Poverty, pollution, infrastructure are key urban challenges
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SINGAPORE: Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan has singled out poverty, pollution and poor infrastructure as key urban challenges.
He said an unfavourable global economy can add uncertainties and slow development.
Mr Lee called on mayors to seek practical solutions to urban problems ahead of the World Cities Summit in Singapore this week.
"Worldwide, 828 million people live in slum conditions, lacking basic services such as drinking water and sanitation. This number is increasing by six million each year to hit 890 million by 2020," he said.
"In many cities, we are trying to catch up with adequate infrastructure. In short, we are behind the curve."
The United Nations forecasts that by 2025, there will be 37 megacities in the world. Five years after that, half the people on the planet will be living in urban areas.
This means spiralling pressure on the environment - more waste and pollution.
To stay ahead, many have looked towards Singapore as a model.
Danasiri Amarathunga, a Sri Lankan mayor, says the Republic provides lessons for developing cities.
"There are a lot of things that you can learn from Singapore. Especially the public housing," he said. "There are a lot of shanty areas, squatters in Colombo city. We'll have to move them out, (but) we have to keep them inside Colombo city also for their work purposes."
"If we can go for high-rise flats like Singapore does, that will help the community as well as all these people in the city," he added.
- CNA/wm -
Originally posted by QX179R:
SINGAPORE: Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan has singled out poverty, pollution and poor infrastructure as key urban challenges.
He said an unfavourable global economy can add uncertainties and slow development.
Mr Lee called on mayors to seek practical solutions to urban problems ahead of the World Cities Summit in Singapore this week.
"Worldwide, 828 million people live in slum conditions, lacking basic services such as drinking water and sanitation. This number is increasing by six million each year to hit 890 million by 2020," he said.
"In many cities, we are trying to catch up with adequate infrastructure. In short, we are behind the curve."
The United Nations forecasts that by 2025, there will be 37 megacities in the world. Five years after that, half the people on the planet will be living in urban areas.
This means spiralling pressure on the environment - more waste and pollution.
To stay ahead, many have looked towards Singapore as a model.
Danasiri Amarathunga, a Sri Lankan mayor, says the Republic provides lessons for developing cities.
"There are a lot of things that you can learn from Singapore. Especially the public housing," he said. "There are a lot of shanty areas, squatters in Colombo city. We'll have to move them out, (but) we have to keep them inside Colombo city also for their work purposes."
"If we can go for high-rise flats like Singapore does, that will help the community as well as all these people in the city," he added.
- CNA/wm"Worldwide, 828 million people live in slum conditions, lacking basic services such as drinking water and sanitation. This number is increasing by six million each year to hit 890 million by 2020," Hmm that's kind of serious
Other countries better don't learn from SG...
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then FFS, walk the talk!
instead of trying to grow everything whatever it costs, think about what the hell we are doing which impacts the world... the fucking cars here do not last more than 10 years even when they can last up to 30 years because of the fucking COE..
everything is geared towards planned redundancy even when it is perfectly okay to use it more than its supposed "life expectancy"
what the hell is this apart from just increasing GDP, making us buy more therefore increasing production, therefore increasing what we are digging and ripping out of the planet?
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the whole world is warped. all the decision makers are full of rubbish and talk only. all they care about is money. nobody gives a damn about the environment.