Page 22 - drive a2b may 2020

sustainability

INCLUSIVE, RESILIENT

AND LOW-CARBON

is what cities of the future need to become.

Ani Dasgupta | Global Director, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Even before the current pandemic, leaves on cities will surely “echo help them build back better. We
we knew cities needed to change for generations,” as my colleague must do better to address massive
– to provide more jobs, to provide Rogier van den Berg writes. inequities in cities; integrate social,
a better quality of life, to be more economic and physical resilience
sustainable. The COVID-19 crisis We all need to do what we can together; and continue bending
has further exposed a deep lack of to help everyone through this. the trajectory on low-carbon
resilience and the vulnerability of In many places, the urban poor, infrastructure to ensure a healthier,
the urban poor. who face daily struggles to meet more livable world.
basic needs in the best of times,
One of the unintended face an impossible choice: work As we consider a world turned
consequences of this crisis, to put food on the table or follow upside down, we should remember
however, has been that we have lockdown orders. that a more resilient city is a more
seen, quite dramatically, that inclusive and more sustainable city
radical change is indeed possible. When cities move from crisis too. This shared vision of what cities
We are all being forced to adapt management to recovery, we can be should be a guiding light as
to new circumstances and the need to ensure recovery funds we emerge from the dark.
mark these extraordinary times not only help cities build back but
22 DRIVE A2B magazine · www.drivea2b.com.au · May 2020