The complex network of Sustainable Urban Development.

From the poignant stories prefaced on our screens to the various climatic changes lingering in our midst, the discourse on sustainable urban development has become increasingly imperative.

Climate change is outstripping our attempts to control it. With our universe indebted to greenhouse gases and the disturbing chronicles we bear each day, there’s a warrant for sustainable urban development.

Climate change is a recurring theme in 2024, evident from the inundation in the European regions of Russia and Kazakhstan, to the stretching coastlines of the Persian Gulf, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the shores of Africa where Tanzania and Kenya are also engulfed in this flooding crisis. There is an epiphany of the culmination of these climatic changes. At the expense of this are human life and properties, and traces of these casualties can be drawn in these nations.

Today, the gusto of migration and globalization has fiercely augmented the number of people living in our cities, creating repercussions nearly impossible to repair. Accra, the capital of Ghana, is labeled as one of the cities undergoing an explosive expansion by the World Health Organization, with a yearly population increase of 2%.

With the influx of people in the city, there’s a high demand for resources, leading to the accumulation of climate change and the impacts of natural disasters. The city has begun reaping the repercussions of this trajectory. At the outset of 2024, IQAir unveiled a horrendous revelation of Accra’s air quality. In an assessment against WHO’s annual air quality guideline value, Accra exceeded this standard by 6.4 times, recording a concentration of 2.5 particulate matter [1].

This situation calls for the exigency of sustainable urban development. The United Nations has established 17 diverse goals that serve as a framework for tackling global challenges, with sustainable urban development encapsulated in Goal 11 of the SDGs. Sustainable urban development, just like every rebuilding endeavor, faces a maze of positives and negatives.

In 2016, in efforts towards sustainable building, the government of Ghana introduced a bus system locally coined as the Aayalolo Bus Rapid Transit. It was glaring how this paradigm will be for the country’s sustainability and environmental health. One aspect of this model was its subsidized price, but Ghanaians did not fully embrace this transport system. The Minister of Transport, Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, in his precept in 2023, inferred that the buses were not working as envisaged by the World Bank [2].

Dissenters adhered to their old creed, using their private cars or privately owned commercialized vehicles. It highlights the challenges of introducing change and the resistance that often accompanies it, especially when it disrupts established norms and habits. There’s a precept that says change is not for the softhearted; it is believed people feel secure in their old dogma and discern change as a threat. This trait becomes one of the pitfalls for urban sustainable development.

Schemes for sustainable urban development require significant financial resources for implementation. Despite numerous projects initiated in Ghana, there are still many yet to be accomplished. Ghana, being a developing country, faces constraints due to limited financial resources for governance. This creates a barrier hindering the progress of sustainable urban development, as the country's financial resources are distributed among various factions. Unlike many developed countries, nations similar to Ghana struggle to engage effectively in sustainable development.

However, with the ratchet and sentiment in our cry on the streets because of the mass heat dwelling on our skin, the exigency for sustainable urban development becomes pertinent. Climate change is outpacing our efforts in controlling it, and adaptation and mitigation as proposed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change becomes the magic algorithm for balancing the ecosystem.

Sustainable urban development introduces sinks - plants, water bodies, and soil; these imbibe the Greenhouse gases hovering on our heads. Projects like parks, green roofs, and renewable resources enhance urban sustainability, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

Waste has become a pervasive issue in our cities, with littering noticeable at nearly every stretch. Circular economy, a branch of sustainable urban development, can be used in waste-stricken environments. These proposed solutions for waste reduction, recycling, and upcycling can be used to promote environmental sustainability, minimize landfill usage, and mitigate environmental pollution. Out of this countenance, this sustainable edifice creates an economic and healthier atmosphere for the populace, where good air and employment become pillars of this project.

From the bustling streets of Accra to the coastlines of Ghana and beyond, the consequences of inaction are palpable. In the façade of our climatic predicaments, our sustainable endeavors must outweigh the impediments to create an equilibrium in the ecology. The journey towards sustainability is not without its obstacles. It requires collective action, political will, and investment in both infrastructure and education to reach the sustainable feat.

References

IQAir. (2024, February 4). Accra Air Quality Index (AQI) and Ghana Air Pollution | AirVisual. Retrieved from https://www.iqair.com/ghana/greater-accra/accra
Ghana News Agency. (2023, March 29). Model of running Aayalolo buses not working—Transport Minister. GNA. https://gna.org.gh/2023/03/model-of-running-aayalolo-buses-not-working-transport-minister/