Sustainable development of cities needed for social well-being

Today is World Cities Day, a day set aside by the United Nations in 2013 to help contribute to sustainable urban development worldwide, and to promote both urbanisation and cooperation among countries.

Specifically, the day is designed to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanisation and cooperation among countries in addressing the challenges of urbanisation.

Urbanisation is the gradual shift of populations from rural to urban areas, which process forms cities, making them larger as more people come to work and live centrally.

The global observance of the day which was first held on October 31, 2014, is organised by the United Nations (UN) Human Settlements Programme in coordination with each year's selected host city.

The resolution to observe World Cities Day, Resolution A/RES/68/239 of the General Assembly, one of the main UN bodies, established on December 27, 2013 that from the following year, October 31 would become World Cities Day.

The resolution invites “States, the United Nations system, in particular UN-Habitat, relevant international organisations, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to celebrate and raise awareness of the Day”.

The commemoration, which comes just a week after the UN’s own day on October 24, stresses that urbanisation enables new forms of social inclusion such as access to services and new opportunities, as well as the commitment and mobilisation reflected in diversity.

The same resolution further invites the 193 Member States as well as Habitat Agenda partners “to formulate and implement sustainable urban development policies that promote just, resilient and inclusive cities, taking into account the contributions of all relevant stakeholders, with particular emphasis on the needs of women and the most vulnerable”.

But whereas World Cities Day aims to highlight the role of urbanisation to provide the potential for new forms of social inclusion such as greater equality, access to services and added diversity, development in our cities are far from reaching all dwellers. Indeed, disparities increase every day as populations surge.

This is confirmed by the UN which says inequalities in cities have grown since 1980.

As city authorities struggle to cater for all dwellers, the provision of basic amenities and services, such as potable water, sanitary and health facilities, become a herculean task due to the sheer numbers of residents and the difficulty in controlling activities of residents.

Nonetheless, we urge our city authorities to rise up to the occasion by instilling discipline in dwellers and applying their bye-laws to the letter while promulgating policies that will check the sprawling of slums and the high incidence of insanitary conditions, especially in city centres.

The youth who form the majority of city dwellers have a big role to play in ensuring sustainable cities, hence the choice of theme for this year’s commemoration of World Cities Day:

“Youth climate change-makers: Catalysing local action for urban sustainability”, which focuses on how to capture ambitious youth ideas and goals and turn them into achievements.

The theme underscores the critical impact of youth leadership on climate resilience, especially as Africa’s urban population which is set to double by 2050, has over 60 per cent of the population under the age of 25.

According to the Director of UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa, Oumar Sylla, “Africa’s young population represents a critical asset. Active youth engagement can drive urban sustainability and innovation, a message relevant to cities worldwide.”

He said while African cities were among the most vulnerable to climate change, affected by rising temperatures, extreme weather events, rising sea levels and pressure on resources, the youth had emerged as powerful catalysts for change at the local level and the actions of the youth offer hope for a more sustainable urban future.

We couldn’t agree more with the United Nations Office for Project Services Regional Director for Africa, Dalila Goncalves’s, call to empower more youth to lead climate actions at the local level.

The Daily Graphic, therefore, calls on all youth-centred organisations and agencies to involve the youth in all activities and plans to make our cities climate resilient, sustainable and sane places of habitation for us all.

As rightly put by a former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, "Cities are increasingly the home of humanity. They are central to climate action, global prosperity, peace and human rights."

It thus behoves us to make our cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Let us also develop smart cities by applying new technologies, to guarantee better services, benefits and comfort to all who live in urban spaces.