4 4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FINDINGS
It is widely acknowledged that well designed cities contribute to social, economic and environmental well-being and that SDG 11 is central to delivery of all the other Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed, UN Habitat have established that 65% of the 169 targets underlying the Goals are linked to territorial and urban development37. So, what might the consequences be if we fail to address the findings of this survey? We invited contributors from a variety of backgrounds to share their thoughts with us:
4.1 ECONOMIC IMPACT
Ms Astrid Haas, Senior Country Economist (Cities) International Growth Centre Urbanisation and economic development are uniquely tied38. Urban areas can be the engine of economic growth39 with well-managed cities bringing firms closer to their labour40, their inputs, their markets41 as well as fostering innovation within and between them. Efficient and effective firms, in turn, are the foundation for economic growth overall. Underpinning cities’ connectivity is the built environment. This can encourage denser land use, which in turn can promote more efficient delivery of shared infrastructure and services. Beyond the economic benefits, denser land use can also lead to lower energy use and emissions per resident.42 Thus well-managed proximity can lead to productivity and prosperity.43 However, in many developing countries in the Commonwealth, cities are failing to unlock this urban miracle. As the 2019 survey findings highlight, the considerable gaps in capacity, have resulted in poorly planned and built cities. Rather than fostering prosperity, they exacerbate the downsides of density, including contagion, crime and congestion44. Furthermore, inadequate forward-looking planning has led many of these cities to sprawl. Without the commensurate investments in housing and transportation, sprawl reduces connectivity and thus the potential prosperity.
37 https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/02/financing_
sustainable_urbanization_-_counting_the_costs_and_closing_the_ gap_february_2020.pdf 38 Collier, P., Glaeser, E., and Venables, T. (Forthcoming). Policies for
prosperity in middle income countries. IGC Policy Paper 39 Glaeser, E. (2012). Triumph of the City. Penguin Press
Investments in built environment capacity will not only have positive outcomes on the Commonwealth’s current cities, but perhaps more importantly it can change the urban landscape overall, as the majority of urbanisation in many Commonwealth countries is still to come. Now is the opportunity to make these investments in capacity to unlock the miracle of urbanisation that will underpin economic growth for the whole Commonwealth.
40 Combes, P,. and Gobillon, L. (2015) The empirics of agglomeration
economies. In Handbook of regional and urban economics. Elsevier 41 Storper, M., and Venables, A. (2004). Buzz: face-to-face contact and
the urban economy, Journal of Economic Geography. 42 Glaeser, E., (2012). The Benefits of Density. The Urban Age – LSE
Cities 43 Combes, P.-P., Duranton, G., Gobillon, L., Puga, D. and Roux, S.
(2012), The Productivity Advantages of Large Cities: Distinguishing Agglomeration From Firm Selection. Econometrica, 44 Glaeser, E., and Sims, H. (2015). Contagion, crime, and congestion:
overcoming the downsides of density. IGC Growth Brief
40
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
Planning for climate change and rapid urbanisation