Building resilient cities

Divya Sharma

Cities are fast becoming hubs of population explosion, centres of rapid economic development and infrastructure growth. But along with this they face huge risks to the impacts of climate change. When it comes to India, the current urbanisation pressures like infrastructure and housing deficit, weak service delivery and incidence of poverty make its cities extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

According to the Census 2011 Report, 53 Indian cities have a population of more than a million and 25 of these are in the coastal states. Among the world’s top 10 in terms of population exposed to coastal flood hazard, two Indian cities, Mumbai and Kolkata, feature in the list.

The urbanisation trend is seen in smaller towns as well. Consider this, 31% of the current population in India resides in urban areas. By 2050, a billion people in India will live in cities. Most of this growth is expected to happen in small and medium-sized cities, not in mega cities.

Fortunately urban centres also have opportunities to play pivotal roles in mitigation and adaptation efforts. They have the potential to host innovations and policy responses that can go a long way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The concept of urban resilience gains importance here.

Defined as:‘ability of a city or urban system to withstand a wide array of shocks and stresses’, building urban resilience is increasingly being identified as a crucial development priority by stakeholders across the world. It is important to develop

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