Building resilient cities

The death toll in the recent Wayanad tragedy has crossed 400. A large number of bodies are reportedly unidentified and many are still reported missing. This incident, coming on the back of the Delhi basement flooding mishap, has once again turned the spotlight on cities’ safety and disaster readiness.

Public debates in such times delve into the role of city administrations, governance, effective enforcement of building bye-laws, etc. All these do have significant impacts on disaster prevention, preparedness, and indeed the well-being of cities and citizens. There is no gainsaying that all these areas require constant attention, strengthening and large doses of professionalism. Yet it may be time to also look at the structure of city leadership. In India, while at the national and state levels, the leadership structures are very clear, it is not so at the city level. In India, the Mayor, usually referred to as the First Citizen, is the head of the city, though not entrusted with executive powers, and with tenures that are uneven across the country, sometimes as short as one year. The position is perceived to be more ceremonial rather than of much substance. Compare this with some global cities where the Mayor is inextricably linked to the City – ex. Anne Hidalgo (Paris) and Sadiq Khan (London). In many of our larger cities, in addition to the municipal administration, and the law enforcement agencies, there are several parastatals that play different roles, often overlapping. Experts have opined that this fragmented structure of city leadership is among the primary causes of sub-optimal functioning of our cities.

The concept of Guardian Minister is one positive step in this direction where a senior elected political figure from the State looks after the interests of a particular district to support its developmental needs. However, given the other responsibilities of these ministers, the attention to the district and its cities
may be limited.

In addition to a single point effective leadership structure, cities must have robust mechanisms for involving citizens in the affairs of the city. While some experiments in this direction have taken place, there is little to show in terms of a vibrant, effective citizen-administration interactive platform that promotes consultative city management. The elected councilors would be best placed to act as the bridge between citizens and administrators. Waste management, water conservation, air quality, community health & hygiene, and road safety are some crucial aspects of city administration where citizen engagement can produce sustainable, lasting outcomes. In fact it may be the only way.

Given the rapid and relentless urbanisation that we can expect, cities will encounter newer risks emanating from climate change (heatwaves, extreme dry weather, extreme precipitation), technology (cybercrimes, social media misinformation), and public health (epidemics), among others. Cities need to anticipate and build appropriate resilience measures to protect the growing populations and city systems.