In Search of Solutions, Sustainable Urbanization / Aliye Pekin Çelik

In Search of Solutions,

Sustainable Urbanization 

Sustainable urbanization, climate change and the role of the UN as a problem solver is something that is very important in this day and age when many people are suffering while others are turning their back to this suffering and jeopardizing their own lives as well as others by ignoring what is going on in their cities.  Freedom from poverty, hunger and diseases, freedom to access education, health facilities and housing have always been in the UN Development Agenda, which is defined by not only the UN Charter but also the UN Global Conferences , summits and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Talking about the UN, I mean the entire member Nations, all of them are the ones who decided what was needed in these global conferences and at the annual General Assembly meetings, not the UN Secretariat. They adopted the resolutions, decisions and made a commitment to achieve and implement the goals and principles I refer to...

The work of the United Nations in the area of human settlements and urbanization, establishing the roadmap to sustainable urbanization is impressive but what is missing is the political will, allocation of resources and implementation. While we hope national and local governments, non–governmental organizations,(NGOs), private sector, professionals, academicians and citizens  work together to achieve the goal of  sustainable urbanization, we wonder why they were not more successful.

In the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Brundtland Commission convened by the United Nations in 1983, the concept of sustainable development as an ideal for the global economy and corporations was defined as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future  generations to meet their needs.” With the reform of market mechanisms to achieve environmental goals and achievement of balance with social and economic conditions that was recommended could have been a transformation that was needed but it did not happen in the past 40 years.

At this juncture in history when more than half the population (54%) of the planet live in cities and what takes place in the cities dominate the world^[1]. By 2030, this number is expected to rise to 70%. Right now, the urban areas in most developing countries struggle with lack of infrastructure, clean water, sanitation, energy resources, and transportation. Lack of affordable housing continues to be the reason for increasing slums and squatters all over the world.

SDG 11, “Cities of the UN, 2030 Agenda adopted in 2015,  have the objective of "Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. 

Cities across the world occupy just 3 percent of the Earth's land, yet account for 60–80 percent of energy consumption and 75 percent of carbon emissions.  Human activity such as heating, cooling, transportation, and industrial production  led to life-threatening impact of climate change, health problems,  pollution, heat waves, risks to food security, floods, fires and draught.. Climate change is disrupting national economies, at a very high price.

But affordable, solutions that will enable us all to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies are available now. The Paris Agreement that shows the way to stop climate disruption is meaningless without ambitious action.” 

According to the UN “The plans cannot address mitigation alone: they must show the way toward a full transformation of economies. “^[2]Climate solutions can strengthen economies and create jobs, while bringing cleaner air, preserving natural habitats and biodiversity, and protecting environment. 

New technologies such as solar energy and onshore wind are already delivering energy  at lower costs. But transformation must be accelerated by ending subsidies for fossil fuels and high emitting agriculture and moving towards renewable energy, electricity and climate-smart practices, carbon pricing to be just inclusive and profitable.” 

Today building operations are responsible for 27 % and transportation 23% of global CO2 emissions. If we want to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius carbon budget, for new buildings we need building codes and legislation which only allows the use of sustainable materials, and methods. For existing buildings, the solution is transition to renewable energy sources and retrofitting. Rules, regulations, plans, investments, loans, interest rates, should be used as incentives and punishments. Education should include fragility of the planet  at a very early age. 

The fact that if  the cities invest in sustainability, they will be producers of wealth, culture, science and technology and unfortunately  otherwise they will be the breeding grounds of sickness, poverty, unrest and misery, should be common knowledge..  

Peace is the number one condition of sustainability. Armament and use of arms is not sustainable.  Governments must avoid and prevent armed conflicts at all costs. When there is war sustainability is out of question.

Could human beings learn that their greed and power struggle, their wars has caused disasters since their existence? It is time, high time that human beings should control their violent, destructive urges and their endless greed to gain power and wealth. Let us hope that the pandemic and the latest wars makes humanity realize its profound deficiencies and weaknesses and makes a serious effort to achieve the UN SDGs through national and local governments and stakeholders including the majority of  citizens.

The implementation of the blueprints of sustainable urbanization has been limited in spite of the global agreements. So I am afraid that all we can expect is a slow transition and transformation is impossible.

My only hope is that; with enforcement and encouragement, availability, access, affordability of alternative solutions, continuous education, there will eventually be a political will to do, what the nations wanted to do all along. With the involvement of a sound majority, decent politicians who are not  after  personal financial gains and political power will serve in the governments. It is the responsibility of individuals, of all of us to elect politicians who will not bring the end of life on the planet.

^[1] UNDESA Report 2019,UN,NY

^[2] www.un.org/ClimateChange