Increasing number of experts are now highlighting the impact of our cities as a key concern globally. As we pass the 50 per cent mark for urban population worldwide, it is becoming evident that with this have come a wide range of social, environmental, economic, cultural and governance problems. Most of the solutions are not ‘rocket science’ – technologies and tools are increasingly available but good policies and community engagement are vital for achieving a low carbon society.
Research figures attribute between 40 to 80 per cent of greenhouse gasses to cities. India has some of the most populated cities in the world. Given the density of population and in many cases poorly planned communities and infrastructure; the cost of adaptation to the effects of climate change is going to be very high. Reversing urbanisation trends is more difficult in the short term than dealing with the problems within the cities. The disparity between the haves and have-nots in cities is increasing even more rapidly and this causes other social problems.
Some key issues that face cities today and which need to be addressed on a priority basis are:
Urban energy: Providing energy to all is a major task even considering the long term environmental impacts of pollution. Sustaining economic growth (a lot of which is urban) requires energy and centralised supply that is high carbon based or high risk based (nuclear) needs to be considered with care. Renewables are a clear option and cities now need to explore decentralised power (urban based). Buildings provide a very good platform for both improving efficiency in use and integrating renewables. Together with this there is the need for smarter grid infrastructure to manage peak time and off peak demand. A smart city in the future will have smarter grids and high levels of onsite generated energy, higher levels of end use efficiency and a very engaged end user community.
Urban water: The days of reliance on outside water supply and acquifer are limited. Cities need to ensure a high level of recover, reduce, recycle and reuse of the water that is received through rainfall. Water sensitive urban design is critical to good water management.
Urban waste: Waste is a major concern in all cities. It is not only about how waste is collected and removed but also about how imaginative one is in recovering, reusing and recycling from the waste chain. This can provide innovative solutions for a cyclic economy of the future.
Urban transport: The growth of cities with car dependency has led to high levels of pollution and chaos on our roadways. The health impact of all this alone runs in billions of dollars a year. Good policy is critical to choice of travel modes and transit options can have a major impact in cleaning up our cities.
Good land use planning: Together with all the above good land use planning is critical if we are to improve our cities. Liveable cities which are concerned about the health and well being of their citizens have developed masterplans which rely on good strategy for all the above services along with zoning for residential, industrial, commercial and other areas. The micro-climate of the urban environment can be much better managed with urban vegetation.
The problems in cities seem to be getting worse faster than improvements from planning strategies (in most rapidly developing countries). Community education and social change behaviour actions will be required to make major strides in making our cities better. Sustainability for cities means reducing the ecological footprint (resource inputs and waste outputs) whilst simultaneously improving the quality of life (health, housing, accessibility, community etc.). The path to a low carbon city of the future offers opportunities for economic and social development by capturing innovations in product and tool development and for social innovations through community engagement. Countries like India are very well placed to lead in this area.
Receive Daily Updates
Recent Posts
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.