Need to build better and sustainable cities

Cities all over the world are moving forward with a renewed focus on sustainable development to make them better prepared for any unforeseen situation. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for sustainable and resilient cities in terms of infrastructure, transport, etc. To achieve the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the country needs to build ‘Atmanirbhar’ cities.
Resilient infrastructure is crucial in making resilient cities that can absorb, recover and prepare for any future shocks. In 2017, the Rockefeller Foundation selected four Indian cities – Pune, Chennai, Surat and Jaipur – to be part of the “100 Resilient Cities” initiative. It is high time that the Government of India comes up with similar initiatives for every city in the country keeping in mind the unique challenges of the region. For instance, Chennai, which was one of the four cities, was reeling under the burden of ageing infrastructure and is prone to various natural disasters such as typhoons, and cyclones. Apart from this, one of the important and common challenges of almost every city is the increasing quantity of waste. Accelerating urbanisation in the country has led to the need for infrastructure which can deal with the menace. As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Mumbai and Delhi generate almost 11,000 and 8700 tonnes of solid waste per day. Waste to Wealth mission of the central government aims to address this by identifying, developing and deploying technologies across the country to treat the waste and extract the resources of value. Creating a circular economy structure by leveraging science, technology and innovation will help the cities to construct a sustainable model and enhance their liveability.
In the words of Professor Edward Glaeser, Harvard University, “There is no higher calling in the 21st Century than to fight to make cities of the developing world more liveable.” Sustainable mobility is a key component when we talk about improving the liveability of cities. Not just developing countries but governments around the world are putting maximum effort to introduce electric vehicles, which is quickly becoming the face of sustainable mobility. Traditional vehicles using fossil fuels are putting immense pressure on non-renewable sources of energy. Experts are finding new ways to tackle the dual problem of vehicular pollution and fossil fuel dependency, especially in cities. In 2018, Toyota unveiled the world’s first flexible-fuel hybrid vehicle prototype in Brazil, which can run on both gasoline and alternative fuels such as ethanol. India is the third-largest user of transport automobiles and 70 per cent of transport energy need is fulfilled by importing fossil fuels. The Government of India is also planning to achieve 20 per cent ethanol-blending with gasoline by 2025, to reduce this dependency. Cities are evolving giving birth to new trends, be it digitalisation of services or increasing adoption of EVs.They present an opportunity for countries, especially cities, to move towards sustainable development without putting too much pressure on climate. Climate is taking a hit in the global race for development and supremacy. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its report stating that the limit of increase of 1.5 degree Celsius in earth temperature will be reached within next two decades at the current pace. The situation is alarming and cities need to take the lead in delaying this as far as possible.