SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Conservation and efficient use of resources
should be central principles in green urbanization
strategies. Massive amounts of solid waste, for
instance, could be turned into a resource through
composting, recycling, the production of bio-gas
and so on. Since buildings generate 40 percent
of greenhouse gas emissions, green housing
programmes can encourage use of sustainable
materials, and efficient heating and cooling
systems. Another priority is renewable energy.
In the Republic of Korea, Seoul plans to expand
its renewable energy share from 1.5 percent in
2007 to 20 percent by 2030, with nearly half to
come from hydro energy. 64
Consider compact cities. Fostering urban agglomeration
and promoting green and compact
cities need to be at the core of national urbanization
strategies. Left to themselves, private
developers tend to favour building on lower cost
peripheral land, which may contain housing costs
in the short-term, but at the expense of long-term
transport costs for households and capital infrastructure
costs for government. Urban sprawl and
the spread of low-density settlements can make
public services more expensive and difficult to
provide, and dramatically increase traffic congestion
and emissions. Denser forms of urban
development, encouraged through restrictions
on the expansion of the urban boundary, may
help achieve more sustainable patterns. Countries
such as China, India, Japan and Republic
of Korea have begun pursuing the concept of
compact and smart cities, including to reduce
per capita carbon emissions.
Plan for disasters. Cities need to ensure they
are equipped to minimize damage and recover
from natural disasters, particularly given growing
threats from climate change. Impact assessments
should identify vulnerable locations, populations
and sectors, and climate change and disaster
risk reduction should be integrated into urban
planning and development. Strict regulations
should govern development projects in highrisk
areas, and standard building codes should
be improved.
Make a political commitment. Building sustainable
cities depends critically on the political
will of governments, combined with a supportive
BOX 5.8:
A programme in Thailand empowers
slum dwellers to solve housing issues
Launched in 2003, the Baan Mankong programme,
implemented under the Ministry of
Social Development and Human Security, has
used a people-driven housing development
process where slum communities are empowered
to find solutions to housing problems in
their cities. The programme stresses improved
access to credit, training, land and infrastructure,
as well as more supportive regulations and
policies. It has cultivated partnerships among
poor communities, local authorities, development
agents and landowners in slum upgrading.
By 2011, the programme had supported nearly
91,000 households in 277 cities. Among other
achievements, it has helped solve eviction
problems, develop secure land tenure, upgrade
slums, and repair and develop housing.
Source: Community Organization Development Institute 2016.
administrative, financial and legal framework,
and robust planning that connects the many
issues at stake. China has started to build a
low-carbon economy and called for a new style
of people-centred urbanization in its first urbanization
policy released in March 2014. 65 Its
focus is on making cities fairer for migrants and
the new middle class, with the aim of repairing
social exclusion, and embracing sustainable city
management as an explicit means of sustaining
growth. China has recently pledged to spend
$280 billion on measures to reduce air pollution
over the next five years, while requiring 15,000
factories, including state-owned enterprises, to
disclose data on airborne emissions and water
discharge (Antholis 2014). The Republic of
Korea has started promoting low-carbon and
green growth in urban areas (Box 5.9).
ADAPT TO CITY DIFFERENCES
There is no single strategy for guiding urbanization,
at the national or local level. Priorities
and choices depend on a variety of factors—such
as the scale and speed of urbanization, the pace
of rural-urban migration, available resources,
technical and administrative capabilities, and
political appetites.
Green growth
strategies are urgently
needed in cities
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