Streets ahead – how will our future cities look?

No-one really knows what the future holds, but the reality now is that our urban spaces are overcrowded and polluted. India is rapidly urbanizing. From 1991 to 2011, the urban population in India has increased from 100 million to 200 million. By 2041, 50-percent of India’s population is expected to live in cities. On average, the population of India’s six major metropolises nearly doubled between 1981 to 2001; while the number of motor vehicles went up 775 % during the same period. It’s pretty clear India will need to find solutions to the current and upcoming urban challenges in order to guarantee long-term benefits for its economy, as well as society.

To reflect on the above issues, the British High Commission and ICLEI South Asia co-organised an inspiring Conversation with Sir David King on the issue of ‘Future Cities’ as part of the Chevening lecture series. The discussion attracted a diverse group of leaders from business, international and development agencies, research institutions and NGOs based in Delhi.

Sir David King, former UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, used the recent launch of the Future Cities Catapult programme in the UK to delve more deeply into the issue of ‘Future Cities’, in a stimulating conversation with Prof. Chetan Vaidya, Director of School of Planning and Architecture, formerly the Director of National Institute of Urban Affairs and urban planner with over 30 years of experience. Sir David explained how the focus must be on the future, as we need to plan now what will be happening in the next 30-50 years, if we want to ensure a sustainable growth. Foresight, explained Sir David, is not about predicting the future but it is about painting visions for it, and work towards achieving them.

The Future Cities Catapult programme, hosted in London, is based on a holistic approach, mirroring the need to look at and manage the different areas a city works in (transport, water, buildings and so on) in an integrated way. The programme, currently funded by the UK government, will work with mayors, town planners, utilities etc. around the world, to find ways to shape and build sustainable cities, showing how this can happen respecting the environment and at the same time improving human well-being. It will serve as a hub where all the knowledge relevant for cities will be collected and shared, and will test innovative business solutions in a series of large-scale demonstrator projects – Glasgow, UK, being the first pilot city.  

When asked what the main challenges of Future Cities are, Sir David raised the issue of the buy-in of citizens and how to communicate sustainability to them, using as an example the need for high-density urban areas. Whereas high-density is a crucial requisite for a sustainable city, with urban spaces built for pedestrians and bikes and no need for private cars, such condensed land use still finds a lot of resistance on the citizens’ side.

Sir David also highlighted how, despite the different framework conditions in which British and Indian cities function, mutual learning is possible and wished for; he is looking forward to draw inspiration from the Indian Government’s plan to build seven new smart cities, each home to at least two million people, between Delhi and Mumbai as part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

Our team at the UK Science & Innovation Network (SIN) in India are partnering with Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network Design SIG (CIKTN) for a 12–18 month project driven from UK and India to explore the role and value of design in future city development. If you have an interest in participating in the Indo-UK workshop on ‘Role of Design in Future Cities’ or views on the ‘future cities’ generally do connect with us by leaving a comment below.