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NewsDay

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Young people part of the solution in urban development

Opinion & Analysis
While urban planning and development has always been a preserve of the trained, tried and tested seasoned professionals, the youths come in handy as being driven by passion, motivation and inspiration to see things right, get them done and take risks.

BY Peter Makwanya  WHILE it is clear that urban areas and cities are proving to be places of choice for both the young and the old around the world, the inclusive nature for prominent actors is not enough without strategically and actively situating the youths in this whole development discourse. Due to the fact that Africa is rapidly urbanising while cities and urban areas are having enormous and powerful pulling powers, it is the Africa that we all want which is going to be the main driver towards sustainable urbanisation.

While urban planning and development has always been a preserve of the trained, tried and tested seasoned professionals, the youths come in handy as being driven by passion, motivation and inspiration to see things right, get them done and take risks. As the overall developmental urbanisation discourse is centred on mitigation and adaptation, this will not be done in isolation but taking into account sustainable development goals as key and transformative. While the environment cannot be improved in the conditions of poverty, SDGs 1 (no poverty) and two (no hunger) form the basis of the developmental paradigm.

These contribute to food security, leading to sustainable development in the building of sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), complemented by SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing) including SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure). All these goals are driven by the instrumental action-oriented force of SDG 13 (climate action). Any serious planning nation is governed and driven by vision, say five, 10 or 15 years in which the youths will be the point of focus as they are expected to live longer. This is not to say that the old have no meaningful role and contribution to make, but they would provide guidance, direction, mentorship and maturity.

To make cities resilient, safe and inclusive, young people’s views need to be taken into account because they are the future and will bear the brunt of future climate change impacts. People cannot shy away from the fact that the world is increasingly becoming urban, against the background of climate change increasingly driving people, especially the youths from rural areas into cities in search for work, food, water and sustainable livelihoods. At the same time, urban areas have also become hotspots of climate-induced heatwaves, floods, droughts, landslides, and storms, among others.

Today, rural urban migration continues around the world, especially in developing countries while increasing pressure on the holding capacity of the land and ecosystem services. Due to inherent migration patterns, Africa is projected to have more people living in cities and urban areas than rural areas due to the lack of meaningful economic activities and due to the assumption that the grass is always greener on the other side. Young people are attracted by the cities’ bright lights, technological development, innovations and job prospects for a better tomorrow. In occupational discourses such as construction opportunities, the common sight is of the youths while they are also tech savvy, creative and have diverse skills.

Furthermore, mainstreaming the youths’ aspirations and expectations in the urban programmes’ national development plans is key, instrumental and life-changing. In this regard, it is mostly the youths whose lives need to be transformed as compared to the elderly who are deep into their horizons and in their twilight. Any meaningful planning and budgeting should have more focus on the living, the promising and the future rather than history.

According to urban growth statistics, 1,5 million people are added to the global urban population every week — that is approximately the size of Harare. The rapid movements to urban areas create vices such as informal settlements, contributing to more carbon emissions, crimes and drug abuse, all associated with the youths. It is also believed that the youths are in favourable positions to protect the urban areas’ blue and green spaces composed of natural assets like wetlands, recreational parks, roads, wastes (solid and liquid), town gardens, a wide variety of bird species, tree species and gardens, among others.

It is also believed that when affected by climate change impacts in towns and cities, the youths stand a better chance to make climate change their main concern. The youths are keen, determined and intrinsically motivated to make the changes they desire.

Furthermore, it is the young people who account for a large part of the population living in informal settlements and cities worldwide, who will bear the brunt of the climate change impacts and hazards in future. Therefore, they need to be part of the solution while contributing to resilient building and achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially SDG 11, building of sustainable cities and communities. This goal is instrumental in making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Young people should be sound and relevant by influencing the management and planning processes to build climate resilient cities and deal with the associated challenges. They can only do this by fighting all forms of greenwashing, double-speaking and failure to walk the talk by the elders.

  • Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on: [email protected]

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