Cities that are built for people
06/03/2021 11:41
Cities that are built for people
06/03/2021 11:41
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Cities and roads are being built for people, which means they should not only be comfortable and have a modern design, but also be based on an integrated urban development plan, be resistant to external influences, organically combine with "green" infrastructure, and promote public health. The path to this lies through the "green" development of cities.
First of all, modern approaches to the system of integrated urban planning are needed, in which it is necessary to take into account current and future risks. These include the process of climate change, the state of the ecology of cities and its relationship with the forecast of the growth of the urban population, vehicles, the pace of construction work and other factors. If cities are not developed along the green path, they, in particular, will be unable to fully function and may become a "trap" for the local population during periods of adverse external influences, such as hot summers (the effect of a "heat island" due to the abundance of concrete surfaces and paving), perennial droughts or pandemics like COVID-19.
The lessons of the pandemic have shown that people can no longer postpone solving problems that they already know about. Moreover, humanity must clearly predict possible risks and choose the path of development that will help minimize them. The path that leads through green development.
These issues were discussed at the international online forum "Towards New Opportunities: Uzbekistan’s Green Recovery after the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic", organized by the United Nations Development Program and the Government of Uzbekistan on 3-4 March 2021, together with a number of partners.
It is cities, thanks to the growing concentration of people per square kilometer, that today are the key places for the implementation of measures to combat climate change and other relevant risks. It is here, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, that the relationship between the state of the environment, economy and human health is most clearly traced. So, using this lesson, it is necessary to start post-image urban development according to the green scenario. This, of course, requires the pooling of resources and expertise of different parties - from government, city administration, private sector, public to international partners and green investments. What is today called an intersectoral approach based on consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders.
What can you start doing today to develop cities along a green path? A green economy is not only about the introduction of modern technologies, it is also a means of identifying, quantifying and evaluating ecosystem goods and services. That is, the opportunity to make any decisions on urban development, through the analysis of how this will affect the normal, and therefore environmentally friendly, city life today and tomorrow. Take, for example, the trend towards climate warming, which can no longer be ignored, with an increase in the load on cities.
Green urban development begins with short-term planning (1-5 years) and long-term development plans (5-20 years), including the construction and housing sectors. In urban planning, it is important to apply standards that will work not only today, but also taking into account the future - that is, how it will respond in 10-20 or more years. Today, such standards are already used in the world, in particular, LEED (Leadership Standards in Energy and Environmental Design) or BREEAM (Environmental Assessment Method of a Construction Research Center). Studying the existing experience, there is an opportunity to start applying it and see real results.
This is necessary because today the same construction work is carried out using technologies and processes that do not meet advanced standards, in particular, there are no special rules on the prevention of pollution on construction sites.
The modern approach to the processes of reconstruction and construction of infrastructure includes the creation of more green areas and parks. And this is based on clear calculations of the economic and social benefits that such practices of landscaping and landscape design give. That is, again, urban planning based on modern methods and approaches. Examples of such planning in their countries were given by participants in an international online forum.
Cities are also a colossal source of greenhouse gas emissions that affect the process of climate change. And if nothing is changed, as cities grow, so will emissions. The way is to make all new construction of houses and buildings energy efficient and carbon-free. How to do it - use the introduction of energy efficient technologies and solutions with zero emissions in the production of building materials, the same cement. Yes, this will require the study and implementation of these new technologies, but there is simply no other way. By destroying the environment, we are destroying our lives. And as the pandemic has shown, if we do not take the solution into our own hands, no one will do it for us.
As international experience shows, the development of their local production greatly contributes to the energy efficiency of construction equipment and materials. And here the state support of enterprises producing insulating materials, windows, insulated pipes and other products can play a role. This is a viable way to achieve greater energy efficiency in urban construction.
There is also a need for serious monitoring by a sufficient number of highly qualified inspectors for the implementation of new energy-efficient standards in construction and heating of buildings. This makes it possible to ensure real transparency and standardization of processes. Taking into account the current pace of construction in Uzbekistan, monitoring of such a level should be organized as soon as possible, because today many decisions on energy efficiency have been made in the country. Now it is important to analyze their observance at each construction site.
Transparency will make it possible to create a system of reliable data, the lack of which today reduces the effectiveness of urban planning. Moreover, effective urban development requires strategic urban planning based on scenarios to identify risks, understand interconnections and eliminate risk factors. It is also important to create synergies, networking and exchange of experiences between cities, which will provide a platform for learning best practices and obtaining practical technical advice. With the current level of digitalization, this is not difficult, the main thing is qualified specialists, a comprehensive analysis of successful practices, including local ones, and their implementation. This will lead not only to the successful and promising development of cities, but also to improve the processes of general governance in the country.
In the green development of cities, it is impossible to ignore such an aspect as waste management, which is one of the topical issues of the ecosystem, both of the cities themselves, as one of the main sources of waste, and directly of landfills for waste storage.
The modern preservation of environmental sustainability in any country is impossible without the creation of modern infrastructure and enterprises for the processing of industrial waste, stimulating the sustainability of their activities. For the effective creation of such an infrastructure, a number of stages were discussed during the online forum. These include: assessing all large waste landfills for the content of useful substances and conducting an inspection to ensure 100% compliance of waste with environmental standards; clarification of the rules for the classification of waste and bringing them in line with the best international practice, in particular, with the standards of the European Union; determining the profitability of processing and calculating the required investments; determination of options for processing or disposal of hazardous and toxic waste.
During the discussion of green scenarios for the development of cities, the participants of the online forum also presented successful technologies for organizing road infrastructure, industrial activities of cities, wastewater management, access to sources of green financing for the implementation of promising projects and other aspects that help advance the development of cities according to the green scenario. To create better conditions for the people living in them, to increase the resilience of cities to climatic and non-climatic crises, the possibility of which has been proven by the pandemic.
Having received the lessons of resistance to COVID-19, people in all countries of the world, including Uzbekistan, have a chance to understand the importance of development along the green path. Not doing this means, step by step, worsening the quality of your life and the life of your children and future generations. The later people take up green development, the more difficult it will be to return to the previous level of the situation, in particular, such as today. And it is only on us that we are so mature, literate and conscious adult population that we can begin to act here and now, not missing the situation. And the fact that the choice of a green path for the development of our country depends on each of us is eloquently evidenced by the examples given by the participants of the international online forum.
We add that in October 2019, the "Strategy for the transition of the Republic of Uzbekistan to a green economy for the period 2019-2030" was adopted.
The strategy sets targets to reduce emissions by improving energy efficiency, expanding the use of renewable energy sources, increasing resource efficiency and crop yields, and limiting land degradation.
In turn, the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated that public health is closely linked to climate and nature. The lessons of the pandemic are driving the world to start green recovery through sustainable use of natural resources and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Today, the importance of using the opportunity to overcome the crisis along a more environmentally friendly, low-carbon path is obvious, where economic recovery becomes possible without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
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