Our cities are full – we need new ones!
23 February 2017
Aurecon: By 2050, the UN predicts that
cities will somehow accommodate a massive 2.5 billion more people than
the 4 billion that already live there. The big question is, where are
they all going to go? How do we make sure these places are fit for the
continued influx of people? By walking a mile in their citizens’ shoes,
could we simply replace imperfect cities with improved ones?
People must live and work somewhere. Given ructions in the world
economy, evidence shows that more people believe their best bet for a
better life is in cities. This is especially true in developing
countries. And they’re right. According to the UN Habitat, urban areas
generate 70% of global GDP.
“With people sold on the idea of
cities, where are they going to
go?”Existing cities have developed for good reason, but always
piecemeal, forever behind the rising curve of practical need. Demand
outstrips supply many times over.
Cities can expand upwards or downwards, but this is a finite solution .
More often, cities sprawl sideways, the centres de-densifying in favour
of suburbanisation. Inhabitants often discover that, at the periphery,
there is no public transport, forcing them into cars which worsens
congestion, pollutes the air and ups the per capita carbon footprint.
Life becomes stressful, with residents more prone to ill-health. New
arrivals intent on bettering their lot face problems. Native inhabitants
intent on protecting their advantages face problems. And no one is
consulted about the change.
Is better urban governance part of the solution? City leaders do
organise, driven by a worthy ambition to provide shelter for all
citizens . However, they suffer the same fate as the city’s
infrastructure. They are unable to keep up with the real issues.
The American academic Benjamin Barber, author of ‘If Mayors Ruled the
World’, is optimistic. He sees city governance as the model for a
post-national, interdependent political landscape. In his words, ”The
road to global democracy runs through cities”. It’s already happening.
Mayors are meeting the challenges pragmatically and, by virtue of their
semi-autonomous power base, are able to share these lessons with other
mayors below-the-radar of national governments. By splicing out their
city’s good genes, they can be recombined elsewhere to beneficial effect
.
South African urbanist Edgar Pieterse, though, is not so sanguine. City
leaders are not adequately representative or responsive. He argues for
the reinvigoration of civil society to include the everyday concerns of
marginalised people, especially of cities in the developing world.
Alessandra Orofino, based in Rio de Janeiro, has the tools to enable
that engagement. She’s the compelling force behind Meu Rio, a digital
platform for grass roots civic participation. Her tools are being used
to air local grievances, rally support and change policy in Rio. Her
battle cry is, “It’s our city: let’s fix it!”
These efforts tackle symptoms. They do not reconcile clashes between old
infrastructure and new technologies, or between native and newly arrived
citizens. Is there a more radical solution? Is there a circuit-breaker
to halt the downward development spiral?
Paul Romer, an American economist, thinks there is. In his view,
attempting to expand existing cities is doomed, especially in developing
countries. Instead, he thinks we should build new charter cities.
Charter cities – cities that operate to their own set of special rules –
have the unique quality of allowing experimentation by recombining good
urban genes imported from more economically mature corners of the globe.
Modelled in part on Shenzhen in Southern China, his idea is that these
experiments must be brand new, with the rules drawn up beforehand by the
host country. That way, investors, companies, workers, and families
actively opt-in to migrating there in preference to other cities. The
infrastructure and public services are planned for twenty-first century
conditions . Opportunity for citizens is equal. And if the experiment
works, the rules can be adopted across the country.
Of course, success is in the detail. Setting rules that reform poor
governance is a tall order. But by matching the common experience to
expert knowledge, and integrating our findings with tech and good
governance, perhaps we can walk the extra mile in citizens’ shoes – so
that they don’t have to.
--ENDS--
Source: Aurecon - www.aurecongroup.com
Contact: Danielle Bond | +61 3 9975 3138
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