Urban development is building cities and urban areas for economic and social development. It involves the planning of a city, town, or region including infrastructures like transportation networks, housing, utilities, public spaces, etc. It is also guided by various laws and sustainability principles. Today, modern urban development faces numerous challenges like rapid urbanization, resource scarcity, climate change, social inequality, housing crises, the degrading quality of life of residents, and the challenges related to culture, governance, policy, and public health. Hence, it requires innovative and inclusive solutions that can mitigate these challenges.
Rapid Urbanization and Population Growth
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, 55% of the world’s population will live in cities by November 2022 and it is estimated that this trend is expected to continue to 70% by 2050. Some reasons include the nature of cities to attract rural populations as they provide different opportunities, facilities, and services including opportunities for generating incomes, jobs, education, proper health care, and better infrastructures. Rapid urbanization leads to unplanned city expansion resulting in informal settlements, social inequality, shortage of resources, inadequate infrastructures, and many more. The issues of waste management, electricity, water, and pollution increase. Also, it leads to an inefficient public transportation system which increases the dependence on private vehicles. This contributes to air pollution and traffic congestion. Modern Urban Development also leads to environmental degradation. Cities like Kathmandu, Mumbai, and Dhaka are a few examples of cities with rapid urbanization.
Resource Scarcity
Urbanization increases the demand for water, energy, and land and hence the available water catchment areas, green areas, open spaces, and agricultural lands decrease. It will be hard to find fertile lands and freshwater due to pollution and inefficient management. It increases the demand for energy. Cities fail to provide such resources to the growing population.
Climate change and resilience
Another challenge of modern urban development is the threat of climate change. When urban development prioritizes short-term growth over sustainable one, various problems like deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and climate-related disasters like floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms arise. Cities and urban areas are major contributors to climate change and global warming as urban activities contribute large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated to be around nearly 70% of CO2 emissions worldwide. Cities and urban areas are not only contributors but also victims of climate change. Therefore, there is an urgent need to build climate resilience in the world as this is one of the burning issues worldwide.
Social Inequality and Housing Crises
Income inequality and social stratification are seen more in urban areas than in rural areas. Gated communities and luxury high-rises exist alongside slums and squatter settlements. This highlights the social disparity in access to resources and opportunities. This shows the difference between luxury and basic needs. The lack of affordable housing is making many individuals homeless. Similarly, higher living costs and increased competition for jobs are also increasing poverty in the city. Modern urban development must focus on reducing these disparities.
Governance and Policy Challenges
Modern urban development is not only a technical process, but it is also a political process that involves many stakeholders. This process needs to enhance transparency, accountability, coordination among stakeholders, and the effectiveness of urban governance. The government also must separate enough funds and make good plans and policies for sustainable development. The process must go through a participatory approach i.e. including local authorities, and residents throughout the process. Including locals in such a process makes them aware and responsible.
Cultural diversity and identity
With urbanization, people migrating from different parts are making cities a a mixture of different ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic groups. This is diminishing the original identity of the city. Modern urban development must respect and preserve both the local tangible and nontangible culture and heritage of the urban areas. This can be done by preserving the historical and culturally important sites, supporting local arts and crafts, celebrating festivals, and many more.
Public Health and Safety
The dense urban environments lead to many public health challenges. Air pollution, lack of green spaces, insufficient sanitation, etc. contribute to respiratory illness, mental health illness, and reduced quality of life. Modern urban development must prioritize health-focused urban design. As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, how vulnerable our cities are to the infectious disease, cities must be ready for such hard times with resilient healthcare systems and infrastructures.
Safety also must be another focus in modern urban development. Urban design should have adequate lighting, pedestrian-friendly spaces, and kids, women, and elderly-friendly public spaces as the urban crime rates and traffic accidents increase in urban areas.
How to overcome these challenges?
Carefully considered urban planning, good governance, and close contact between architects, urban planners, community stakeholders, businesses, governments, communities, city councils, and academic institutions are essential to finding and implementing effective solutions for the challenges of modern urban development. To mitigate the challenges related to climate change, cities must practice sustainable approaches. It should promote renewable energy, green building practices, water conservation, disaster risk management, and many more. The institutions in charge of disaster assessment and response must identify the related risks and strengthen urban planning regulations. The construction industry should integrate climate risk assessment into the projects to be developed. The agencies or institutions that generate urban planning regulations also require training in climate change, risks, and sustainability for construction. Similarly, urban development must address the needs of all residents including low-income communities that lack basic services and infrastructure. To address such challenges, inclusive urban planning prioritizing affordable housing, community engagement, and equitable access to services is required. Similarly, efficient and affordable public transportation systems must be developed as rapid urbanization demands sustainable mobility solutions.
Modern urban development is a complex process that requires a balance of economic growth, environmental sustainability, and inclusivity. Modern urban development. It can overcome its challenges by embracing sustainable practices, fostering community engagement, and enabling cities to become hubs of opportunity and innovation. Also, stakeholders, urban planners, architects, and policymakers should try to address such issues to make urban areas sustainable, inclusive, healthy, and a better place to live.
References:
Portal GOV.SI. (n.d.). Urban development | GOV.SI. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.si/en/policies/environment-and-spatial-planning/prostor-2/urban-development/.
Zurich (2024). The Risks of Rapid Urbanization in Developing Countries. [online] Zurich.com. Available at: https://www.zurich.com/knowledge/topics/global-risks/the-risks-of-rapid-urbanization-in-developing-countries.
Geoversity. (2024). Dealing with the challenges of modern urbanization. [online] Available at: https://www.geoversity.io/stories/1347886/dealing-with-the-challenges-of-modern-urbanization/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2025].
Lwasa, S., Seto, K., Bai, X., Australia, Blanco, H., Broto, V., Burle, C., Dubeux, S., Brazil, Ürge-Vorsatz, D., Lwasa, S., Seto, K., Bai, X., Blanco, H., Gurney, K., Kılkış, Ş., Lucon, O., Murakami, J., Pan, J. and Sharifi, A. (n.d.). SPM 861 8 Urban Systems and Other Settlements Coordinating Lead Authors: Lead Authors: Contributing Authors: Review Editors. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157926.010.
