Challenges with Sustainable Urbanization

Challenges with Sustainable Urbanization
Cities have seen exponential growth in their inhabitants during previous years with increasing migration of people from rural to urban settings in a plight to seek better opportunities and services. This shift is putting greater load on city infrastructures to serve growing populations in light of challenges such as climate change, food production, and huge increases in the demand for energy. Its clear that our over-burdened urban habitats need to commit to sustainable urbanization in order to meet future challenges with confidence.
Cities require proper planning and governance in order to provide equitable services to citizens and must be a creator of jobs and opportunities, taking into consideration diminishing resources and with minimum threat to the environment. Through careful planning and foresight, many of these challenges can be addressed and the discussions must stem around climate change and bringing down carbon emissions, as according to the United Nations, the world population is set to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050 .
The problematic convergence of urbanization and climate is aggravating the already present cracks in our cities that must be innovative in their approach when planning for the future. Global cities are vulnerable to floods and other disasters and the poor are generally those that suffer the most when they occur. Cities need to better prepare for such events which requires expertise, money and the desire to change. Without adequate planning and investment, many people will find themselves subject to negative impacts of climate change, limited job opportunities and greater social instability that will have a knock on affect on all spheres of society.
According to the United Nations, cities contribute to 70% of greenhouse emissions and occupy just 2% of land area . This is being worsened by increased fossil fuel consumption, greater deforestation and increased production leading to greater pollution; contributing to growing environmental pressures, particularly in developing countries that are seeing uncontrolled urban population growth and an increasing demand on their limited resources.
Geographical changes, people migration and increased demand on city services must be studied in greater detail to determine how they are affecting greenhouse emissions and the full extent that changing urban centers are having on climate change. We must be able to have insights into what is going on and what consequences this has on our future. With so many factors going into decision-making and the wide spectrum of data that need to be considered, the only plausible way this can be done efficiently is through the use and the implementation of technology to aid stakeholders in making decisions using actual data coming from within their city.
There is a strong argument for the greater adoption of smart technologies such as IoT sensors and AI based systems as cities are becoming dynamic environments that need to be enabled with technology so that more informed decisions can be made and a greener environment achieved. Energy production, waste disposal, traffic management, sustainable housing and climate management are just a few pressing concerns that must be considered when developing comprehensive urban planning frameworks. Technology must play a significant part as achieving sustainable urbanization is becoming a game of cat and mouse that requires real time data and rapid action.
Achieving UN sustainable development goals will require serious work and the approach will inevitably vary from city to city. Capacities differ, technology implementations vary and each city has its own priorities, but it is clear that only through collective action and mutual support will we be able to mitigate the impacts of climate change and make our cities more resilient and smart.
Alongside this, global digital literacy must be improved, internet resources must be made more available, digital inclusivity must be promoted and fair access to online markets and resources should be guaranteed. These are necessary to mitigate the economic and political fallout of COVID 19 and make our cities truly sustainable.
COVID 19 has been a wakeup call showing us how fragile our cities really are. We need to push the adoption of greener technology solutions in order to be better prepared for future events and move from playing marginal roles and seize the opportunity to build sustainable cities for the future.
I fear that if we do not take drastic action now it will be too late and we will have failed in our duty in passing down a sustainable world.