Humans are spreading across the planet in a way that is unsustainable. Cities, the places where most humans now live, are becoming bigger and more voracious exploiters of space than ever before. There is now a concept for it: urban sprawl. At the beginning of the 20th century, "sprawling" was what people would do when they stretched their bodies in a careless manner. However, by the middle of the century, a new connection had been made between the words "urban" and "sprawl". It was as if too many home-owners had become a bit careless and spread themselves across the peri-urban divide, spilling into the once fertile fields beyond the city walls.
Sprawl, the relatively unbounded extension of buildings and infrastructure across the landscape, has become a way of life. It is associated with a dependency on cars, massive increases in resource- use, the fragmentation of community and a more costly mode of living—all without necessarily improving the quality of life. Moreover, rapid urbanisation is leading to more environmental problems. For instance, in the Indian city of Bengaluru, water shortage and pollution are the most challenging issues. While overpopulation is leading to water shortages, the excessive use of vehicles and unscientific waste management methods have resulted in relentless pollution. Furthermore, urban development has led to widespread encroachment of green spaces and lakes, increased drainage issues and improper drainage systems.
Cities across the world are major contributors to global emissions. Today, it is estimated that cities account for more than 70% of all global CO2 emissions each year – more than 25 billion tons. Moreover, climate change can affect many of the Asian cities. Megacities like Guangzhou, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Mumbai, Shanghai, are low-lying or coastal cities and highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, floods, and other impacts of climate change.
Poor planning, massive inequality, rotten transport and the like may make some big cities miserable places for some of their inhabitants. And the problems found in the slums of such places are not easy to fix. For all the entrepreneurialism and energy of people crammed together in the poorest corners of Lagos, Rio or Delhi, better management of slums would surely be a good thing. But planning such places well in the first place, rather than after they have grown enormous, would surely have been a better way to proceed. Good urban governance forms the backbone of city growth. Empowering city governments functionally and financially, coupled with high levels of accountability and transparency, is crucial for the sustainable growth of all cities. This automatically translates to improved and efficient service provision.
