Why do we need Smart Cities for a Sustainable Future?
Yashi Upadhyay
Today, more than half the world’s population is residing in global cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Tokyo, etc. According to (UN, 2018), the share of the world’s global population living in urban areas is expected to increase from 55 percent in 2018 to 60 percent in 2030. From around 16 cities in the 20th century to almost 400 cities today, contain a million people or more. Rapid urbanization and development have major consequences on sustainable development creating risks to the surrounding environment, natural resources, health conditions, social composition, resource management, loss of agricultural land, urban sprawl, and industrial activities. Not to forget, cities are by far the largest contributors to GHG emissions, they consume 75% of the world's resources and produce 80% of CO2 emissions (UN-Habitat 2005).
Why do we need Smart Cities? The answer to this question is the constrain and scare resources overburdened by the unrestrained human activities, the rapid rise in population and uncontrolled depletion of resources urges for planned activities that could reduce the pressure on the only planet to sustain life. Optimum use of resources and through the provision of optimum benefits by reducing the space with planning and effective designing processes. As a futuristic and developing world, we must realize that the actual economic growth lies in urbanization. 80% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product is created through cities. Hence urbanization, as has always been, must be treated as an opportunity and not as a problem. But this can only be done, if we give thrust to the development of sustainable smart cities across the world. It can be resolved through integrated action plans including the route of urban renewal, adopting environment-friendly technologies.
Singapore topped the 2020 Smart City Index, followed by Helsinki and Zurich in the respective second and third positions, which makes these cities top the list. It is important to learn and work on those guidelines, for Singapore was the second running year topping the list. Planned activities definitely reduce the stress on the environment, the rising global risk of rapid urbanization calls for mitigation activities that could handle the stress and design a futuristic and inclusive urban infrastructure that could accommodate activities for the sustenance and preservation of the environment.
The good part is that the future of smart cities looks optimistic as the policymakers and urban development authorities have started to rely on smart city initiatives to address the complications arising due to the existing urban conglomeration and to deal with social issues like healthcare, infrastructure, transportation, education, etc. The governments across the world are looking upon and are getting inspired by smart cities like Singapore, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York, and Dubai, to name a few. They have successfully begun to apply small changes to their city models to ensure its citizen socially favorable, economically stable, through environmental perspective, being ‘sustainable’ – not just for today but for tomorrow as well. The Indian government too is actively progressing in its Smart Cities Mission of 2015, under which the government aims to create 100 smart cities in the country. All of this gives its citizen, a ray of hope, highlighting the significance of integrated development of cities which will lead towards a sustainable future and improve their quality of life.
Disclaimer: The views presented in this article is of the author herself, this does not reflect the ideology of the organization. The views are personal and are for public address
Image Source: RTPI | Renewable Energy