as International Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, the Indian government
aimed at 100% pipe coverage of urban households by 1990, but the goal remains
unmet. However, schemes like JNNURM (2004-2014) and AMRUT (2015 onwards)
aim to cover 500 cites, ensuring tap water access and sewerage
connection for every household. The
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, on the other hand, aims to provide housing for all in
urban areas by 2022. After 2007, the focus shifted to include
ecological and environmental objectives as part of the policy and included
enhancement of energy efficiency of buildings, urban waste recycling and
promotion of public transport to tackle climate change. There is a growing
interest in smart cities focusing on solving urban mobility problems by working
on four key areas - Integrated Urban Transport, Urban Development &
Accessibility, Transport and Climate, and Health and Road Safety. The Smart
Cities Mission aims to achieve the above by driving economic growth by enabling
local development and harnessing technology to improve living standards.
(source)
Business Implications and Responses
A lot of
businesses nowadays look towards contributing to the different SDGs to build a
sustainable life for future communities. Here are some of the actions by these
corporates towards SDG 11
With many cities
around us facing the issue of proper solid waste management system along with
an effective wastewater management system, Novozymes helps some of these cities
by providing effective solutions in this domain.
In the United
Kingdom, Novozymes has a plant to ensure that the maximum waste generated from the
households nearby are used in a sustainable way to generate green power and
help provide these households with their electricity requirement.[1]
AWS marketplace
solutions by Amazon have been a gamechanger in providing smart city solutions. The
solutions are diverse and include information on public safety, Solid Waste
Management IoT solution in the energy, water and the environment space, and transportation
and traffic details to enhance last-mile connectivity. It also has facilities
to provide interactive city data-dashboard to improve transportation services, access
to OpenGrid for smart cities, and other actionable data points.[2]
Coca-Cola has
followed a three-way strategy of Reduce, Replenish and Re-use for its humongous
water requirement. It has focused on its water use, and reduced water wastage, measured
by its Water Usage Rate. Subsequently,
through its CSR activities, it has helped implement water conservation projects
across 600+
villages improving the lives of about 8 Lakh+ people.[3]
The future is in
smart cities. Accenture is working with cities and helping them in their
process of digitisation and how it can create a meaningful impact. It helps the
government analyse the vast swathes of data, right from traffic movement to
digital usage in the modern economy to have a systematic approach towards
mitigating day-to-day urban issues. [4]
An important
aspect of SDG 11 is to help the people living in cities, lead a sustainable
life. Through the use of technology, Microsoft aims at improving various facets
of urban planning in cities, thereby reducing the adverse environmental impact
caused by them. Smart Cities Technology Hubs created by Microsoft in the United
States in cities like Syracuse, New York, North Carolina and Texas has helped
address economic issues and reskilled many people in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic. [5]
Analysis and Way Forward
More than 35% of India’s
population live in urban areas, and this figure is expected to increase
to 45% by 2025. The rapid rise of industrialisation has
bolstered the rate of migration to cities. Cities are hotspots for trade,
generating more than 80 percent of global GDP, and play a key role in boosting
economic development productivity. India’s cities account for less
than one third of the total population but contribute more than 75% of the country’s
GDP. The rapid development of cities can make it
easier to develop the infrastructure needed for essential services such as
cleaner water and sanitation, electricity, and housing and help improve
millions of Indians’ lifestyles.
However, urbanisation
also brings along with it significant challenges. Megacities have become
congested, polluted, and show considerable social separation. Major cities are
facing critical levels of air pollution. India also faces a fast-growing population
leading to slum dwellers and unplanned urban sprawl as infrastructure
developments have not been consistent with population expansion. Much of this
urban sprawl cities are vulnerable to disasters, risks amplified by climate
change. Efforts are required to ensure better management and planning from both
government and corporate perspectives to ensure more inclusive, safe, resilient,
and sustainable cities.
·
Access to
affordable and safe housing to upgrade slums:
Slums are mostly inadequate in basic
housing requirements and host problems, including insecure tenure, congestion,
and lack of basic services. Urban poverty and lack of safe housing have a
cause-effect relationship. While it is true that poor rural migrants are a large
reason for informal and illegal settlements, it is also true that lack of
security and housing infrastructure powers the vicious cycle of poverty. This
insecurity and the associated poverty reinforces social exclusion and leads to
squatters and slum settlements. Even with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, ninety
per cent of cases were in urban areas, making cities
the epicentres of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease, according to a UN
report. Hence it is imperative to provide safe and affordable housing
arrangements to the poor and needy to help cities develop sustainability over
the long run.
·
Access to
essential services across the workplace and community:
A city cannot be sustainable if its
community does not have access to essential services including but not
restricted to education, healthcare, clean water and electricity. Though it’s
the government’s primary imperative to cater to these needs, corporates can also
improve the livelihood of the community through which they run their business. They
can also design and market affordable service solutions to address the gaps in
current service operations. For example, an insurance company can design an app
that aids in women safety by alerting local police stations in crisis times.
·
Protect and
Nurture National Heritage and Culture:
The livelihood of many local communities
is dependent on tourist interest, both educational and recreational. Corporates
should identify their business operations’ impact on these heritage sites and
ensure they preserve it and ideally invest in environmental protection and creating
transport infrastructure around their supply chain.
·
Integrated Urban Transport System:
One of
the key strategic drivers towards sustainable cities and communities is the
creation of an integrated urban transport system. It not just impacts the
health and well-being of urban residents but also is key to the energy and
economic efficiency of urban areas. It is imperative to find sustainable,
equitable and affordable solutions to the challenges of growing transport
demands in urban areas. [6] The government should find ways to incentivise
public transport usage by making it more accessible and time-efficient. A
brilliant example is the Local Train System in Mumbai, which is availed even by
top management officials because of its time efficiency and convenience.
Although the public train system has its flaws like overcrowding during peak
hours, we can certainly look at working on those flaws and replicating an
improved ‘local train’ model in all major cities of the country.
A similar corollary to the ‘local train’ example is the metro rail
services in megacities such as Delhi and Kolkata. Currently, there are 13 cities in India which have operational metro rail networks with another 15+ cities having over 900 km of metro lines under different stages of
construction. In FY 2018-19, more than INR 1 trillion was invested in metro rail projects of different cities. We believe that metro rail networks should be
set up in all the 53 Indian cities that have a population of over 1 million. In order to address the huge investment aspect involved, these
projects can be undertaken through a public-private partnership model.
In order to solve last-mile transit challenges, there is a need to
focus on public bicycle system. For example, Hyderabad set up 63 bicycle stations at different metro stations to
provide sustainable last-mile connectivity option to commuters. Apart from reducing CO2 emission that would have been
caused by fossil fuel powered vehicles, and reducing traffic congestion, the
initiative also had a positive impact on the health and well-being of citizens.
Such a model should be replicated in all cities/towns and further initiatives
should be undertaken to make it an attractive proposition (like providing
dedicated bicycle lanes to address safety concerns).
·
Public Health and Safety:
Access
to affordable and efficient public health services is of paramount importance in
creating sustainable communities. According to a study of John Hopkins School
of Public Health, urban poor are far under-served by health and nutritional
services compared to even rural areas. Furthermore, the dire situation of urban
poor are not highlighted and gets masked by the relatively better average urban
health indicators as a result of the massive inequities in health services
received by the urban rich, primarily from private hospitals. [7]
There
should also be an increased focus on providing piped drinking water to all
urban households. Currently, only 62% of urban households receive treated tap
water. Additionally, the quality of water being supplied is not ‘drinkable’ as
per Bureau of Indian Standards in 9 of the top 10 cities of India. [8]
(source)
(source)
·
Creating more career and business opportunities:
One of
the many methods in which sustainability can be achieved is by creating more
opportunities for employment. In a sustainable community, no set of people is
left behind and equal opportunities for growth are presented for every
individual by providing them with entrepreneurship opportunities. This is
crucial for promoting sustained economic growth and ensuring more productivity.
Vocational Training programmes can be conducted to help people in getting
themselves trained for specific trades. [10]
·
Moulding
Partnerships:
The creation of “smart cities” that
focuses on technological improvement and sustainability is not the
responsibility of one entity. It is when partnerships are established between
companies, their customers, government authorities, academics, NGOs, etc, that
the overarching goals set forth by SDGs can be achieved. [11]
·
Robust Disaster
Management Response System:
Many cities in India face imminent threat
of natural calamities. For example, Kolkata (one of the largest cities in India)
face severe tropical cyclones once every 3-4 years. The urban poor living in slums and temporary settlements are
the worst affected during such a crisis. With the frequency of such natural calamities
only predicted to increase in the near future, there is an urgent need to
create robust disaster management systems that will help in reducing the economic
damage as well as help in saving more lives.
·
Disability-friendly and Inclusive Cities:
In India,
many public areas are still not accessible by disabled people. In order to truly
provide equal opportunities to all people in a sustainable city, we need to make
all public spaces disability-friendly.
In developing
countries such as India, questions have been raised about the degree to which the
SDGs are to be implemented. There may be problems in combining sustainability goals
with those of existing development agendas. However, providing access to essential
services, safe housing facilities, and better job prospects will reduce the economic
divide between the rich and the poor in the long run. Further, improved connectivity
through infrastructure development links people to these better opportunities. Cities
need to forge new municipal and regional collaborations, a modern market
engagement model, and a new governance system to make this a possibility. Corporates
with an increased focus on research and governments with more proactive measures
can provide innovative solutions and better implement the SDG’s goals to help
cities become more sustainable.
References:
[1] http://www.businessfor2030.org/novozymes
[2] https://aws.amazon.com/mp/gctc/
[4] https://appliedabstractions.com/2015/10/29/accenture-and-smart-cities/
[5] https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE4GSkV
[6] https://olc.worldbank.org/content/integrated-urban-transport-planning-self-paced
[7] https://ocw.jhsph.edu/courses/UrbanHealth/PDFs/Urban-sec10a_Agarwal.pdf
[10] https://undp.medium.com/building-new-lives-after-decades-of-conflict-7ace3fc3af4b
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