A fast-growing urban population, coupled with climate change, has created significant challenges on how our cities can improve the quality of our lives, whilst also reducing our impact on the environment. Designing for a sustainable future is no longer a choice- it has become a necessity. Today, over half of the world’s population are living in an urban area. That’s just over 3.9 billion people. By 2050, it is expected that approximately 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities. By that time, the total urban population is expected to reach 6.4 billion people.

Some cities are growing bigger and faster than others. Mega-cities with populations of more than 10 million people are also on the rise. The United Nations projects that there will be 41 Mega-cities by 2030, of which Tokyo will have the largest amount of inhabitants at a population of 37 million people.

This rapid increase in population, urbanisation and climate change will have severe impact on our cities’ infrastructure and resources, as well as the health and wellbeing of their residents. This will require a significant shift in the way we design the next generation of cities to ensure they are “sustainable cities”. 

A common definition of a sustainable city is one that provides the highest quality of life together with the lowest environmental footprint, whilst also ensuring that the needs of future generations are not compromised. Although there are other definitions of sustainable cities, such as the three pillars of sustainability, social, economic and environmental or the three Ps, people, planet and profit. I believe that the backbone to the next generation of sustainable cities is about empowering people, it’s about creating empowering cities.

The current system for urban planning is essentially a ‘top down’ system. They are usually initiated from the perspective of central decision-makers, and tend to neglect the people at the bottom who tend to have the best knowledge of the needs and demands of their local areas. This top-down system does little to encourage community involvement or ownership of proposals. This top down approach is also a waste of resources due to a lack of understanding of what’s really happening on the ground, as each community will most likely have different needs. What if we could flip this model, and empower people from the bottom-up? 

If cities focused on investing in young companies that offered innovative products or services in various sectors such as health, water, agriculture, education or renewable energy as a few examples; they will be nurturing entrepreneurial spirit from the Bottom-Up. This inward investment will create more green jobs & will most likely result in a new way of thinking about cities.

A good example of this bottom-up entrepreneurship is UAE-based Eco Resort Group, founded by a new generation of eco-minded entrepreneurs, all focusing on creating the world’s greenest eco resorts in UAE and the MENA region. Whilst Eco Resort Group are a good example of this bottom-up entrepreneurship, I believe that there will be a growing trend in the development of eco resort destinations in UAE. Some of these eco resort destinations can make a significant contribution in growing a green economy and growing UAE’s ecotourism sector. Sometimes young eco-minded entrepreneurs are the key to achieving a sustainable future, and that’s why we need to invest more in grass-roots. 

The United Arab Emirates is home to some of the most stunning and natural attractions. There are many spectacular landscapes to experience in UAE such as beaches, mountains, deserts, wadis and the sea. People should make the most of the natural beauty of UAE whilst minimising their impact on the environment.

UAE also has an ambitious goal of becoming one of the most sustainable countries in the world. By 2021, UAE is also expecting to welcome 45 million people, of which 31 million will be international tourists. Transforming this rapidly growing sector into a green economy by creating eco resorts, will place UAE at the top of the growing ecotourism market whilst diversifying its economy. Ecotourism captures $77 billion of the global market and is experiencing double-digit gains that are likely to accelerate as concern about global warming rises.

Ecotourism provides more than environmental benefits, such as economic and socio-cultural benefits. Another benefit of Ecotourism is the creation of job opportunities for locals, creating a more diversified economy. Ecotourism also helps preserve the region’s heritage and provide greater interaction with the native population.

Whilst Ecotourism provides a great opportunity to invest in at grass-root levels, there are many other areas of opportunities where young eco-minded entrepreneurs can contribute in creating a sustainable future. These include urban mobility, renewable energy, water conservation and affordable housing to name a few.

Ultimately, designing for a sustainable future is less about a top-down approach to design or city planning. It is about fostering an entrepreneurial culture from the bottom-up, where even the youngest of businesses can play an active role in transforming our cities into vibrant places, that make people feel healthy to live in, inspired to work in and want to visit.

For the full original article please see Baharash Architecture.

See also:

Dubai's 2050 goal: Be the world’s most sustainable city

UAE, the world’s new ecotourism destination?

Foster + Partners to transform Sharjah landfill with new sustainable masterplan