many large cities around the world have struggled

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Within the next year, the world's urban population will exceed its rural population for the first time in history—with some 75 percent of đô thị dwellers living in developing countries, according lớn a new United Nations report. The good news is that economists generally agree that urbanization, if handled well, holds great promise for higher growth and a better quality of life. But the flip side is also true: if handled poorly, urbanization could not only impede development but also give rise lớn slums—and already, the UN reports, one out of every three urban dwellers worldwide lives in one. Given that ví much responsibility will rest in the hands of policymakers, who will need lớn take a team approach lớn problem solving, F&D turned lớn three experts from Asia and Africa, the regions with the fastest-growing urban populations, for their insights.

1. Providing Shelter
Matthew Maury
Area Vice President, Africa and the Middle East,
Habitat for Humanity International

Managing large cities in Africa continues lớn get more challenging as poor urban populations rapidly grow. Most colonial-era urban planning policies on the continent were aimed at keeping the poor out of the đô thị. As independence spread and new local governments took over urban management, đô thị gates opened and the poor began relocating lớn unprepared cities. In recent years, this population shift has become a deluge. Africa is, and for the coming decade will remain, the most rapidly urbanizing area of the world. UN-HABITAT reports that 72 percent of urban dwellers in sub-Saharan Africa live in slums, which gives it the second largest slum population in the world after south central Asia. Expectations are that this concentration of slum dwellers will only increase because most urbanization will occur within the economically vulnerable population.

Massive slums have grown across the continent. No large urban center has been exempt from informal settlements and slums. The largest and most overwhelming slum in Africa is Kibera in Nairobi, where between half a million and a million people reside. The International Housing Coalition notes that in many cities across Africa less than thở 10 percent of the population lives in a formal sector with decently constructed housing. UN-HABITAT statistics are illustrative and shocking: in Zambia, 74 percent of urban dwellers live in slums; in Nigeria, 80 percent; in Sudan, 85.7 percent; in Tanzania, 92.1 percent; in Madagascar, 92.9 percent; and in Ethiopia, an amazing 99.4 percent.

Why is ví much of the urban growth ending up in burgeoning slums? Although there are undoubtedly many reasons, the underlying problem in almost all cities is an absence of appropriate urban planning strategy. And, I believe, the biggest challenge facing managers of large African cities is the ability, or inability, lớn provide adequate space, shelter, and services for the rapidly migrating low-income population.

As I visit communities at the grassroots level across Africa, it quickly becomes clear that this limited urban planning for the rapidly growing low-income population is compounding the problems for local governments. For many municipalities, the lack of urban planning is exacerbated by the inability of the poor lớn secure title lớn land, gain access lớn housing finance, obtain necessary services, and navigate the complicated and often outdated regulatory environment. Often, these regulatory bodies have requirements that interfere with using appropriate and affordable building technologies. Some holdover colonial building codes, for example, impose expensive snow-bearing requirements on tropical roofs.

Most governments have moved away from the ill-informed strategy of eliminating their urban slum problems through demolition. In fact, most cities have some limited, specially funded projects lớn upgrade existing slums. But few have moved lớn the other kết thúc of the spectrum by proactively planning at the appropriate scale lớn prevent future slums. In the absence of such strategies, governments are faced with the costs of additional slums, even though preventing slums from forming is much more cost-effective than thở upgrading or relocating them.

Preventing slums

So what can policymakers do? We know that appropriate planning for the housing needs of the poor includes setting aside appropriate land with tenure. I say appropriate, because allocating land for poor families far from the đô thị center has rarely worked well unless appropriate transportation, infrastructure, and access lớn economic opportunity are also provided. And there are positive models that might be worth replicating.

South Africa has devoted significant resources since the kết thúc of apartheid lớn ensuring decent shelter for everyone. The program is multifaceted but, at its core, involves a housing subsidy that all citizens can qualify for once in their lifetime. Until recently, the program included funding for developers lớn put in necessary infrastructure. While the system is not without its flaws, such a commitment lớn space, shelter, and services for the urban poor is a positive example that has helped transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of urban and semiurban families since the early 1990s.

Malawi, although it has lower urbanization rates than thở some nations, has proactively mix aside decent land in cities such as Lilongwe for low-income housing projects. Moreover, when the government was working on its new housing policy, it invited stakeholders working directly with the poor lớn sit at the table lớn assess the new policy and its impact on the majority of the population who struggle lớn find decent shelter in urban environments.

In no case can a đô thị solve the problem on its own. Scalable and attainable solutions require the active participation of the private sector and civil society—in fact, of all stakeholders—if slums are not lớn rapidly perpetuate themselves. Rarely is the voice of the poor heard by đô thị managers and urban planners at the same decibel level or with the same priority as that of the wealthy housing developer or corporation looking lớn build a factory. However, the cost lớn a đô thị of not proactively giving adequate attention lớn the housing needs of the poor is a recipe for more Kiberas.

2. Getting the Balance Right
Kishore Mahbubani
Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy,
National University of Singapore

Xem thêm: đại học thể dục thể thao bắc ninh

Urbanization is unstoppable. Globalization has accelerated the spread of miễn phí markets and modern technology, shaking ever more people from their rural roots and luring them lớn cities. By next year, 3.3 billion people, half the world's population, will live in cities. For cities in all regions, managing this new large influx will be a major challenge—but one that each region will face differently.

Asia will have its fair share of megacities. Đài Loan Trung Quốc is projected lớn tài khoản for 10 of the world's 30 fastest-growing large cities between 2005 and 2020, and India will have 8. The rapid growth of several Asian economies, including those of Đài Loan Trung Quốc and India, will give them a competitive advantage in handling new waves of urban migration. But Asian cities also aspire lớn be global cities—like London, Paris, and New York—that have advanced transportation and communication systems; a multicultural and cosmopolitan environment with a developed cultural scene; a critical mass of financial institutions, law firms, and major corporations; a strong truyền thông media presence; a venue for major sporting events; and a clean, healthy, and beautiful urban environment—with outstanding architecture, clean air, water, parks, and gardens.

To succeed at becoming global centers, Asian cities will have lớn develop the right balance of strengths in "hardware" and "software"—something few of them realize.

The hardware part is unglamorous but critical: it includes modern sewage, a reliable electrical supply, and well-maintained roads and bridges. The inability lớn deliver a first-world physical infrastructure may explain why only 4 Asian cities are ranked among the top 50 in terms of quality of living by Mercer Consulting. They are Singapore (34), Yokohama (38), Kobe (40), and Osaka (42). Singapore is ranked first in Asia because, arguably, it is the best-planned đô thị in the world. Thủ đô New York is ranked only 48, demonstrating that even first-world cities lượt thích Thủ đô New York and London are gravitating toward third-world infrastructure because of poor maintenance. Witness the sinkhole that opened up in Manhattan in July 2007.

Yet even if the great Asian cities fail lớn keep pace on infrastructure, they could be saved by their software: the cultural excitement that lures great talent. In Mumbai, the most densely populated đô thị in the world (29,650 people per square kilometer), the physical infrastructure is crumbling and there is little long-term planning, but there is a vibrant cultural scene. Its movie industry, Bollywood, has a huge geopolitical footprint, stretching from Indonesia lớn Morocco (and perhaps the suburbs of New Jersey). In Shanghai, the infrastructure looks better, at least superficially, with wide new roads and glittering skyscrapers, but the reality is that the nuts and bolts need looking after—for example, its sewage is not first world. Even ví, the cultural excitement in Shanghai today is as explosive as in Mumbai, largely because the đô thị leaders have focused on glamorous projects (theaters, libraries, and museums—some one hundred of which are planned over the next four years).

Why this great cultural renaissance? The simplest answer is economic growth. More and more young Asians believe that the 21st century will belong lớn them. They share the type of optimism projected by a recent Goldman Sachs study that predicts that, by 2050, three of the four largest economies in the world will be in Asia: Đài Loan Trung Quốc, India, and nhật bản. That optimism affects even the slum dwellers. A U.S. diplomat recently told Indian author Niranjan Rajadhyaksha—who wrote The Rise of India: Its Transformation from Poverty lớn Prosperity—that unlike the slums of Africa and Latin America, where he often saw crime, despair, drugs, and urban gangs, he perceived energy and confidence in the Mumbai slums. The annual GDP of Mumbai's notorious slum, Dharavi, the largest in Asia, is $1 billion, according lớn Time magazine.

But if Asian cities fail lớn find the right balance of hardware and software, they could instead become a bottleneck lớn growth. No modern economy can succeed without being able lớn attract the new, globally mobile talent lớn its cities. These new tribes of high-powered financial whiz kids and management consultants, cultural performers, and truyền thông media stars provide the vital "yeast" that a global đô thị needs lớn grow and thrive. The good news is that these tribes have begun lớn migrate lớn Asian cities, despite the cities' many shortcomings.

3. Consulting the Citizens
Ramesh Ramanathan and Swati Ramanathan
Cofounders, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Our comments are limited by our experiences in urban India. The operating term in the question is "managing." We prefer the term "governing" because it not only encompasses the function of managing but also locates it in a larger context.

The problems of large-city urban governance are not trivial. There are technical issues, such as urban planning, design and management of mass transport systems, and access lớn such resources as water and power along with their pricing and distribution. There are public finance issues of ensuring that cities get access lớn the resources they need lớn provide services of acceptable quality. There are regional issues too: how does a đô thị relate lớn the larger region in which it is located, and how can the relationship between the two be managed?

The trick is lớn design institutions that can khuyễn mãi giảm giá with all of these complex issues yet be close enough lớn the citizen lớn provide local public goods effectively. This is a complex organizational challenge that cannot be solved through simple Band-Aid solutions.

Moreover, we would argue that this needs lớn be done in a way that adds democratic processes lớn systems-based urban management solutions. Otherwise, public services will be created and delivered in a top-down manner, which is what happens in autocratic regimes. Residents of these cities are just consumers or producers of goods and services, not citizens who bring energy, vitality, and ownership lớn their cities.

These ideas vì thế not emerge in a vacuum. Our work in promoting participatory urban governance in Bangalore, India, has seen more than thở 125,000 people engage in various campaigns over the past several years and involved more than thở 7,000 volunteers who have contributed close lớn 6 million person-hours. We have learned that sustainable change in urban governance cannot be achieved without a systems-based solution that is rooted in democracy. Take the following two examples.

Xem thêm: trường đại học công nghệ và quản lý hữu nghị

One of our first campaigns involved getting citizens lớn participate in the allocation of local funds for neighborhood development. More than thở 5,000 citizens took part in the exercise, and about 22 percent of the total local works budget was selected by citizens themselves. The exercise was a big success, but, because there was no formal provision for such citizen participation in ward-level planning, the effort might not be repeated. It worked because there was a resolute citizenry—some of whom worked with an elected representative willing lớn allow the efforts, while others found an administration willing lớn tư vấn their activities. But those factors won't always be present.

We ran a second chiến dịch lớn verify urban voter rolls, with the tư vấn of the Election Commission of India. Astonishingly, the error rates exceeded 50 percent, demonstrating how electoral systems can get hijacked over time. Corrupt politicians actually use the "legitimacy" that elections confer lớn take over the offices of government for private gain—moving democracy further away from the citizens and making them disenchanted with the idea of democracy itself. That can explain why citizens sometimes prefer a benevolent dictator lớn a dysfunctional democratic government. Participatory governance in our cities can be a powerful engine that can act as a political kindergarten for citizens and nurture in them a sense of agency in the overall democratic process.

Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen said, "Countries should not become fit for democracy, but become fit through democracy." In the journey across the river of democracy, India has gone only halfway. We therefore cannot reap the dividends of a full democracy. So we enviously look back at the efficient authoritarian regimes on one ngân hàng of this river and admiringly ahead at the mature democracies on the other. We need lớn push cautiously ahead by "crossing the river, feeling the pebbles with our feet," as an old proverb says.