The country needs the creation of an effective task force that has a determined agenda of establishing regenerative cities. At the present rate, we will continue to create more environment-unfriendly urban zones
Modern cities, with high levels of economic activities amid concentrated urbanisation, have become ever more resource-intensive. This has significantly contributed to climate change, loss of soil carbon, and natural fertility of farmland, besides causing loss of biodiversity. Cities of today have developed resource-consumption and waste-disposal habits that show little concern for the consequences.
The World Wildlife Fund states in its living Planet Report that in the last 30 years, a third of the natural world has been obliterated. Forty to 50 per cent of earth’s ice-free land surface has been heavily transformed or degraded by human activities, 66 per cent of marine fisheries are either over-exploited or at their limit, and atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased more than 30 per cent since the advent of industrialisation. The current pattern of resource consumption shows a gradual erosion of the natural capital of the planet. Instead, the survival of mankind should be linked to the income regenerated by this capital. This will help prevent the erosion of nature’s resilience. The emerging challenge today is to reverse the collision course between humans and nature. The Government, through its urban town planners, architects and civil engineers, needs to respond to this challenge with creative solutions.
But, considering the extent of the problem, a mere plan that seeks to allay the symptoms of the issue at hand is not enough. The very fabric and character of the cities need to undergo a sea change in order to generate a long-term solution. Planning and designing regenerative cities that are built around the principles of low carbon emission and resource efficiency can present a sustainable solution.
But in order to achieve it, the short-term compromises and patchwork solutions that characterise most of our political decision-making at all levels of Government, will have to go, and be replaced by an administration that is tenacious and resolute in preserving the environment. In addition, a mindset change is needed on the part of urban societies that appreciates the value of nature’s services and understands the costs of its loss. This will be the foundation for the setting up of a truly regenerative city.
Sustainable development has become a cliché in today’s society, especially considering how degraded our ecosystem already is, with far less to sustain today than there was 20 years ago. Cities and urban areas are major contributors to this trend. A new urban agenda in the form of a regenerative city can help in ensuring that the cities positively enhance the ecosystem on which they depend. This can be achieved by actively working towards regenerating soils, forests and water courses with the objective to improve rather than to merely sustain their currently degraded condition.
This new agenda will help transform urban areas into regenerative cities that dramatically reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, boost the deployment of renewable energies, re-introduce water to the hydrology cycle and make sewage reprocessing and nutrient capture a central plank of urban waste management.
Globally, there are numerous examples for good policies and practices for regenerative urban development. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of urban regeneration initiatives focussed on the health and well-being of urban citizens and urban fabric. Countries such as Britain, Germany and the US have encouraged such initiatives, which have been instrumental in improving the lives of millions of people, besides enhancing the quality of cities and the positive impact they have on the environment.
In various countries urban regeneration associations have been established to address problems such as industrialisation, population, congestion, aging infrastructure and other such matters. For instance, the Wilhelmsburg district of Hamburg in Germany, with a population of 55,000 residents, is an example of ongoing urban regeneration. The district has prioritised renewable energy initiatives and is consequently in a position to meet the electricity requirements of all buildings in this district by 2025; and by 2050, almost all heating demands can also be met.
In order to design a roadmap and reach the goal of a regenerative city, the triangular collaboration between Government, private institutions and civil society is a must, as this will enhance policy dialogue and also boost capacity building.
The Government should take the initiative and establish a collaboration in which the cross-sectorial strengths can be leveraged and weaknesses compensated for. This will help create a formidable task force that has a determined agenda of creating regenerative cities.