If we wish for a city to grow, what could be the factors used to analyse the growth? Connectivity, business, lifestyle, etc are the factors contributing to the development of a city economically, and infrastructure, public spaces, facilities, etc are the factors contributing to the development of a city architecturally. We tend to miss out on the supporting factors that provide thrust for development. Without this thrust, development is possible but not resilient. Many cities in the world miss out on some crucial factors that may not affect the development initially, but eventually end up being the reason for the city’s decline.
The supporting factors:
Your food may have all the required ingredients but if you miss out on salt, no dish will taste good. Similarly, a city may have all the necessary factors that lead to growth, but if the city misses out on analysing the factors that may lead to its decline, then there are chances that a city may fall quicker than expected. Infrastructure is important, but if it is not environmentally friendly, it will soon deteriorate. Connectivity is important, but if it is at the cost of pollution, then it is worthless. It is very important to focus on the supporting factors like awareness about the environment, sustainable measures for development, and most importantly, education. If the citizens are not educated enough about the factors that support development, then a city is bound to decline attempting to provide materialistic development.
Repeating the same mistakes:
Another cause leading to the decline of a city is the repetition of old mistakes. Cities must not apply development measures based on present scenarios. Instead, they must plan for a better future. Various measures of development were initiated in the past. Environmental change was not a major issue back then, hence, the development was haphazard and self-oriented. The development was relevant for that time and seemed sufficient to the citizens in the past. But we end up paying the price of that mistake today. We must rework all those aspects as they are not relevant today.
For example, cities had a sound drainage system proposed as per the rainfall in the 1970s. Today, all those drainage systems get clogged, and cities need to rework the entire drainage layout to fix this issue. But here is the funny part, the cities rework these drainage systems based on the rainfall and other issues considering the present scenario. This will result in a system failure again in the future. Cities need to foresee and plan their development schemes accordingly. In the past, the development of roads was a huge infrastructural boost to a city as it helped to improve connectivity. But today, citizens must be educated first about using public transport over private vehicles. Proposing new bridges, and new road networks may seem to be the face of development today for citizens, but the city will have to pay heavy prices for it in the future.
The process or the product?
Citizens need to understand what is more important, the process of development or the product. Cities that decline are often observed endorsing their product and avoiding the process through which they obtain the product. Urban Planning is a vast subject. There is more than one way of designing a product for the city. There are multiple options for designing a road network, drainage, infrastructure, and other facilities. The problem is that the governing bodies and executing bodies always show the product, like the development of a bridge, a station, or a public building that will become the face of their developed city. They avoid informing the citizens about the options they could have explored for better land use. The bridges or stations may have been developed by razing several trees on the site. The buildings may have been developed on eco-sensitive plots. The city will have to pay the price for it in future. Any sensible governing body will pay undivided attention to the process and explore the best possible development option for a better future for the city.
The Right Direction:
If your city has developed numerous buildings, roads, and other projects over the past few years, the city doesn’t need to be developing in the right direction. It is important to evaluate the quality of construction and development as well. If the development is not sustainable or resilient, it may soon become a liability for the city. Cities invest millions of rupees into development schemes every year and most of them fail to stand the test of time since they are not well-researched. If citizens wish to prevent their cities from declining, firstly, they need to stop applauding every other development scheme. They must first study and read more about why the scheme is proposed and what could be a potential threat to it in future. Citizens must criticize if they find relevant flaws in any development schemes. They must also raise their voice and shed light on their concerns for the betterment of the city. If all the development schemes go unopposed, the governing bodies are bound to take the easy way out. This might prove to be costly for a city in future.
References:
- Public space and the challenge of urban transformation in cities of emerging economies: Jeddah case study – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275119304020
- Modernist City Planning Ideals: A Roadmap to Decline? https://urbandesignlab.in/modernist-city-planning-ideals/
