UN-HA ABITAT UR RBAN VISI IONS No.

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VISION FO OR POST 2015 AGENDA

URBANIZA ATION N AS A DRIV VER FO OR SUST TAINA ABLE DEVEL D LOPME ENT
Dr. Joan n Clos Under-S Secretary-G General and d Executive e Director U UN-Habita at
UN-Hab bitats vision n of urb banization
step in these lin nes is to esta ablish the ph hysical patte ern of connec ctivity. The se econd is to pr revent nega ative externalities. Desp pite the c challenges facing citie es dem mographic exp plosion, instit tutional incap pacity, incre easing segreg gation, fuel sh hortage and cl limate chan nge, to name e but a few the prospe ect for cities s is promisin ng. However, , to realize th his, we mus t adopt an u urban parad digm shift. Su uch a para adigm has to steer ci ities away from unpl lanned and spontaneous urbanisation n, car depe endence, lack of pro oper connec ctivity netw works and lack k of adequate e public space e. The old paradigm m has locked many cities in the deve eloped wor rld into co ongested, energy ineff ficient and e expensive m model. It has s also heav vily influence ed the aspirati ions of cities in the deve eloping world d that must accommodat te the majo ority of the w worlds popul lation growth h over the n next four dec cades. But re etrofitting obs solete syste ems and le eapfrogging to new eff ficient syste ems, respectively, will allow citie es to maxi imise their a agglomeration n advantages s and econ nomies of scal le. This new urban n paradigm requires se everal fund damental shift ts: 1. W We must re-e embrace the a adequate com mpact and mixed-use ci ity. Cities and d their comp ponent neigh ghbourhoods need to be co ompact, integ grated and connected. T This requires a shift away y from the mono-functio onal city of low density y and long g distances, which is p poorly connected, socia ally divided and econom mically ineffi icient. Inste ead, the ne ew paradigm m optimizes well desig gned demogr raphic and e economic den nsities and privileges proximity a among firms s and peop ple within a dominantly y mixed lan nd-use patte ern. The res sulting huma an scale minimizes trans sport and se ervice deliver ry cost, optimizes the u use of land an nd promotes social diversi ity. It also supports the e protection and organization of urba an open space es.

en ncompasses all a levels of human h set ttlements, inc cluding smal ll rural com mmunities, vil llages, marke et towns, inter rmediate citie es and large cities c and me etropolises, i.e. wherever a stable comm munity is con ntinuously loc cated and ther re are housing g units togeth her with perma anent social and a economic c activities, com mmon public c space, urban n basic service es, and a loca al governance e structure. The city is a huma an construct; a sociallyconstructe ed human ar rtifact. Thoug gh it is often n regarded as inevitable e at best, the e growth and d developm ment of cities is far from spontaneous s and uncon ntrollable. Urbanization can c be steered d and shap ped in a coll lectively desi ired manner. The more we see cities s as voluntaril ly shaped the e more we recognize th heir positive potential as s levers for sustainable development. d We need to see the cit ty more as an n asset and a solution. Urbanization n presents an n opportunity y to solve many of th he challenges s confronting g contempo orary huma an developm ment. Wellplanned and a designed cities can gen nerate higher r levels of societal we ellbeing, glob bal economic c growth and a means of livelihood d and foster r sustainable developme ent. The key is to promote e a more proactive pers spective on th he city. This s will preve ent negative, self-fulfilling g perceptions s of urbaniz zation and pie ecemeal prob blem solving. How can cities deliver this? In two words: w urban n economy. As econom mic science has proven, , dense networks n of people, in nfrastructure, , institution ns and innov vation posse ess enormous s agglomeration advanta ages. In man ny cities these e advantage es remain unt tapped. But by b leveraging g their econ nomies of sca ale, cities can n unlock their r inherent potential to create value and wealth, , reduce ov verall costs of f societal tran nsactions and d promote productivity p and innovation. The first t

UN-Habita at, March 2013 www.unha abitat.org

UR RBANIZATION NASADRIVER RFOR SUSTAINAB BLEDEVELOPM MENT

2. Reasser rting urban space s is a hig ghly effective e entry point for improving a citys s functioning. The way in i which spac ce is deployed d and shaped d is central l to the proc cess of city development d . This will determine th he value of the t land and d will require value-sha aring mechan nisms. Urban n public spa ace is the back kbone of the city. c It allows s people to o live amid dst complexit ty, negotiate e difference es, and assert their identiti ies and access s resources in ways bo oth formal and a informal. Effective policies on the establishment, , managem ment and mai intenance of urban space e are the key for eco onomic perfo ormance and d efficiency, as well as in nclusivity, wa alkability and d social inte eraction. 3. Urban practitioners p must move from f sectorial l interventi ions to those that address s the city as a whole and d are at the scale s of the pr roblems. The e prevailing g fragmented d, sectorial approach to o urban dev velopment ha as only create ed enclaves of f successes with little transformati ional impact. Partial so olutions tend to worsen th he conditions s of the city y, often prod ducing dysfunction in the e whole. Addressing the many y problems s characteri izing cities today t such h as sprawl, , segregatio on and cong gestion requ uires a more e holistic, integrated, an nd city-wide approach in n which solutions should be at the scale of the e problems. 4. Urban planning an nd design set t the critical l spatial fr ramework. Good G urban planning p and d design should estab blish minimu um common n space, op ptimised stree et connectivit ty and social l mix with a variety of housing pric ces within an n area. Th he resulting urban u fabric will be fine e grained, with a varie ety of housin ng types, an n inviting public rea alm, pedest trian-friendly y streetscap pes, defined centres and d edges and d varying tr ransport optio ons. 5. Smarte ening land-us se planning and building g codes is essential. Effective E law w codes and d regulation ns are key instruments i for f pursuing g resilient and low-carb bon urban development d . Such cod des should li imit specialis sed land use e zoning; encourage e mixed m use th hrough floor r space de esignated fo or economic c uses and d mandate minimum m street area as a proportion p of f a neighbo ourhoods ove erall land area a. There is an n urgent need n of incre easing the standards s of f public sp pace form the nowadays existing g average of o 10% up to, at a least 30%. 6. Citi ies must promote endogenous s developm ment. The new w urban parad digm requires s strategies, , plans and model m projects s that activate e endogeno ous factors. Such fact tors include e

nurtu turing and uti ilizing local a assets particu ularly hum man capital maximizi ing tangible and intan ngible local opportunities s, exploiting local pote entials, and p positioning th he city withi in the outw ward macro context of regi ional, nationa al and glob bal developm ment. A well-planned city y can direc ctly improve by 15% its em mployment ra ate by mean ns of increase ed constructio on and urban n basic servi ice provision. 7. C City-dwellers themselves particularl ly the poor rest and most t vulnerable must remai in the prim mary benefici iaries. These are the pri imary stake eholders wh ho directly and perso onally expe erience a city on a daily b basis. The rig ght to the city remain ns a power rful principle for ensu uring that th he collective interest of a city prev vails. A huma an rights-based approach is the only y way to uphold the dig gnity of all u urban resid dents in th he face of multiple rights viola ations, includ ding the righ ht to decent living cond ditions. This call to action n requires cre eating a new u urban mod del for the 2 21st Century. . It constitu utes a para adigm shift n not only in an nd amongst cities, but also in city y-shaping institutions. Cities desp perately need d concrete ex xamples of ho ow to creat tively appl ly sustainab ble develop pment princ ciples to d dynamic and d complex u urban conte exts. They a also require s strengthened local gove ernment capa acity to engag ge with the private secto or and acade emic institut tions and ha arness comm munity kn nowledge and resources. Succ cessful innov vations ofte en remain small islan nds of excelle ence in an o ocean of reso ourcehung gry business s as usual ur rban develop pment. Fortu unately enou ugh, there are e already a nu umber of su uccessful case es that can b be commented d and shar ed. They need to be multi iplied to scale es that gene erate significa ant impact. UN-Habitat has i institutionally y realigned its self to this new urban paradigm. I In so doing g UNHabi itat calls upo on the entire l landscape of u urban actor rs and city ch hangers to align their own ways of w working to the evolvin ng needs of the conte emporary cit ty, to comba at the socio-s spatial chall lenges of sprawl, segregation and cong gestion and to help unle eash the inh herent pow wer of urban agglomeratio on for prope er and well defined c compactness, integration and conn nectivity. This s is both nece essary and po ossible now w more than ev ver. It is impo ortant that the e Post 2015 5 Developme ent Planning Framework takes into account th he fundamen ntal potential of urba anization to promo ote sustai inable deve elopment.
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