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Do You Know ?

The world's urban population will double every 38 years. The UN forecasts that today's urban population of 3.2 billion will rise to nearly 5 billion by 2030, when three out of five people will live in cities. Year 2000 : 18 megacities;

conurbations like Tokyo, NY City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, Sao Paulo and Karachi.

Year 2007 : 23 megacities with 9 in Asia. China’s urban population was 45%

Year 2015 : 36 megacities

Year 2025 (Far Eastern Economic Review) Asia will have at least 10 megacities including Jakarta (24.9 m), Dhaka (26 m), Karachi (26.5 m), Shanghai (27 m), Mumbai (33 m), and Lagos (15m).

Chinese experts forecast that about 1 billion people or 70% of the population will live in the cities by 2035.

World Urbanisation(UN Habitat, 1996)

• 1950: 10% of urban population

(BR=38%)

• 2000: 60% of urban population

(BR=82%)

• Urban population rate: 60 million /

year

• 2015: 10% in 26 mega-cities (18 in

Asia)

• Stabilization around 85%

Investments in infrastructure of

cities

Cities seem destined to just go on growing and growing!

Mexico City has grown from 12 to 18 million in 30 years. Jakarta grew 8 million in just 15 years. China’s urban population grew from 192 million to 375 million in 16 years.

World Megacities - Population in Millions

1975 2000 2015 Projected

TokyoNew YorkShanghaiMexico City São Paolo

19.815.911.411.210

TokyoMexico CityMumbaiSão PaoloShanghaiNew YorkLagosLos AngelesKolkutaBuenos AiresDhakaKarachiDelhiJakartaOsakaMetro ManilaBeijingRio de JaneiroCairo

26.418.118.117.81716.613.413.112.912.612.311.811.7111110.910.810.610.6

TokyoMumbaiLagosDhakaSão PaoloKarachiMexico CityNew YorkJakartaKolkutaDelhiMetro ManilaShanghaiLos AngelesBuenos AiresCairoIstanbulBeijingRio de JaneiroOsakaTianjinHyderabadBangkok

26.426.123.221.120.419.219.217.417.317.316.814.814.614.114.113.812.512.311.91110.710.510.1

Source: State of the World Population 200,1 Chapter 3, UNFPA

The world's megacities account for - 2 % of the Earth's land surface, - 75 % of industrial wood, - 60 % of human water use, and - 80 % of all human produced carbon emissions and these figures suggest that the struggle to achieve an environmentally sustainable economy for the 21st century will be won or lost in the world's urban areas.

Mega-cities have extreme cases of poverty; people deprived of basic amenities are trying to survive in slums and squatter settlements.

According to a UN report, by 2050, it is estimated that  that the world's population will be nine billion people, and of those 3.5 billion will be living in slums and squatter settlements.

Tokyo Beijing

Rapid urban growth

Rapid urbanisation

demands and supply of resources

Urban problems

housingwater supply

transport

Pollution/ Environmental degradation

Imbalance

Using these labelsShow

Cause-effect relationship

Strain on resources

1. Rapid urbanisation and rapid urban growth have resulted in major problems because with rapid increase in urban population, there is imbalance between the demand and supply of resources in the cities.

2. Rapid urban growth puts strain on resources such as

• Housing (socio-economic and envt problem)

• Transport (envt physical)• Water supply (envt problem)• Pollution (environmental degradation)

•Rural-urban migrants •Local Resident population

•Government

Quality of life affected for all living in the city

Govt have to tackle the problemsFinancial resourcesStrategies in placeDecision-making

Policies and implementation

Inadequate Housing • authorities are unable to provide housing for the rapidly growing urban population

• houses are expensive and small due to high demand• poor urban dwellers cannot afford and end up living in squatters

Squatter settlements are settlements built without official permission. These dwellings are constructed by any available material such as cardboards, tin, straw, mats, or sacks. They have no sanitation, water, or electricity (Brunn and Williams 1993, 34).

• substandard living conditions – overcrowding and health problems

• poor structural quality of housing • lack of proper sanitation• inadequate access to safe water• no legal residential status• for example Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro

housed between 60,000-150,000 people

849 000 squatters in Tondo, Philippines

4. Slums• Legal tenancy/ legal ownership status• But dilapidated, thus substandard housing• Near city centres• Facilities in a state of disrepair or need

maintenance• Often overcrowded likelihood of health

problems is high e.g. diseases such as tuberculosis spread quickly

• E.g. Chinatown in S’pore in the 60s

5. Homelessness

The people in the slums and squatter settlements live in squalid living conditions; they are exposed to risks to life and health from poor sanitation, air pollution, crime and violence, traffic accidents, and natural disasters (Cities in Transition 2000).

Percentage of Population Living In Slum and Squatter settlements

Developed Countries 6

Developing Countries 43

North Africa 28.2

Sub-Saharan Africa 71.9

South-central Asia 58

Southeast Asia 28

East Asia 36.4

Western Asia 33.1

Latin American and Caribbean

31.9

Oceania 24.1

Shortage of water supply• low, variable rainfall, leading to groundwater depletion• increasing affluence and wastage of water in developed countries

• growing urban population in the developing countries eg Mumbai city needs 4 billion litres of drinking water daily but

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)can only supply 3.3 billion litres a day.

No access to piped water• use of common standpipe by a community

Poor quality of water due to:• inadequate treatment plants• pollution• pipes are old and rusty and not maintained - also leading to leakages

Increase in traffic volume • greater affluence and increased car ownership, including more two-car families• increase in volume of goods being delivered• more people commuting to work

Inadequate transport system• insufficient public transport services• leading to overcrowding and longer waiting time • leading to lower labour productivity Poor conditions of existing transport facilities• old vehicles prone to breakdowns• pothole on roads, poor tarred roads

A traffic jam in Bangkok

A traffic jam in Beijing

1. Inadequacy of water supply in urban settlements• Where rainfall is low• Where the groundwater table is depleting • In developing c’tries – many urban dwellers have no

direct access to piped water; use outflow pipes or if there is piped water, it is a communal standpipe

2. Poor quality of water• Not enough treatment plants - water not safe for

drinking• Old rusty pipes used – contaminate the piped water• Brings health threats• E.g. 1995 – at least 220 million urban dwellers in

developing c’tries did not have a ready source of clean drinking water

Air Pollution• increased vehicles on roads - emission of carbon monoxide, sulphur

dioxide and dust particles to air• lead to respiratory problems for elderly and people with asthma

Land Pollution• increase in domestic and industrial waste eg in Guaiba, Brazil, 40 000 kg of waste is generated and 70% can be recycled. • inefficient refuse collection Water Pollution• dumping of sewage and garbage into canals and riversNoise Pollution• from traffic, construction and industries leading to stress and hearing problems

Indiscriminate dumping of rubbish into nearby rivers

Urban Unemployment• mismatch of skills; the rural migrants do have appropriate skills

to be gainfully employed.• urban poverty; they subsist on $2 a day• employed in the informal sector which supplies up to 60 % of employment and 30 % of economic output.• involved in vices eg drugs peddling and/or prostitution

Urban Problems : Urban Problems : Allocation of Urban Space To Various Urban Allocation of Urban Space To Various Urban Functions Functions Surbana International Consultants, an offshoot of the Housing and Development Board strongly believe that Singapore is capable of transforming all urban challenges into a liveable future : - urban solutions to reduce and manage greenhouse gas emissions, promote greater accessibility, develop a wider range of transport options, conserve natural resources by using land more wisely and manage water resources, - master-planning to guide growth. The challenge is not to sprawl, but to continue to grow and create better suburbs and stronger cities – to focus on rebuilding the old before building new.

The trend is towards more compact development that relies on existing infrastructure.

“Reconstruction, redevelopment, reinvestment and re-invention.”

Master Plan 2008 (Draft)

A statutory land use plan that URA develops to guide Singapore's development over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed every five years, and details the land uses and development intensities for land parcels in Singapore. It translates broader, longer-term development strategies formulated as part of the Concept Plan, a plan that sets the direction for Singapore some 40 to 50 years ahead.

Solutions To Urban Problems Solutions To Urban Problems

Water Supply

Water restrictions eg Mumbai cuts 30% of its water supplies

Building more new reservoirs

Buying water from other sources

Construction of desalination plants to convert seawater to drinking water

More water treatment plants be built and old rusty pipes replaced

Installation of water purification system at home to improve quality of water

Education on water conservation eg rain water harvesting

Severe water shortages in India and China can cause an epidemic and 40% of the population can be wiped out. Water shortages may lead to conflicts and adversely affect agricultural and industrial production.

Granting housing subsidies to meet housing shortage

Construction of low-cost and low-rise housing eg the Cingapura Project, Sau Paulo (Brazil)

Improve living conditions of squatters through upgrading projects eg the Bustee Improvement Scheme (Calcutta), and sites and services schemes eg Bairro Project, Rocinha (Rio de Janeiro)

Control rural-urban migration to reduce overcrowding in the city

Housing

Transport

Measures to ease congestion: • Construction of transport infrastructure – highways, expressways, urban motorways (city rings) and railway links• Construction of underground transport system eg. Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore• Urban dwellers encouraged to use public transport to reduce traffic congestion

To ease congestion in cities of developed countries, road and rail networks have extended underground to transport masses of commuters to and from work.

The MRT is a preferred choice of transport for many.

Pollution

Ways to curb pollution:• Impose fines • Improve waste disposal system by

•regular collection of refuse•increase number of sewerage pipes

• Construction of light rail transit or trams that run on electricity

to reduce air pollution• Control of expansion of car population eg Certificate of Entitlement

• Certificate of entitlement as practised in Singapore• Reduce noise pollution by

•piling work limited to certain daylight hours•growing of trees as noise buffers along expressways•construction of more underground transport

• Increase public awareness of health, hygiene and ills of pollution

Micro-enterprise development and the linkage of such enterprises to the formal sector which constitutes a market for higher margin goods and provides finance. Best practice in micro-enterprise development fosters sustained growth of such enterprises by channelling support, often through apex NGOs, to skills development, technology acquisition and access to credit at market rates.

Support Micro-enterprises