Cities and Sustainability
Considering the question, “What does a sustainable city look like to everyone?” it’s likely that people would imagine various scenarios. Some might envision cities teeming with lush green spaces, clean air, and effective waste management systems. Others might picture cities powered by renewable energy sources and electric transportation, or ones with efficient public transportation networks and urban layouts facilitating diverse activities.
Certainly, these hypothetical cities represent sustainability in terms of their environmental aspects. However, to truly assess their sustainability, we must also consider other factors. Sustainability in cities isn’t solely determined by environmental management or robust public infrastructure. It involves additional dimensions that require simultaneous attention. It’s crucial to remember that the ultimate aim of urban development towards sustainability is to enhance the quality of life for residents without compromising environmental quality.
Developing a city with a focus solely on infrastructure or the environment may not fully address the need to enhance the quality of life for people in all aspects. As evidenced by numerous cities worldwide that have prepared public infrastructure systems, urban planning, good environmental management, and various technologies to support residents comprehensively, yet have a significantly lower population residing in them than planned. The issue suggests that sustainable urban development requires consideration of various aspects. Finding suitable principles as a framework for development should be one direction for analyzing and planning truly sustainable urban development.
Certainly, when discussing sustainable development approaches, utilizing the framework of the key foundational concept ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) could be adapted for holistic urban development. This includes planning to mitigate the environmental impact of cities, creating livable environments, promoting social equality among citizens, efficient governance, and inclusive participation. Let me provide an example of applying the ESG framework for preliminary sustainable development.
Environmental (E) aspect:
The focus is on developing the city’s environmental aspects with two objectives:
- Reducing the environmental impact of the expanding city, covering everything from good urban planning to alleviate transportation issues, managing pollution properly, including waste and wastewater, to addressing issues of reducing greenhouse gas emissions towards carbon neutrality or achieving net-zero emissions, which are globally significant.
- Enhancing the livability of the city’s environment, starting from urban master planning, appropriate city planning that meets people’s needs, increasing green spaces and recreational areas, managing basic public utilities including efficient and comprehensive public transportation systems, to designing infrastructure and city environments considering universal design principles for everyone’s use.
Social (S) aspect
Promoting equality in accessing services, benefits from the city, and basic rights of citizens, including developing the physical aspects of the city that align with creating a livable environment and catering to people’s activities in the city as mentioned above. It also includes promoting the well-being of residents by accessing quality health and social services, basic education, suitable housing, as well as access to suitable job opportunities and income, all of which contribute to improving quality of life.
Governance (G)
Establishing governance guidelines that listen to the voices of residents by fostering citizen participation in policymaking, complaint procedures, promoting collaboration between different sectors in the city, as well as communicating and disclosing information on various aspects of urban management operations, such as physical or social aspects, as well as allocating resources to support any activities that contribute to the development of the city’s communities.
All of these are just some examples of applying sustainable development frameworks to consider various dimensions in developing cities comprehensively, aiming to promote the transition from good cities to sustainable cities that elevate the quality of life for all residents in every aspect.
Because the sustainability of a city is not just about the environment, but it’s about the quality of life for everyone.
From: Dr. Nattawin Chawaloesphonsiya, PhD
Mission Earth Co., Ltd.
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