Mentor’s Comment: The SDG 11 for sustainable cities addresses the challenges of urbanization and aims to ensure that all urban areas provide equitable opportunities and improved living conditions for their residents.

Presently, our Indian cities are termed “heat traps” due to unbalanced urban growth, which has led to the depletion of water bodies and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Urban areas are significantly warmer than rural counterparts, exacerbated by concrete and glass structures that retain heat. Studies indicate urban areas can be 5-7°C hotter than surrounding rural areas. Vulnerable groups such as delivery workers, auto drivers, and street vendors face severe consequences from heat exposure, with limited access to hydration and shade.

Today’s editorial emphasizes the need for the privileged classes to confront the realities of urban life, as their comfort-driven lifestyles, facilitated by technology, contribute to systemic urban issues. 

_

Let’s learn!

Why in the News?

Cities like Delhi that are exceeding 50°C, highlight how poor urban planning disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, who suffer the most from extreme weather conditions.

• This exacerbates inequalities and diminishes empathy towards those who serve.
• There is a need for a reconnection with urban environments, urging the elite to leverage their influence to advocate for equitable improvements in living conditions for all.

How does poor urban planning impact marginalized sections of the urban society?

• Delivery boys, who navigate city streets to meet the demand for online orders, face relentless heat with little relief.
• Auto drivers are directly exposed to the scorching heat of the day as they strive to earn a living.
• Construction workers are forced to work long hours outdoors, enduring the hot sun without adequate shade or hydration.
• Domestic women workers frequently travel by foot, and street vendors constantly battle the whims of the weather, with their earnings declining as foot traffic reduces due to the heat.

Other challenges of poor Urban Planning and Technology’s impact

• Disproportionate Effects: Poor urban planning primarily impacts marginalized communities, while the privileged remain largely unaffected.
• Technology-Induced Inaction: Comforts of technology, like air conditioning and delivery apps, insulate the elite from urban challenges, reducing their motivation to advocate for change.
• Reduced Outdoor Engagement: Grocery delivery and ride-hailing apps minimize the need to engage with the urban environment, fostering detachment.
  • The reliance on technology diminishes empathy towards service workers, as interactions are minimized.
• Comfort Trap: A tech-enabled lifestyle creates a false sense of luxury, leading to greater human domestication and reduced social engagement.
• Reactive Governance: Urban issues gain attention only when they affect the elite, prompting swift governmental action in affluent areas but neglecting broader community needs.
• Cycle of Decline: Heat waves and poor conditions drive people indoors, increasing reliance on technology and further deteriorating public services.
• Aggravated Inequalities: The integration of technology into urban living exacerbates existing inequalities and creates new ones, failing to improve overall quality of life.

What needs to be done?

• Breaking the Comfort Trap: Reconnecting with cities and communities is essential for collective survival, moving beyond a false sense of comfort.
  • The privileged must leverage their influence to engage with governments and improve urban living conditions.
• Confronting Urban Realities: Acknowledging the true state of urban areas is crucial for rebuilding equitable and livable spaces.
• Changing Urban Landscape: Increasingly frequent extreme weather events are diminishing public spaces and outdoor activities.
  • Allowing convenience to dictate urban development risks the decline of cities, making them less sustainable for all.