2.6 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. 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:
2.6.1 ECONOMIC IMPACT
Astrid Haas, Senior Country Economist (Cities) International Growth Centre Urbanisation and economic development are uniquely tied.37 Urban areas can be the engine of economic growth38 with well-managed cities bringing firms closer to their labour39, their inputs, their markets40 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.41 Thus well-managed proximity can lead to productivity and prosperity.42 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 congestion43. 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. 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.
2.6.2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Professor Tadj Oreszczyn and Mike Davies, University College London, Energy Institute, While the impacts of climate change are increasing, carbon emissions continue to rise and the UN Emissions Gap Report44 has highlighted that time is running out to achieve a below 20C world, and so individuals, countries and regions are declaring a climate emergency.
37 Collier, P., Glaeser, E., and Venables, T. (Forthcoming). Policies for
prosperity in middle income countries. IGC Policy Paper 38 Glaeser, E. (2012). Triumph of the City. Penguin Press 39 Combes, P,. and Gobillon, L. (2015) The empirics of agglomeration
economies. In Handbook of regional and urban economics. Elsevier 40 Storper, M., and Venables, A. (2004). Buzz: face-to-face contact and
the urban economy, Journal of Economic Geography. 41 Glaeser, E., (2012). The Benefits of Density. The Urban Age – LSE
Cities 42 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, 43 Glaeser, E., and Sims, H. (2015). Contagion, crime, and congestion:
In an emergency, we need to radically change our behaviour, this requires bold leadership to clearly articulate what must be delivered in a limited time scale and with limited resources. It probably requires increased dependency on regulation which have been shown to deliver urban change quicker than other policy and market instruments. Yet this survey highlights that in many parts of the Commonwealth which are rapidly urbanising, eg Africa, there are no regulations to develop the near to zero carbon emitting buildings required. Nor, are many of the developed countries, such as the UK, that have the capacity and resources leading the way by developing regulations that clearly show new buildings can be very low energy consuming despite demonstration buildings having been developed over the last 50 years.
overcoming the downsides of density. IGC Growth Brief 44 https://www.unep-wcmc.org/news/2019-emissions-gap-report
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Planning for climate change and rapid urbanisation