News Highlights
By 2035, the percentage of the population in India at mid-year residing in urban areas will be 43.2%, the U.N. said in UN Habitat World Cities Report 2022.
Focus Points
- The main objective of the World Cities Report is “The study of Urban development”
- The maiden edition of world cities report was first published in 2016
Indian Scenario
- India’s Urban population
- India’s urban population is estimated to stand at 675 million in 2035, the second highest behind China’s one billion
- Reduction in Poverty
- India experienced rapid economic growth and urbanisation, which led to a massive reduction in the number of people living in poverty
- Reduction in NO2
- Reductions in NO2 concentrations over India following COVID-19 lockdowns
- Recognizing and supporting the urban informal employment
- Report mentions Indian cities of Surat and Ahmedabad, the Mahila housing trust negotiated with city authorities and leveraged city funds on behalf of informal sector workers
- Climate Change
- Report noted that the cities have to address the challenges of climate change caused by urbanisation such as increased heatwaves in Delhi
- Owing to the absence of safe, affordable and reliable public transportation systems, the dependency of private motorised vehicles increased during the pandemic.
- This could increase the challenging issues like air pollution, congestion and road safety
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will increase by 70 per cent, from 48 to 83 GtCO2-equivalent.
- Most of the increase will be in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS)
Study of climate-resilient cities in India
- Recent study of climate-resilient cities in India examined Urban climate action plans developed by thirteen municipal corporations
Global Scenario
- Rapid urbanisation was only temporarily delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The global urban population is back on track to grow by another 2.2 billion people by 2050
- The report said that “cities are here to stay, and the future of humanity is undoubtedly urban,” though it says that levels of urbanisation are uneven, with growth slowing in many high-income countries
UN World Cities Report
- Envisaging the Future of Cities analyses trends, challenges and opportunities to provide insights into the future of cities.
- The Report proposes a state of informed preparedness that provides us with the opportunity to anticipate change, correct the course of action and become more knowledgeable of different scenarios of urban futures
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu