The New Delhi Urban Thinkers Campus focused on the complexities of inclusive prosperity.
“India is getting prosperous. The city is at the heart of that prosperity. But inclusiveness is key to sustainability of that prosperity,” Christine Auclair, World Urban Campaign project leader at UN-Habitat, told Citiscope on the sidelines of a recent Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) held here.
What are the nuts and bolts of making prosperity work for every urban Indian?
That core concern was the subject of animated discussions at the UTC, held 5-8 October. Dozens of these events are scheduled late this year and early next to provide wide-ranging public input in preparation for next year’s Habitat III conference on cities.
The Delhi UTC, which kicked off on World Habitat Day, took place at a strategic moment, just after the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Further, this new development framework includes a landmark goal pledging to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”
As has been a key priority at several UTCs, the three-day Delhi event was important because “it facilitated interactions between diverse groups of people who don’t always meet,” said UN-Habitat’s Auclair. “There was civil society, the youth, women, indigenous people, the homeless, the corporations, academic researchers and the media. The process of engagement among various partners is critical as part of preparation towards Habitat III.”
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What can observers in other countries take away from the Delhi UTC? The NIUA’s Shah noted that one key realization is that the “effective translation of India’s urban-sector strategies into visible realities need new social contracts between government, other key stakeholders and the civil society.”
Jagan continued: “The role of academic and research institutions in promoting innovation in Indian cities needs to be mainstreamed, and … partnerships and shared vision are critical in building the national agenda.”
One of the most interesting sessions of the Delhi UTC was an interaction with members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development. Pinaki Mishra, the chair of the committee, pointed out that by 2030, cities are likely to contribute 75 percent of India’s gross domestic product. In that context, Mishra noted, the notion of inclusive prosperity would be critical.
And what divides prosperous cities from others? Eduardo López Moreno, UN-Habitat’s director of research and capacity development, said a key ingredient is connectivity. “Connectivity of cities is fundamental to their prosperity,” he said. “But connectivity does not only mean roads. Cities that are better integrated with the provinces, the countryside, are more prosperous.”