SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION

1. Context

The national capital is undergoing one of the world’s fastest urban expansions, with little regard for the land’s natural topography and drainage capacity. This has left Delhi vulnerable to flooding during spells of intense rainfall.

2. Definition of Urbanization as per census 2011

• Any places having municipality, corporation, cantonment board, or notified town area committee. All the other places which satisfy the following criteria :
• A minimum population of 5000 persons ;
• At least 75 % of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and
• A density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometre.

3. What is in situ urbanization all about

• A type of rural development called in situ urbanization of rural areas is characterized not only by expanding non-farm opportunities in the areas but also by strengthening economic linkages with the neighbouring areas. 
• It is further accompanied by improved access to healthcare services, education and efficient transport networks. 
• In situ urbanization in rural areas should be holistic, accompanied by universal healthcare, free education and improved transport networks. 
• Experiences from in situ urbanization can be valuable ingredients of policy priorities for leaving no one behind.
• Successes in significantly reducing poverty and inequality in Japan in the mid-20th century, and China and Sri Lanka in the second half of the 20th century, demonstrate that in situ urbanization of rural areas offers an alternative way of narrowing socioeconomic gaps between rural and urban areas and of avoiding urban slums or overcrowding in large cities. 
• Non-farm activities should be encouraged and strengthened in rural areas to eradicate rural poverty, reduce rural-urban inequalities and leave no one behind. 
• Increasing agricultural productivity alone has its limit to eradicating poverty in areas where the average landholding of farmers is small.

4. Sustainable urbanization

• Understanding the key trends in urbanization likely to unfold over the coming years is crucial to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including efforts to forge a new framework of urban development.
• As the world continues to urbanize, sustainable development depends increasingly on the successful management of urban growth, especially in low-income and lower-middle-income countries where the pace of urbanization is projected to be the fastest.
• Many countries will face challenges in meeting the needs of their growing urban populations, including for housing, transportation, energy systems and other infrastructure, as well as for employment and basic services such as education and health care. 
• Integrated policies to improve the lives of both urban and rural dwellers are needed while strengthening the linkages between urban and rural areas, building on their existing economic, social and environmental ties.
• To ensure that the benefits of urbanization are fully shared and inclusive, policies to manage urban growth need to ensure access to infrastructure and social services for all, focusing on the needs of the urban poor and other vulnerable groups for housing, education, health care, decent work and a safe environment.

5. Stats of United Nations

• The World Social Report 2021 by United Nations points to how rural development can be reset to achieve sustainable development. 
• It calls for moving rural development to the centre of attention, instead of relegating it as an appendage of urban development; for ending the rural-urban divide through the adoption of the in situ urbanization model; for ending within-rural inequality; and for achieving rural development while preserving the environment. 
• World Social Report 2021 shows that new digital and frontier technologies are creating opportunities for achieving these goals. 
• What is needed is to seize these opportunities and to convert into reality the long-standing goal of eradicating the rural-urban disparity.

6. Problem of urbanisation in developing countries

• Population explosion: of the large-sized urban centres, particularly the metropolitan cities and capital cities. This is due to both rural-urban and urban-rural migration. Capital cities attract due to both social and political reasons. Also, capital centres attract many industrial complexes due to better infrastructure and market
• Environmental degradation: includes problems such as:
• Slum growth
• Housing shortage
• Inadequate Public Utility Services
• Urban poverty
• Pollution

• Transport problems: the insufficient transport infrastructure leads to capacity overloading, causing problems such as road accidents, traffic jams, etc. E.g. as per World Disaster Report, per 10000 licensed vehicles, there has been a maximum number of fatal accidents in Ethiopia (needs update)
• Outer expansion of towns: there is no planned urban sprawl, the rapid growth of RUF, and unplanned settlement outside the town.
• Urbanization is not at all problem, but unsustainable and unplanned urbanization creates the following problems:
  • Urban Sprawl
  • Congestion
  • Shortage of houses
  • Vertical expansion
  • Growth of slums and substandard houses
  • Illegal settlements

8. Way forward

• Implement policies for land use and urban planning to avoid excessive sprawl and manage density in cities. 
• Address infrastructure bottlenecks affecting transport, power, and water, in particular. 
• Find more cost-effective, flexible and sustainable public transport solutions for growing cities. 
• Empower municipalities and metropolitan bodies through decentralization and clarification of the roles of metropolitan and municipal structure, accompanied by capacity building at the local level. 
• Mobilize new sources of finance for cities while raising the efficiency of expenditure.