Why will smart city projects combat the effects of urbanization?
Answers
- Urbanisation affects the physical environment through the impacts of the number of people, their activities and the increased demands on resources. Urbanisation has negative consequences on health due mainly to pollution and overcrowded living conditions. It can also put added pressure on food supply systems.
Answer:
India’s smart-city program offers a road map for cities working to prepare for mass urbanization with limited funds.
Explanation:
about 200 million people will move from rural areas in India to the country’s urban centers. The shift will be massive, almost equal to the current populations of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined. While urbanization increases productivity and improves GDP per capita over the long term—by 2030, urban centers in India will generate nearly 70 percent of the country’s GDP1 —it also causes significant pressure in those urban centers. How can these cities plan to accommodate the growing population in terms of living space, jobs, and transport?
Government data estimates that India’s cities would need $1.2 trillion in capital funding over the next 20 years to keep up with the demands of their growing populations. But the country has nowhere near that amount to spend: India requires around $134 per capita to support urbanization capital expenditure (capex), but it actually spends around $20 per capita.2 This discrepancy has caused several problems: only 30 percent of sewage is treated, 24 percent of the urban population lives in slums, public transit usage is declining, and almost half of all city drivers spend more than 12 hours a week stuck in their car.3
And India is not alone in these struggles. Cities in many emerging markets are also facing similar strain as people flock to work and live in urban centers.
At first, it may seem counterintuitive to suggest that these cities, struggling to keep up with even their citizens’ most basic needs, should begin building themselves into smart cities. This is where it becomes important to broaden the definition of smart cities and not restrict it to implementation of just technology solutions. The right effort to make a city smart will incorporate a focus on sustainability, resource productivity, economic development, and job creation, as well as getting basic core infrastructure right to enable decent quality of living.
Several lessons for emerging markets around the world are to be found in India’s Smart Cities Mission, the government’s high-profile program to help its urban centers combat the challenges of urbanization. The program aims to assist several Indian cities in kick-starting urban renewal. While the program’s capex expenditure will fall short of the $1.2 trillion required to keep pace with urbanization, it’s an important start and offers several best practices for city leaders in emerging countries
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