Preparing and Empowering Cities in the face of Pandemics- Covid 19. *Jit Kumar Gupta
Introduction Cities remain most valuable among human settlements, for the contribution they make to the economic development, generation of employment, promoting innovations and providing state of art infrastructure and facilities. As place for concentration of activities and human beings, cities not only create supportive environment for businesses to thrive but also enable residents to have gainful employment. Even during period of crisis, cities are known for their capacity to support communities, local trade & commerce and national economy. Cities drive economic wealth, promote competitiveness, invest in local economies ensure health, safety, and welfare of the people in their communities, and maintain infrastructure, which are known to be the prime mover of economic development. Studies made by UNO, indicate that cities globally housed 4.2 billion people, or 55 percent of the world's population in 2018. By 2050, the urban population is expected to reach 6.5 billion. Cities remain critical because they merely occupy 3 per cent of the planer earth's land, but account for 60–80 per cent of energy consumption and responsible for 75 per cent of carbon emissions. Accordingly, cities have emerged as the major cause for and solution to climate change. Looking at the way cities are growing and operating, sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way cities are being built and urban spaces are being managed. Considering the critical role and importance of cities; out of 17 goals mandated by UNO to make this planet livable, SDG 11 is exclusively dedicated to improving cities and making them more sustainable. This goal looks at the options and opportunities to make cities as entities; creating optimum level of career and business opportunities, promoting safe and affordable housing; building resilient societies and economies; making investment to create safe, cost-effective, eco-friendly, affordable public transport; creating appropriate levels of green public spaces, and improving urban planning. Years 2020& 2021, will be known in the urban history, as the most challenging and difficult years, which transformed cities dramatically in their structure, operations and communication, impacting adversely human health, economy, productivity, mobility, trade & commerce, quality of life etc. Holding enormous capacity to face disasters, both manmade and natural even in troubled times, cities of today are facing twin challenges of healthcare, precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that coronavirus has cast on people and communities. Synergizing and working in collaboration, cities