EDITORIAL : THE HINDU, INDIA

The future of Asian cities

After two decades of rapid urbanisation, many Asian cities have become economically productive and prosperous. But have they become desirable places to live in? A report on the “State of Asian Cities 2010/11,” published by the U.N. Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), says ‘No' on the strength of an empirical study. This insightful report cautions urban planners that unless they are made more liveable and environmental damage is reduced, Asian cities will not be able to harness the urban dividend any longer. Over the past two decades, 45 million people have been added every year to the Asian city population, which in 2010 touched a staggering 1.76 billion. This transformation has created vibrant economies and reduced poverty levels. However, the benefits have been unevenly spread and a spatial divide has emerged at the regional as well as intra-city level. In India, for instance, while mega cities receive a good deal of investment, many smaller towns have suffered neglect through short-sighted state policies. Within cities, access to water supply and sanitation has improved, but affordable land and health facilities have become less accessible.

Urbanisation in Asia is set to accelerate. Based on current trends, this means the conversion of more than 10 square kilometres of fertile land to non-agricultural use every day. City planners, as the U.N. report points out with concern, have to build a minimum of 20,000 houses and mobilise an additional six million litres of potable water every year to meet basic needs. Such demands on resources may appear daunting, but restraining urban growth is neither a workable nor a wise option. A business-as-usual approach will not be sustainable. Neither a vastly expanded low-density city nor a linear urban-corridor pattern that depends on private motorised transport, a model that is popular in India, can be the answer. Instead, a network of dense nodes, linked by efficient and affordable public transport and served by an intra-nodal non-motorised transport grid, is an alternative to explore. When 215 cities across the world were surveyed using a ‘liveability index' — an evaluation of 39 aspects of a city including environment and safety — none of Asia's cities made it to the top 30. Only Singapore and four Japanese cities managed to get into the top 50. This does not augur well for Asia's urban future. If cities in the world's most populous continent by far want to sustain their economic competitiveness and secure their future, they must invest substantially in environmental and housing programmes.

Peruvian priorities

The Peruvian presidential election has shown what ordinary people, given voice by imaginative political leadership, can achieve in a democratic polity. With the incumbent, Alan García Pérez, constitutionally barred from contesting a second consecutive term, the campaign has been dominated by the leftist Ollanta Humala — a former army officer who had made a quiet start but then forged ahead by focussing on the country's huge inequalities and rampant corruption. With about 96 per cent of the votes counted, Mr. Humala led by 31.8 per cent to 23.4 per cent for Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the authoritarian former President Alberto Fujimori (currently serving a 25-year prison term for his involvement in death squads and corruption), and 18.7 per cent for former Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. As for the key issues, the huge inequalities persist despite 7 per cent aggregate growth, which is driven mainly by the exploitation of mineral resources. A third of the 29-million population lives in poverty, one fifth lacks access to running water, and one child in five is malnourished. The poor also suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change and Mr. Humala's rivals have had no option but to promise action. Former President Alejandro Toledo, who is also a candidate, says companies do not have a blank cheque to pollute. Mr. Kuczynski calls for an end to violence over the Southern Copper Corporation's $1 billion project in Arequipa province. The company has now suspended work.

Although all indications are that Mr. Humala will not win outright and the presidential contest will go into a runoff round on June 5, his commitments such as state ownership of natural resources are in line with a powerful social-democratic trend across the whole of Latin America. No fewer than nine major countries in this region have elected Left or centre-left leaders since 1999 — from Hugo Chávez of Venezuela to Cristina Kirchner of Argentina — in response to the political and economic destruction wrought by decades of brutal dictatorships and economic policies enforced by international financial institutions. The progressive policies have led to heartening social outcomes. On a continent that has some of the world's worst inequalities, primary school completion rates are now close to 100 per cent. Robust counter-cyclical government spending has mitigated the effects of the global economic crisis. Further, bodies such as the Union of South American Nations have strengthened multilateral cooperation. Latin America's working people are asserting their priorities in no uncertain terms and there are lessons here for developing countries in Asia and Africa.