It’s Time for Better Living.
As of 2021, 55% of the global population lives in the city and by 2050 , two thirds of the entire population , approximately 6.5 billion people will be living in urban jungles. Housing is a vital part of sustainable cities and communities, and without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces, we cannot achieve sustainable development of life and economy.
This article focuses on goal 11 of sustainable development goals : Making Cities and living communities more sustainable for better Quality of Life.
Factors leading to sustainable cities and communities:
UPGRADING SLUM LIVING :
It is estimated that by 2030, 1 in 4 people will live in slums or informal settlements. Now more than ever people are observed to be moving from rural to urban areas . This in turn is leading in the quest for affordable housing ,resulting in the formation of slums.
Slums are usually located on remote lands like mountains ,lakes or near valleys or on land that is mostly government owned. This makes them unnoticed when they are small and easy to be removed.
Apart from population migration, the factors leading to expansion of slums are increasing population, unemployment, poverty, poor government planning, political factors, lack of financial services, as well as high prices of land.
However, the government is trying to remove or upgrade the slums and its tenants to better housing. Along with this also comes better sanitation, safe drinking water and electricity, safety and other basic amenities.
The Indian government housing policies begin with the PM Narendra Modi’s plan of “Housing For All”, aiming at providing affordable housing to the poor. Following this, The Government of Maharashtra has also formulated a comprehensive and ambitious new Housing Policy Action Plan, aiming to provide 1.9 houses to low and middle income communities.
CREATING JOB OPPORTUNITIES:
The number of unemployed graduates has been on the rise for the last few years. To improve the standard of living, generating more jobs is vital-This will not only help increase income but will also increase production, employment and economic growth.
Some measures that can be taken to generate more jobs are:
Improving the quality of education as most of the Indian institutes have a curriculum which is outdated and does not meet the rapidly changing industry’s demand.
Domestic production
CRIME PREVENTION:
There can be no sustainable development without peace.
Reducing crime, discrimination, violence, conflict and good governance, stable conditions are key elements to people’s wellbeing and essential to sustainability. Security and justice also benefit poverty reduction and help in effective governance.
With security also comes the topic of animal and human conflict In Indian streets and roads, animals such as stray dogs, cats and pigs are abundant and pose a constant threat to local security and sanitation. The government is taking measures by neutering dogs and releasing them back into their territory and while we may not see a difference immediately in a few years there will definitely be a decrease in the number of dogs in our neighbourhood. Aside from government drives, many animal NGOs also conduct drives to neuter stray animals. Spaying animals will also help in reducing human-animal conflict
WASTE MANAGEMENT:
Urban India is the world’s 3rd largest garbage generator and by 2050 waste is expected to rise to 436 million tons up!
Out of total waste collected by the municipality ,94% is dumped on land and 5% is composted. A mere 5% is composted! According to statistics 69% of total household waste is compostable.
To improve the current waste management system we first need to aim to reduce our waste production itself. Composting what we can is an effective way to reduce waste. You may think that composting done by one household may not help in reducing waste much but a US study has found that By composting food scraps alone, 4 households could effectively remove a car from the roads. (“https://energy-shrink.com/home-composting-impact/#_ftn1”) Eight households composting food scraps could offset an average home’s electricity use per year. Composting food scraps, plus all the remaining organic waste from 1 US household, equates to removing 1.5 cars from the roads or 75% of an average home’s energy use per year.
Societies and communities need to have mandatory waste segregation which in turn would help in composting. Residential communities should have composting areas so that it is easier for members to compost.
GREEN PUBLIC SPACES:
Green spaces in urban areas are important if we want to develop sustainable cities and communities. Not only they help in reducing pollution they also have other benefits like increasing diversity, increasing flora and fauna, increasing social interaction, promoting outdoor activities, improving physical and mental wellbeing as well increasing the quality of life. Green spaces while helping to reduce carbon emission also help to cool down areas near it, as well as help in penetration of rain water into ground thereby replenishing the ground water.
Due to pavements, concrete jungles, reducing green spaces as well as our ever increasing water consumption as well as lack of space for the rain water to penetrate ground is causing our groundwater to diminishing rapidly, hence the green spaces in urban areas are vital to the environment.
Larger and bigger green spaces are obviously more beneficial to the environment as well as to ourselves but even small pockets of green spaces are beneficial. Having green spaces at regular intervals in cities will help in accessibility of it to the public.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
Gustavo Petro, the former mayor of Bogotá, once said, “A developed country isn’t a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.” As India moves towards urbanisation, it needs to make sure that it prioritizes walking, cycling and public transport as a preferred travel mode — something that is advocated in the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) that urges cities to focus on moving people rather than vehicles.
Public transportation has the ability to connect cities, villages or to push them apart.
A well designed public transportation is affordable, reliable, comfortable and mainly accessible.
The transport sector has a significant impact on the environment as it is the major user of energy and burns the maximum amount of petroleum produced.
Public transport enables us to move towards a sustainable future. The more we utilise public transport, the more it reduces the use of private transportation leading to reduced traffic, less road congestion, less pollution and an efficient road system. Public transport not only provides us mobility but also generates employment and revenue as well as gives access to education, retail , health ,recreational facilities and community facilities. It also helps to lower the cost of living and increase business productivity.
Here are a few ways in which we can promote and increase public transportation:
Multi-modal integration -This enables a nuisance free transfer between the different modes of transportation and encourages its use. When we combine different modes of public transport it offers door to door connectivity.
Revamping transportation through technology - Enhancing the user experience is crucial in promoting the use of public transportation and innovative technology's critical role in it. Innovations like security surveillance, traffic management, real time passenger information , smart ticket, and many more can make the transport system more efficient
Enhancing user experience which is vital in promoting public transport. This includes convince, comfort , safety and affordability .
Innovative financing – the two major sources of revenue for the public transport department is user fees and fares. This is mostly used for maintenance and operations. To upgrade and ensure quality and continuity of the system, additional finances are required. Exploring and acquiring innovative financing is crucial. Land value capture is one of the mechanisms for securing additional financing that can support the public transport facility.
Institutional arrangement- The transport system of India bears the brunt of fragmented governance. Different parts of the transport system are managed by different entities. Improved coordination and integration will be possible if a single entity manages the entire system. UMTA is such an agency. Currently Bangalore and Kochi are experimenting with this.
Urban management and development
Urban management and development is a field that comprises strategies, activities and instruments that make a city work.
In India, urban management is in a very bad state. We need concrete policies that allow and regulate investments, partnerships and development for proper working of cities. It covers infrastructure for education, justice, health, pavements, solid waste, markets and cultural heritage protection.
Every year many towns and cities face substantial flooding during the monsoon season. These floods result from poor urban management and cause heavy loss of lives. This is due to improper planning of the drainage system as well as town planning.
There is also no proper healthcare infrastructure in many areas so people come from long distances to mega cities for treatment. Similar is the case with employment opportunities which leads to migration of poor immigrants to mega cities in search of job opportunities.
The government is allocating a large amount of money to megacity projects but it is benefiting only 2% of the region while the rest of the region is neglected. This poor financial management is one of the root causes of impoverished urban planning.
Proper implementation and sustained adherence to precepts of the plans is required.
Sources:
https://energy-shrink.com/home-composting-impact/#_ftn1
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