Index

Book review:

Eco2 Cities

Ecological Cities as Economic Cities

by Hiroaki Suzuki, Arish Dastur, Sebastian Moffat, Nanae Yabuki & Hinako Maruyama - The World Bank, 2010


The world's climate is changing and many cities aware of this are implementing their own initiatives. Some of them started decades ago and had become an example for what can be achieved if the vision were taken seriously.

Now the developing world realizes that not only its giant metropolises such as Mexico City or New Delhi, but also any other city needs to take a more comprehensive approach to environmental issues. For example, Surat in Northern India launched a competition to explore climate-resilient housing design and urban planning alternatives in order to accommodate its vulnerable residents in this flood-prone region.

In this context, the book recently published by the World Bank aims to provide an overview of the new Eco2 Cities Initiative, part of the World Bank Urban Strategy launched in November, 2009.

The book states clearly that the urbanisation in the developing world is promoted by the growth of their national economies. Projections show that the urban areas in the developing world would triple between 2000 and 2030. Without a comprehensive approach to land use and infrastructure, these cities are prone to cause irreversible environmental damage. This vulnerability would also cause financial restraints at local and national level on the developing world. Constraints on available natural resources clearly show that the developing-world cities cannot sustain growth similar to their counterparts in the developed world.

In this context, the book asks four fundamental questions:

"How can cities continue effectively to harness the opportunities for economic growth and poverty reduction offered by urbanization while also mitigating the negative impacts?"

"How can cities accomplish this given the speed and the scale at which this urbanization is progressing and given their own capacity constraints?"

"How can ecological and economic considerations be dovetailed so that they result in cumulative and lasting advantages for cities?"

"How do we transition from Ecological versus Economic to Eco2 cities?"

The book describes an Eco2 city as a city which "builds on the synergy and interdependence of ecological sustainability and economic sustainability and the fundamental ability of these to reinforce and strengthen each other in the urban context."

Having analysed the achievements of various best-practice cities, which created their own solutions based on available resources, the book concludes that there are many challenges to overcome by these cities ranging from political economy and governance to administrative and financial constraints. The biggest challenge these cities ever face is being defined as "the inappropriate institutional structures and mind-sets".

The World Bank intends to provide with this Eco2 Cities Initiative "a broad platform that provides practical, scalable, analytical, and operational support to cities in developing countries so they may harness the benefits of ecological and economic sustainability."

The book is divided in three parts. The first part describes the framework of the Initiative. After defining and analysing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead of cities in the developing world, the first chapter describes the achievements of different cities around the world, concluding that there are lessons to be learned by these best-practice cities.

The second chapter summarizes the key strategies and principles of the Eco2 Cities Initiative. The four key principles are:

a city-based approach

an expanded platform for collaborative design and decision making

a one-system approach

an investment framework that values sustainability and resiliency

For each of these principles, the corresponding core elements and the relevant stepping stones are provided.

The chapters from 3 to 6 explore these principles one by one. These chapters emphasize the role of local governments in working in collaboration with various stakeholders.

National government's role is also described as a centre of expertise, networking and administration of funds. The importance of collaboration among various stakeholders as well as a regional approach to long-term planning are discussed widely throughout these chapters. The relation of the city's infrastructure to its urban form is explored in order to establish a one-system approach. The authors advise on various issues such as reclaiming secondary resource values; integration of energy and water systems; green infrastructure; the conflicting needs between existing urban areas and new developments, etc.. Finally, they also introduce an accounting method and framework that covers the benefits and costs of projects and policies. Life-cycle costing method is explored to derive more accurate estimates of the financial and economic costs and benefits associated with the project. Furthermore, the four-capitals approach is identified as the most suitable method for Eco2 cities. The importance of adopting indicators and benchmarking is also discussed for long-term planning and monitoring. These chapters do not take into consideration the fact that these cities are already bound by limited resources such as land and thus they cannot grow forever. The authors use the terms "sustainable growth" very often but they do not comment on the fact that the resources available to these cities are limited and become more and more limited with the increase of population. In this aspect, the need for regulating population growth in urban areas, the dependence of urban areas on rural areas and the related problems are not considered properly.

The last chapter of the first part, concludes that the international support that the prospective Eco2 cities need, can be provided by best-practice cities, academia and international institutions. It also states that the World Bank group is ready to provide technical assistance, capacity-building support, and financial support to committed cities.

The second part of the book aims to provide methods for collaborative design and decision making; analysing flows and forms; investment planning; and describes each of them in separate chapters. This part of the book stipulates the importance of establishing strategic and long-term management and decision making systems. Chapter 8 looks into collaboration and decision making at various levels and among various stakeholders. Chapter 9 explores using analytical methods, the relationship among spatial attributes of cities and its physical resources and emissions. Chapter 10 examines how life-cycle costing, environmental accounting and risk assessment methods can be applied and how an overall valuation of a city's performance can be measured.

The third part of the book is divided into three sections. The first section comprises case studies from various best-practice cities around the world, ranging from Curitiba, Brazil to Auckland, New Zealand. The second section gives insight to various sectors that a city deals with: energy, water, transport, solid waste, etc.. Moreover, it examines how spatial planning and land use regulations affect mobility and affordability. The last section presents various financial instruments and multidonor funds available to local governments from the World Bank Group.

The book, besides introducing the Eco2 Cities Initiative of the World Bank, provides a comprehensive summary of what has been done in the past and what could be the challenges facing the cities in order to achieve sustainability. Although the framework had not been fully implemented yet, it is a positive step and motivating example for those cities which are interested in sustainability. It would be a good read for those working and leading in the local governments as well as for those who are working in relevant sectors.

While the book can be considered as comprehensive as possible, it certainly views the cities in the emerging countries from one single point of view: potential borrowers or users of the World Bank funds. This point of view makes the authors omit the some of the potential scenarios for the future of these cities. In many countries which the book targets, there is a substantial drift towards cities. This drift reduces the agricultural output in many countries such as China, Brazil, India, etc., and also creates vulnerabilities in countries which are smaller producers of their own food such as Bangladesh, Nigeria, etc.. In this context, the causes of urban growth should be seriously considered in many emerging economies. Already drastic climate events affect agricultural produce while environmentally damaging both urban and rural areas. The economic boom in many emerging countries is welcome but the institutions such as World Bank should also consider its effects in the long run and thus accept that 'sustainable growth' cannot be achieved within the limited resources of the Earth.

-- Zeynep Kacmaz Ozturk
Index