Urban centres are the main hub for today and the future of mankind lies in cities. In the past two centuries, it is evident that a remarkable shift from primarily rural to primarily urban population has taken place. Earlier in the eighteenth century, not more than 5% of the global population inhabited the cities.[[i]]
As per UN World Urbanization prospect, in 2018, earlier the global urban population was 55% and expected to rise to 68% by 2050 and also in the past, new cities have come into existence and many more are expected to come into existence in coming years. These growing trends are likely to be more significant particularly in developing countries, where it is projected that 90% of additional 2.5 billion urban dwellers will be accommodated by the growth of secondary and tertiary cities by 2050.[[ii]]
India is experiencing rapid urban extension, public and private leaders at national, state and local level a looking for better ways to manage a larger population and strengthening its economic potential. The “Smart Cities Mission” is an ambitious effort to boost economic development, sustainable growth and technological innovation across 100 cities launched in 2015. Lessons taken from previously implemented national urbanization initiatives, the Smart Cities Missions promises to improve the infrastructure and build environment simultaneously in India’s expanding cities while offering a new path to urban fiscal health.[[iii]]
Most of the urbanization is self-motivated because of a reduction in the demand for manual labor in farming activities due to industrialization. This type of one-sided migratory process has caused rapid and haphazard urbanization. Due to this severe social, economic, physical and technical problems have emerged such as traffic concession, scarcity of resources, growth of slums, urban sprawl, housing shortages, congestions, air, water, and sound pollution, inefficient waste management, human health concerns, deteriorating and aging infrastructures, social segregation, and exclusion.[[iv]]
Around the world
World’s governments have created innovative and strategic approaches for smart city transformation to improve operational efficiencies, maximize environmental sustainability efforts, and create new citizen services. To tackle these critical challenges in a well-planned manner is essential for cities inspired to shift toward more sustainable measures among all stakeholders: citizens, businesses, and governments.[[v]] Most of the cities have already expended beyond its carrying capacity limit and have become unsustainable.
Recently in May 2019, Indonesia was in news for relocating its capital city from Jakarta to initially proposed Central Kalimantan and Palangkaraya due to traffic congestion, groundwater scarcity due to drilling and its skyscraper buildings also mean the city is drowning at an alarming rate. Another example is Egypt, in 2015 the government has announced it would attempt to replace their historic capital city of Cairo with a new smart city in an undeveloped area out in the desert some 40 km east of Cairo and Myanmar’s modern capital city Naypyidaw, since 2005, is one example that was criticized most for the idea of capital relocation has gone wrong, the old capital was Yangon. Malaysia has moved its capital from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya which was a planned city in 1999. Brazil also moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia near the Amazon, including South Korea and Kazakhstan. All these countries relocating their capital city because they expanded beyond its carrying capacity limit and become unsustainable.
Augumentation of green spaces
A study conducted by the United Nations emphasized that 54% of the global population lived in urban areas in 2014 which by conservative estimates has been rise up to 68% by 2050. In an Indian scenario, the surveys estimated that over 40 crore people would be added to its urban population. For the first time since India’s Independence, the absolute increase in population was more in urban areas than in rural areas, as per the 2011 census. The urban population increased from 27.81% in 2001 to 31.16% in 2011, with an absolute increase of 9.1 crores during the decade.[[vi]]
To serve a large urban population, more land is required for housing, infrastructure. Construction on those lands, however, often results at the cost of existing greenery. Abridged greenery means reduced capacity to absorb harmful gases, noise and adverse impacts from natural calamities like floods.
WHO recommendation for open space
Currently, developed countries have tried to adopt a general standard of green space of 20 sqm per capita. The World Health Organization recommends that cities must provide nine sqm. of undeveloped (unpaved) open space for every inhabitant. The WHO also has given suggestions for designing green area networks so that all residents live within a 15-minute walk to open space.
In India, the prevailing condition for open space per capita varies from 0.81 sqm. in Chennai to 278 sqm. in Greater Noida, which indicates the wide variation. Varanasi, Jaipur, Allahabad, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Noida cities of India have more than the WHO prescribed norm of 9 sqm. While the cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar and Bengaluru have less than the norm ranging from 1% to 5%. It is mentioned in the Greater Noida Master Plan that ample space for urban green should be provided with most of the residential sector designate a large area of land under the green area.[[vii]]
Mitigation strategies to address problems of urban green spaces
It is the known fact that urban vegetation or urban green areas can mitigate prevailing climatic conditions as well as adverse effects on human health and well-being. To address the problem of urban green spaces, it is essential to sketch out the urban green cover which could help in providing information on available urban green spaces; this would ultimately help to ensure that community, individual and policymakers could make the best use of existing green space. Maximizing, measuring and monetizing environmental benefits of urban green areas: these can presently produce huge ecological benefits that are currently being undervalued and could make a more significant contribution to mitigating against future climate change which is presently underdeveloped.
Existing challenges to urban green spaces
Urban areas serve as dynamic and complex entities that harbour heterogeneous mixture of artificial, environment, natural, semi-natural and modified habitats. Major concerns are related to rising in urban temperatures and heat stress-induced mortality and health problems. Increase in pollution due to decrease in urban green cover and rapid change in climate as the trees have the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change and pollution as well. Generation of urban heat islands effect (UHIs) due to rapid urbanization and haphazard urban sprawl have depleted green cover and increased urban vulnerability to climate change. Unplanned urban development can increase the risk of environmental hazards such as flash flooding. Unplanned urban development can increase the risk of environmental hazards such as flash flooding.
Conclusion
The above discussion has established that the rapid destruction of green spaces has induced by a variety of anthropogenic activities. Main reasons for decreasing urban green spaces are a low priority to green spaces, unawareness among the general public, the poor maintenance and lack of coordination among the allied bodies on green spaces. Adding to this, increasing population density adding more pressure on green spaces.
Climate change will be a considerable future challenge, and green spaces will play a role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. Parks can help in reducing air pollution and temperature regulation (creating micro-climatic conditions), generally for larger parks. There is a need for reconfiguration of existing infrastructures to provide green spaces, and other amenities to reduce heat. Parks play crucial functions around health and climate regulations and providing a way better future for the coming generation.
Endnotes
[i] Population Reference Bureau (2015). Human population: urbanization. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/
[ii] Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html
[iii] (2006) Ravi S. et. al. Building Smart Cities in India: Allahabad, Ajmaer and Visakahapatnam.
Brookings India and Brookings Institutions, Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/building-smart-cities-in-india-allahabad-ajmer-and-visakhapatnam-2/
[iv] (2015) UN Habitat. Habitat III issue papers 21—smart cities. Retrieved from http://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Habitat-III-Issue-Paper 21_Smart-Cities.pdf
[v](2015) PricewaterhouseCoopers. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/publications/2015/howsmartare_our_cities.pdf.Publications/Lesson Plans/HumanPopulation/Urbanization.aspx.
[vi] (2011b) Census of India Provisional population total paper 2 of 2011 India series 1. Retrieved from http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/prov_results_paper2_india.html
[vii] (2018) Draft Action Plan. Augmentation of green spaces in Srinagar city. Prepared by Town Planning Organization, Kashmir. Retrieved from http://www.sdasrinagar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Master-Plan-2035-ReportFinal.pdf