Vertical Cities: A Closer Look into Asia’s Upward Urban Growth and Challenges

SYLLABUS:

GS-1:

Urbanisation, their Problems and their Remedies

Focus:

A recent study by Nature Cities shows that Asian cities in particular are taking on much more vertical development than horizontal one. Such a trend leads to concerns with relation to infrastructures, environment, and efficient urbanisation in order to accommodate a fast growing urban populace.

source:researchgate

Introduction to Vertical Growth in Asian Cities:

  • Urbanisation Trends: Urban expansion in Asia is going up rather than outwards implying that vertical development is now the trend among cities across the region.
  • Study Insights: In Nature Cities, a new study shows that upward city growth is a global phenomenon and is applicable to more than 90 percent of over 1,500 cities.
  • Population Increase: Over the period 1990 to 2020 urban populations increased by two billion which call for fresh approaches to growth.
  • Infrastructure Challenges: Skyscrapers although are smooth space savers they put pressure on existing social foundations and environments.
  • Global vs. Regional Growth: This study therefore shows that East Asian cities, particularly the Chinese cities stand out as some of the world’s most vertically growing cities.
What is Vertical Urbanisation?

  • Definition: One of the solutions that should be implemented is constructing buildings taller and not extending their footprint to take more space.
  • FSI: Floor area ratio explains the building floor area in relation to the size of the land cover.
  • Efficiency: Expands contained area utilisation in fixed areas.
  • Example: Increase in FSI will result in more actual floor area of the building that can be constructed.
  • Impact: Optimises space in the urban areas where the activity of construction is highly congested.

Global Policy Frameworks and Initiatives:

  • Global Environmental Facility (GEF): Introduced the SC-IAP or ‘Sustainable Cities India Action Programme’, where pilot projects were to take place in places like Vijayawada, Mysore, Guntur, Jaipur and Bhopal with the help of UNIDO.
  • World Bank (WB): Spends $6 billion every year in urban solutions and New Urban Agenda or NIA related projects.
  • UNICEF’s Smart Sustainable Cities Framework: Offers advice on building cities for children in a manner that is both safe and environment friendly.
  • UNESCO’s International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities: Embodies developmental local governments for the creation of inclusive cities.
  • WWF’s One Planet City Challenge: Honours urban sustainability; implements 26 Indian cities in the challenge.

Global Recognition Programs:

  • UIA 2030 Awards: Organised by Union Internationale des Architectes and UN-Habitat to recognise works for UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
  • EU-India Partnership for Smart and Sustainable Urbanization: Contributes to the improvement of the cooperation between the EU and India in the sphere of urban sustainability projects.
  • We Love Cities Campaign by WWF: It mobilises public support towards sustainability in 26 Indian cities.

National Initiatives in India:

  • Sustainable Cities of India Program: This is the collaborative project of the National Institute of Urban Affairs and the World Economic Forum of ‘Net-Zero Cities’ through the ‘City Sprint Process’ and ‘Toolbox of Solutions’.
  • National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (2021-2030): Concerning urban sustainability the construction and demolition waste management Plants have been established at Chandigarh followed by pilot projects at Thane and Thanjavur.
  • National Action Plan for Climate Change: Imprints on India’s climate policies such as those relating to urban settings.
  • Long-term organisational commitment to net-zero emissions by the year 2070: This was declared at the UNFCCC COP26 in Partnership with Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.
  • Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT Mission: Improves urban structures and environment incorporating aspects of Clean India Mission & Prime Minister Housing Scheme- Urban.

Technological and Data Analysis:

  • Remote Sensing: To analyse different features of urban growth, researchers applied 2D and 3D GIS based on remote-sensing satellite data .
  • Microwave Scatterometers: Satellite scatterometers gave information regarding city volume that showed structural growth in the vertical plane.
  • Data Combination: Both 2D and microwave data proved a rich source for reviewing the patterns of urban growth.
  • Volume Over Spread: However, the research showed that, though lateral spread has restrained, volume of city structures has increased tremendously.
  • Research Milestone: No previous research has been conducted that investigates a relatively vast number of cities across the three decades in question.

Policy Considerations and the Organisation of Cities:

  • Understanding Growth Thresholds: Publication of the transitional densities where the cities switched from horizontal growth to either compact vertical growth or leapfrog growth is therefore sensitive to planning.
  • Indian Context: Indian cities depict dissimilar growth trends; however, big cities have depicted higher growth in the last few decades.
  • Regulatory Differences: Currently India has some strict rules for building construction that prevent the actual vertical growth in many cities compared with East Asia.
  • Localised Growth: It means that while New Delhi has taller buildings on its outskirts due to protected central zones unlike North America.
  • Global Comparisons: Urban development and dynamics differ significantly depending on local planning regulations, economic prospects, and physical topography.

Environmental and Climate Considerations:

  • Heat Island Effect: Lack of trees on tall structures pose a stumbling block to availability of greenery needed to counter the formation of urban heat islands which affects climates.
  • Wind Speed Impact: More built up areas may decrease wind speeds as demonstrated by Shanghai and this imply impacts on climate.
  • Sustainability Concerns: Vertical growth is another element of growth which must be addressed with a particular focus on climate impact and sustainability in mind.
  • Energy Demand: High rises require more energy and therefore need strong capacity for energy provision and distribution.
  • Trade-offs in Urban Design: Adopting the vertical layout saves on space but may cause problems as regards the use of resources or disaster prone areas.

Globalisation and Local Context:

  • Comparative Perspective: One should take into account local peculiarities when the study gives an Anglo-Saxon perspective on urban morphology.
  • Social Constructs in Urban Form: City shapes are affected by policies, economical conditions and history and not physical laws.
  • Central vs. Outskirts Growth: Major metropolitan regions such as Delhi ensure central expansion to provide protection hence sporadic development on the outskirts.
  • Diverse Urban Contexts: Empirical approaches used in formulating the growth strategies for the city be in line with conditions of the city and not generalised.
  • Resolution Limitations: The study might not also capture micro-level details of the urbanisation process of India especially the second tier cities.

Future of Urban Planning in India:

  • Need for Trained Planners: The profession has a role to play in dictating sustainable physical development of city spaces, something India’s urban spaces sorely need.
  • Climate Change Considerations: Climate resilience is a working aspect for urban planning to consider in light of global warming changes.
  • Inclusive Planning: Growth policies particularly in the urban areas should consider the desire of the people, comfort and sustainability.
  • Technological Integration: Such tools of data analysis can assist in improving the various decisions that are made in the planning of the cities.
  • Long-Term Vision: The given paper argues that the Indian cities have to abandon the fixation with the master plans and develop progressive strategies for urban growth.

Challenges in Indian Urbanisation:

  • Inadequate Master Plans: Most Indian cities are managed by master plans which are obsolete, and do not cater to the contemporary issues of the urban centres.
  • Rural-Urban Transition: India is experiencing most of its urbanisation in cities that are small towns and villages which fall outside the sample measure of this research.
  • Urban Efficiency: Agricultural based decentralised habitation of the developing countries like India is more sustainable and environmental friendly than the burgeoning urbanisation.
  • Policy Reassessment: The study acts as a wake-up call for India to rethink its policies on the high-rising buildings.
  • Need for Progressive Laws: Often it is considered necessary to revise master planning acts that take into account climate change as well as sustainability.
  • Rapid Expansion: Metropolises are expanding, and in many of the contexts horizontally development is limited, which contributes to the increase in the built altitude.
  • Infrastructure Strain: As the population density rises, pressure on the existing infrastructures, hence upgrades on facilities such as water, sewerage systems and roads becomes necessary.
  • Environmental Impact: Whereas vertical growth can control the issue of horizontal expansion, it has concerns in relation to energy consumption and utilisation of wastes.
  • Social Cohesion: High density can be beneficial in a way that increases social interaction while on the other hand may decrease the amount of space for each individual leading to poor quality of life.
  • Adaptation Needs: Such changes require cities to employ sustainable measures and innovate on urban planning in order to accommodate growth while maintaining people’s quality of life.

Way Forward:

  • Policy Revisions: Introduce changes to the common legal space concerning metropolitan planning and develop amendments for updating corresponding standards for the integration of sustainability and climate change adaptation.
  • Infrastructure Development: Provision good infrastructure such as an effective public transport system, energy and amenities for the vertical development.
  • Local Adaptation: Plan growth of the urban areas in a way that addresses the unique challenges of each individual city.
  • Technological Integration: Use big data analytics in order to make better decisions when planning the development of cities.
  • Training Urban Planners: Promote the qualification of new generations of skilled planners for efficiently solving new urban issues.

Conclusion:

Controlling the vertical growth of cities requires massive and proactive planning that focuses on environmental conservation, innovations in infrastructure and improving the standard of living of citizens. It is therefore important to find out how density can be achieved while at the same time being cognizant of the surrounding environment and social fabric in the rapidly growing cities for the sake of creating sustainable, healthy and inclusive urban environments for all.

Source:The Hindu

Mains Practice Question:

Discuss the consequences of enhanced vertical development in Asian cities in regards to the urban infrastructure and environmental concerns B. Propose the measures of policy that would make Vertical growth fit the sustainable and inclusive development of cities.

Associated Article:

https://universalinstitutions.com/chapter-12-urbanization/