Sustainable development
Cities now house more than half of the world’s population. Urbanisation is one of the world’s most disruptive developments, with that percentage anticipated to climb to 68 per cent by 2050.
Cities are already responsible for 70% of global garbage and consume over 80% of the world’s energy. While rising urbanisation has sparked inventive solutions in various areas, including housing, transportation, and infrastructure, one crucial factor is sometimes overlooked: food security and nutrition.
Unfortunately, city life frequently leads to unhealthy nutritional habits. Food waste is also prevalent in urban settings. Urban sprawl also takes place at the expense of natural resources and green spaces, making urban communities more vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. We must rethink how cities work if we want to develop healthy, sustainable cities for future generations. The FAO’s Urban Food Agenda aims to help policymakers around the world integrate food systems into city planning.
Here are some ideas for making cities healthier and ensuring sustainable development of them
Promoting urban agriculture
The majority of people associate agriculture with rural places. But did you know that urban agriculture is practised by over 800 million people around the world? Urban agriculture can play a significant role towards the sustainable development of cities.
We can reduce supply chains and the quantity of CO2 emitted when transporting food from rural to urban areas by protecting agricultural land in urban areas. Producing and selling more fresh food in the city reduces the environmental effect of food distribution, increases the potential for inclusive local supply chains, and improves access to healthful meals through farmers’ markets.
FAO has been assisting the departments of Nario, Antioquia, and Boyacá in Medellin, Colombia, to construct community gardens. More than 7 500 families have benefited from these gardens, which have enabled them to raise their own food and sell the surplus. Colombia is presently considering a variety of political, legal, and governmental moves to promote similar schemes across the country due to the project’s success.
Encouraging healthy diets
The types of food available and their price have a big impact on people’s lifestyles and eating habits. The food offered in cities with a broad selection of fast food and convenience options is generally energy-dense and highly processed. This is highly threatening to the sustainable development of cities. This is becoming more common. Between 1998 and 2012, consumption of processed foods with limited nutritional value increased by 5.45 per cent yearly in lower-middle-income nations. In developing countries, national governments and city administrations must deal with undernutrition and the health consequences of obesity, which is expanding at an alarming rate.
However, all cities can do more to promote healthy eating habits. Singapore used the occasion in 2014 to evaluate its food outlets and develop the Healthier Dining Program. Food businesses were urged to utilise more nutritional products, such as oils with lower saturated fat content, and offer lower-calorie meals as part of a subsidy programme. The number of healthier food options had increased in just over a year.
Urban transport systems need to become more sustainable
Giving priority to bicycles over cars, as in Copenhagen, where a bridge exclusively for bikes has been built or introducing bus rapid transit (BRT) with dedicated bus routes, as in Johannesburg, or cable cars as part of urban public transportation systems to link hilly and often low-income urban communities to the city, as in Medellin or Ljubljana. These small changes can impact the rate of sustainable development of a city positively.
Nature-based solutions work for cities, too
In urban climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, nature-based alternatives are increasingly being studied. Greened rooftops and streets in New York City, for example, can better control stormwater runoff and improve the urban climate hence helping the sustainable development of the city. China pioneered the concept of ‘sponge cities,’ which are cities with open spaces that can absorb floodwater and avoid disasters in an environmentally responsible manner. A rising variety of tools, such as this one developed by UNU-EHS scientists, are assisting cities during the implementation phase
Community networks can support urban disaster resilience
Disasters such as floods and storms have the most maximum impact on heavily populated metropolitan areas. While the need for adequate building codes and land-use planning has long been acknowledged in lowering disaster risks, social ties and community networks are becoming increasingly important for overall sustainable development. When it comes to devising solutions for supporting the elderly during heat waves, for example, community assistance is just as crucial as good infrastructure
Cities, countries and international bodies need to collaborate
In cities and outside of them, urban sustainable development must be a key focus. In order to direct urban planning and make it more sustainable and inclusive, Brazil created a City Statute and established a Ministry of Cities in 2003. On an international level, countries are joining together, as seen by the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which brought together 167 countries to focus on sustainable urban development and establish the “New Urban Agenda.” While fantastic ideas are being implemented in cities all across the world, it is partnerships like this that may make a worldwide difference.
Boosting green spaces for healthier environments and improved lifestyles
Green places are vanishing as metropolitan areas continue to grow, this is highly dangerous to the sustainable development of a city. Trees and green spaces are essential for improving air quality, reducing urban temperatures, stimulating physical exercise, and increasing general health, as well as for aesthetic reasons. Air pollution, rising local temperatures, and sedentary lifestyles can increase the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory ailments, obesity, and the spread of novel viruses, among other things.
To reduce pollution and promote healthy diets and physical exercise, food systems must be organised and maintained in concert with the natural environment.
The battle to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is frequently said to be won or lost in cities, which is why SDG 11 – making cities inclusive, safe, and sustainable – is so critical. The FAO’s Urban Food Agenda assists governments and organisations in bridging the rural-urban gap and promoting long-term food system thinking. We can assure that “no one and no place” will be left behind if we can achieve this and continue to promote sustainable development in urban areas in intelligent and ground-breaking ways.