Resources, Markets, Lifestyles and the Future of Cities

Cities represent a vital level of social organization and interaction and are actually the physical (space) and institutional (systems) platform where knowledge is created and diffused, infrastructure is developed, social structures are instituted and interactions between people, technology, economy and environment are taking place. Global economic production is now concentrated in cities. According to a report of the UNEP International Resource Panel some 80% of global GDP is produced in cities on just 2% of the land surface, though cities depend on the flow of resources from near and far. Cities have been growing steadily over the past 150 years, and by 2007 over half of the world’s 7 billion people lived in urban settlements. By 2050, more than 6 billion people (about 70% of the world’s population at that time) are expected to be living in cities, with most growth in developing countries.

In developing countries - where the second urbanisation wave is well under way - cities are facing the need to invest on a massive scale in new urban infrastructures to meet the rapidly growing needs of expanding urban populations and economies. It is estimated (UNEP IRP) that 60% of the built infrastructure required to meet the needs of the world’s urban population by 2050, still needs to be constructed! And this infrastructure should, first and foremost, serve the people living in cities; and furthermore the only way that this infrastructure could be developed is by the active participation of markets and the private sector. A very dynamic system is therefore emerging in which the characteristics of cities are affecting and get affected by individual, institutional and corporate decisions/choices. And while the decisions of institutions are emerging via policies, the decisions and choices of individuals are emerging via lifestyles and the decisions of corporations via market behaviour. And where is the environment in this equation?

Natural resources, and their flows, represent an aspect of natural environment that could be used to understand the relation between cities, environment, markets and lifestyles. Cities are subject to complex dynamics caused by the process of urban metabolism which itself provides the necessary framework to understand the interactions of natural and human systems within a specific space. Within this dynamic environment the ability of cities to develop in a sustainable way, as well as the resilience of cities to withstand the impacts of natural and social evolution and change, depend predominantly on the flow and efficient management of resources.

This flow of resources at the city level is furthermore affected by: i) the behaviour of economic agents; ii) the consumption patterns of individuals and organizations (public and private); iii) the nature of stakeholders’ participation on decision making; and iv) systems of infrastructure (both “soft” and “hard”) and technology. 

This is why, how cities manage their resources has a critical impact both on the global and local environment, as well as on the well-being of the urban population that benefit from using the resources and at the end on the ability of the cities to develop on a sustainable way. Cities need to set specific targets to use resources more efficiently and formulate plans to achieve them and provide an enabling framework to spur resource efficiency, micro and city level innovations. And they need to do this with the active participation of citizens and the support of the markets.

Cities can become THE agents of change. Cities have agglomeration benefits that drive innovation, business development and job creation. Higher densities that characterize most cities combine greater productivity and innovation with lower costs and reduced environmental impacts, thus delivering the benefits of urbanisation more sustainably. Cities that have political maturity and economic stability are in a position to maximize these agglomeration benefits. Infrastructure investments – in transport and buildings are critical. 

A key driver of change in all the elements of this complex relation (cities, citizens, markets) is to prioritise sustainable production and consumption as this is the most transformative of the sustainability agendas. The application of a circular economy practice at the city level is one of the best ways to achieve sustainable consumption and production and therefore promoting a more sustainable future in cities. As Jacqueline Cramer has successfully said “the basic principle of the circular city is that all product and material streams can be brought back into the cycle after use, and become resource for new products and services”. A circular economy at the city level is therefore not only about recycling but also about, reusing, remanufacturing, recovering, repairing and refurbishing.

And in this context, a sharing economy is key. Such economy is based on product-service systems, sharing and swapping practices that decouple ownership of an asset from its use, while reinstalling social interactions and trust within a community of people having similar interests. Sharing practices and models are typically less resource intensive as less products are produced to provide the same service to more people. New markets, new interactions and new lifestyles will emerge from sharing practices.

Another element that will define future success, is the adoption and integration of technologies (including Information and Communication Technologies) at the level of daily life. While technological solutions are not panaceas, they could provide (if used correctly) a number of benefits for the human and natural systems.

But more important than technological interventions is a city’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint and a recognition of the social dimension that requires interventions to be equitable, participatory and sensitive to local contexts. And last but not least, more important than anything is the willingness of all of us as citizens to prioritise the public good over private interest and understand that sharing a planet provides a number of benefits but requires also a number of responsibilities.