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Sustainability of Urbanization
By
Ananda D.Moonasingha
BSc(Hons), MEng, MSc(Eng), BA(Hons)
Urbanization principally refers to dynamics of the proportion of total population living in urban areas. Other features of urbanization
are the concentration of nations multisectoral functional centres and infrastructures. The key areas of concern and importance in
urbanization are the urban poor and slum settlements, sustainable transport, economic development, reconciling industrial development and
its environmental impacts, and changes and trends in governance. This paper addresses the above agenda of sustainable urbanization
highlighting the improvement of quality of life of low-income urban population with the participation of community, public sector and the civil
society.

1. INTRODUCTION

Urbanization reflects the increasing proportion of population living in cities of the total population.
1,2,3
In the developed countries such as in Europe
and North America the urbanization has reached its peak above 75 percent and its growth rate is very slow, hence that part of the world is deemed to be
urbanized. In contrast the developing countries particularly as in Africa and Asia are urbanizing. In the beginning of the 21
st
century the proportion of urban
population in Africa and Asia is 40-45 percent.
1,2,4
In 2005, globally 30 percent of urban dwellers lived in slums, and Asia with 581 million slum dwellers,
accounted for nearly 60 percent of the worlds slum population.
5
Besides the proportion of total population living in cities, generally urbanization
represents the dynamic growth of multisectoral stake holders and infrastructures in cities and conurbations. From the point of proportion of urban
population with around 75 percent, the Latin America is urbanized.
4
But the quality of life dependent on infrastructure, housing and other basic needs is
poor. Hence, Latin America is not urbanized as the developed nations.
6,7
Cities are multifunctional, concentrated centres of administration, finance,
residents, commerce, transport, industry, tourism, healthcare, education, sports and culture. Urban areas account for large proportion of nations economic
activities, industrial enterprise and domestic production. The priorities like industry, transport, environment, quality of life, heritage, tourism: depend,
compete, and conflict with each other and need to be reconciled. Cities have to cater for permanent residents as well as visitors and daily commuters.
There are three key modes of increasing the proportion of urban population. These are, the natural increase by births within, migration, and the expansion
of city limits into the rural peripheries. Migration due to displacement by civil war and famine is also a relevant factor.

The term developing countries include China, India, Mexico and high income countries like Singapore. The term Third World originally was the rest
of the world other than capitalist west known as First World and the Soviet bloc known as the Second World. Later it took more political form of non
aligned to either west or the Soviet bloc. Then it was given economic characteristics like nations with low capita incomes.
8,9
The World Bank categorises
nations on the economic basis of low-income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and high income economies.
10
The developing countries are
also known as South and the rest of the world as North, as referred to in the Brandt Report (1980).
9

Infrastructure comprises the gamut of services that support modern way of life, such as water supply, sewerage, electricity, roads and
transportation, and communication systems. Institutions like hospitals, schools and universities are known as social or civic infrastructure. Social
infrastructure also includes the range of activities in communities providing social welfare and health services and addressing social problems by public and
voluntary associations.
11,12,13
Housing and land are important assets inseparable from infrastructure for sustainable urbanization.
Sustainability is a term with a broad range of connotations. The definition of sustainable development adopted by the United Nations (UN) is,
meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
14
This definition may subsume many
conditions of sustainability including the following, promulgated by Herman Daly.
15
(a) The consumption rate of renewable resources is not higher than its recovery rate.
(b) The consumption rate of non-renewable resources is not higher than the rate of increase in
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renewable resource supply.
(c) The emission oI pollutants is within the consumption capacity oI the environment.

Another noteworthy condition oI sustainability is, the use oI resources which does not involve the perpetuation oI substantial health hazards or
social injustice.
16
Besides, sustainability is applicable in various contexts such as economic, socio-cultural, and technological sustainability. In these domains
which are intrinsic components oI urbanization, sustainability means benign capacity oI the above mentioned sectors, including inIrastructure and
environment to accommodate the increasing populations in conIormity with the aIoresaid criteria oI sustainable development. Sustainability means that
which can be maintained or perpetuated. Social sustainability encompasses, notions oI equity, empowerment, accessibility, participation, sharing and
institutional stability. Institutional stability reIers to the rules by which society is organised and human interaction guided. Administrative sustainability means
ensuring that an organization, the tasks Ior which it is responsible or the service or provides continues to Iunction over the long-term with Iinancial
sustainability and operational eIIiciency.
17
Since sustainable urbanization implies the dynamic growth oI population as well as the standards oI living,
economy, inIrastructure and amenities, it is expedient to Iocus on the problems oI urbanization in order to reIlect on the sustainability oI urbanization.

2. Problems of Urbaniation
The major problems oI urbanization in the order oI priorities are:
(a) the rising populations oI urban poor and the consequent squatter settlements.
(b) inadequate access to basic needs such as shelter, clean water, sanitation, health care, education
and other services.
(c) overcrowded public transport and traIIic congestion on roads.
(d) environmental pollution by industries, motor traIIic, and inadequate sanitation inIrastructure.
(e) rising demands oI resources such as land and water.
(I) natural hazards such as Iloods, landslides and tidal inundation, especially in areas occupied by
the urban poor.
(g) decadent social conditions oI urban poor.
The above issues are collectively termed as brown agenda.
9

3. The Urban Poor

Though the global population oI urban poor living in slums does not seem to have risen signiIicantly above 30 percent, the total number oI urban
poor population is obviously growing.
5
The rise in population oI urban poor is primarily due to natural increase within the low-income communities.
Migrants are generally not concentrated among the poor. According to UNHABITAT, a slum household is a group oI individuals living under the same
rooI in an urban area who lack one or more oI the Iollowing; durable housing, suIIicient living area, access to improved water, access to sanitation, and
secure tenure.
1
The types oI slum housing range Irom concrete buildings and brick-built terraces to makeshiIt shacks made oI salvaged materials such as
timber, bamboo, tarpaulin, asbestos, and scrap metal, on encroached land (Figs.1,3 & 6a).
18
The last category is the most notorious urban habitats which
oIten lack access to clean water, sanitation, waste disposal and security, and pose a threat to the slum dwellers themselves and the local environment,
hence a key Ieature oI perceived urban blight. Some slum dwellers live on streets. The terms slum, shanty housing, inIormal settlement, squatter shacks,
Iavelas and low-income housing are oIten used interchangeably.

Phot o wit h t he court esy oI Jonat hon Mohr
(a) Slums in Mumbai
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Phot o by Ananda Moonasingha

(b) Slums beside near Railway in Colombo.
Fig. 1. Slum Settlements

Poverty is basically not having enough money to obtain basic needs of life, such as food, clothes, decent shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare,
education and security. Poverty is often a cause of poor health, poor education and various other interlinked socio-economic deprivations such as lack of
skills and employment opportunities, and also a basis of nefarious behaviour of alcoholism, street prostitution, drugs and crime; and vice-versa.
19,20
There
are many exceptions, and not all slum dwellers are poor. Most estimates of poor are based on poverty line measured from the estimates of income level
sufficient to meet the households consumption needs, mainly an adequate diet with a percentage added for other costs.
4

Inadequate access to water and sanitation, and smoke filled slums sheltering too many people in a small room are conditions abetting water-borne,
water-washed, and helminthic diseases like tuberculosis, diarrhoea, Ascaris and Hookworm.
21,22,23,24,25
Disease arising from poor sanitation kill up to 1.6
million slum dwellers annually.
5
WHO estimates that some 12,000,000 people die each year from water-and excreta related diseases, and 80 percent of
all morbidity in developing countries is due to water-and excreta-related diseases
21,26

4. Water Suppl, Sanitation and Drainage for Improvement of Slums

At best, slums may have pipe borne water supply and sanitation. Most upgraded slums have a standpipe water supply and communal latrines. The
number of communal latrines serving a slum community is inadequate, and maintaining them is a problem. Often the availability of water in the standpipes is
unreliable, and there are queues at standpipes and at communal latrines causing tension and anxiety.
4,23
At the lowest category of squatter habitats there is
no access to water supply and sanitation that does exemplify the melancholic quality of these communities. In developing countries 20-30 percent of urban
population relies on vendors for water supply. In Jakarta around 40 percent urban households depend on water vendors.
27
The price of water from private
vendors could in general be as much as 10 to 25 times the cost of public utility.
4

Slums are high population density habitats often in low-lying areas such as flood plains subject to flooding. Hence drainage is often a problem in
slum settlements. Access to sanitation in general in slum settlements is alarmingly inadequate. Sanitation is a necessasity par with water supply (Fig.2).
28
There is a variety of low-cost sanitation systems suitable for improved slum dwellings. These are: pit latrines, ventilated improved pit latrines, pour-flush
latrines with soakways or septic tanks, low-cost and small-bore sewerage, and conventional sewerage.
21,22,23,26,29,30
Appropriate technologies have their
own costs, benefits, advantages, disadvantages, and also the suitability of any type depends on affordability, local environmental conditions and user
preferences. In some instances traditional systems used in the region are the most appropriate for sustainability. For instance in Sri Lanka, in general pit
latrines and pour-flush soakway cess-pit latrines sustain for almost a lifespan of a family without the requirement of emptying. However, in low-lying areas
with high watertable, these may pose a problem.
31
In a latrine project in Sri Lanka, vault type pits built with fully lined walls and bottom have been
abandoned.
32
High density on-site sanitation methods of pit-latrines and soak-pits are not compatible with shallow wells, as they could be polluted.
Reliance on latrine pit emptying vehicles in many Third World cities is a considerable risk. Therefore the traditional concept of soak-pit with small-bore or
low-cost sewer system is an appropriate option for large-scale community latrines in upgraded slum projects.
21,26,31,32

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(a) Standpipe Water Suppl in Colombo

Colombo Slum Settlement.

Phot os b Ananda Moonasingha

(b) Communal Latrines and Waste Bin in a Colombo Slum Settlement

Phot o wit h t he court es of UNICEF
(c) Communal Latrines
Fig. 2. Low-Cost Communit Water Suppl and Sanitation Sstems

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Pho o i h he co e of D P Mogan
Fig. 3. Latrine Discharging into a Canal.
Epeciall in he lo-ling lm elemen he oefloing ce-pi dichage ino he neab dainage canal and eam (Fig.3).
18
The
conced eland ae biological file em able o ea mall-cale ban aeae dichage. Thee ae conced ing ingedien of he
naal enionmen ch a ock, gael and and, and planed egeaion like Blh, eed and Wae Hacinh. The conced eland can be
bface flo media o fee ae face em of hallo deph.
33,34,35
Thei poenial fo innoaion fo diee enionmenal condiion of dainage
and conol of ban aeae pollion i ignifican (Fig.4).
36
The hae he added benefi of ban enionmenal embellihmen ih planed
egeaion and ildlife. Innoaie pojec ae leaning b doing.
25
The abiliaion pond ae an eablihed lo-co echnolog fo eage eamen
paiclal in he opic.
21,29
The pond ae alo ed in empeae climae in Eope and Ameica, and can be ed in combinaion ih conced
eland.
30
Thee ae good and poo eample of abiliaion pond in he deeloping conie aibed o indiidal e of cicmance.
37
Pho o b Ocean Ak In ena ional, and i h he co e of Daid Tenenbam

Fig. 4. Polluted Drainage Canal in China Restored ith Constructed Wetlands.

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5. Shelter for Low-Income Communities

Low-income housing is one oI the most controversial topics in urbanization. This is partly because market Iorces provide the housing Ior high-and
middle-income groups. Low-income groups cannot aIIord decent housing at market prices, and the government and aid agencies provide little Iinancial help
Ior housing oI low-income groups.
4,17
In the 60s and 70s the government in an attempt to make cities more equitable provided public Iinance Ior the
development oI land or dwellings Ior the rent or sale targeting the middle-and low-income groups. Later it changed to Iinancial support Ior individual and
community organisations to produce housing, eventually turning to current state oI enablement Ior selI-help house construction by partnership between
governments, communities and individual households.
17,38,39,40

The traditional town planning policies are based on the concept oI land use zoning on the premise that diIIerent uses such as residential, industrial,
commercial, administration and leisure are incompatible in mixed development. Squatters choose to settle mainly in industrial and environmentally hazardous
sites closer to their places oI employment in the inIormal sector, and they reckon as less oIIensive to the authorities and neighbours, hence there is less risk
oI eviction.
4,8,17
Most squatters remain in upgraded slums in core areas and some others move on to low- income housing projects on the outskirts oI cities
where there is more shared space (Fig. 5). To realistically ease the problem oI housing the squatter communities, the town planning policies and regulations
have to be Ilexible to accommodate at least a large part oI the squatter groups in their existing sites, because they resist moving Iar away Irom their
established areas oI employment close to where they live. In many cities master plans based on land use zones are over-ridden by subsequent structure
plans. Squatter settlements inIringe all plans. The beneIits oI mixed land use include, minimizing the travel distances Irom home to work, schools and shops,
and developing social networks and social capital.
4,17,27
DiIIerent approaches oI mixed commercial, residential and industrial developments
accommodating the low-income communities are advocated. Many versions oI private, civic society, public partnerships, and negotiation between private
land owners and low-income households are promoted to solve the problem oI housing low-income communities.
17,25,405
Provision oI service
inIrastructure oI water, sanitation, electricity and social services is an important part oI improving the quality oI liIe oI low-income groups. Most oI the
projects are implemented through government and donor agency Iunded selI-help schemes.
17,23,25,38,39,40,41,42
Integrated slum upgrading includes health
education, income generation, and Iocusing on the needs oI women and children.
25
Planning policies, regulations and development control, inIluence,
manipulate and distort land prices. Empowerment and enablement are the key instruments oI equitable, democratic, good governance. However, education
and understanding oI the realities oI environment are Iundamentals oI sustainable urbanization demonstrated in Singapore and Colombia.
2,17,43
Local
Agenda 21s are seen as the means by which each locality develops its own sustainable development plan, drawing on the knowledge, discourse and
motivation skills oI the local proIessionals and participation oI all the stakeholders.
4,44,45
Phot o by Ananda Moonasingha
Fig. 5. Improved Slum Settlement in Colombo

6. Povert Alleviation

The global institutions such as the World Bank and International Labour Organization (ILO) advocate urban productivity as a major
strategy Ior alleviating poverty.
27
By the late 1980s structural adjustment policies imposed controls on public spending, budget deIicits and price
distortions, and encouraged liberalised trade, market oriented services, and led to deterioration oI domestic manuIacturing Irom imports and caused
unemployment. As a result the urban poverty increased in many Third World countries that depend on Iinancial support Irom international institutions; the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) who impose structural adjustment policies as a condition oI negotiating loans.
17,27
Countries that had
successIully reduced slum problems shared many attributes. Their governments had shown long-term political commitment to slum upgrading and
prevention, Many had undertaken progressive pro-poor land and housing reIorms to improve the tenure status oI slum dwellers and their access to basic
services. Countries doing well in managing slum growth had highly centralized systems and structure oI governance.
19

About halI oI the labour Iorce in the developing countries work in the inIormal sector.
27
Among the urban poor, occupations in the inIormal sector
include, home-based industries, taxi drivers, street vendors, Iood sellers and casual labourers (Fig. 6). Planning regulations oIten discourage home-based
industries which is not realistic and is an impediment to the goal oI poverty alleviation and sustainability.
17
Municipal planning regulations should be
reIormed to incorporate suIIicient Ilexibility to encourage acceptable type oI home-based industries in tolerable places. Regulation should be able to
encourage disciplined enterprise. Communities who are able to Ioster sustainable industries are the winners. Garment manuIacturing is a thriving industry in
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encourage disciplined enterprise. Communities who are able to foster sustainable industries are the winners. Garment manufacturing is a thriving industry in
Asia. Urban landscape avails opportunities for growing vegetables and fruits and raising poultry which provide an income like other home-based
industries.
46
Urban agriculture is feasible in floodplains, wetlands, hill slopes, and other indoor and outdoor spaces without compromising the environmental
health and safety.
4
Municipal waste management has to be reorganised to facilitate recycling and reuse, and providing employment for the unskilled poor by
private-public partnerships. Appropriate health and safety regulations must be enforced to protect workers and children. Access to education for all
children in low-income settlements at least to the level of primary education must be ensured. Third World cities in general have social and health workers,
nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and other professionals to monitor the social welfare of slum communities. Often these resources are
overstretched.
25,47,48

Phot o by Ananda Moonasingha

Fig. 6. Home Based Industr in Colombo

Skills training, credit for enterprise development, community participation, and action against inadequate infrastructure are key avenues of poverty
alleviation.
4,23,30,41,49
Developing countries produce enough technical, clerical, and administrative staff. Under-and unemployment among the urban poor
who have very little or no education or skills must be trained to fill the shortage of skilled and semi-skilled manual workers who are needed to build the
community infrastructure, houses and for the maintenance of deteriorating public works, and for the improvement of the quality of life of the urban poor.
Empowerment is endowment of skills and capacity to build and maintain the communities own environments and lives. Skilled manual workers in south
Asia have the opportunity to work in some other countries of the Third World, which makes the skills training an asset for the poor, the local communities
and the Third World nations. Community based organisations (CBOs), NGOs, and other leaders of the civil society should mobilize self-help initiatives to
utilize the idle labour for their own benefit. The connotations of poverty and measures of poverty alleviation include, the ability to cope at times of crisis,
human capital comprised of skills and education, social capital made up of relationships and trust, and ability to cope with change.
27

7. Waste Management

In most cities municipal authority or its contractors collect domestic waste from high-and middle-income households, commercial and industrial
establishments. Handcarts and waste trucks of different form and size are used to collect municipal wastes. Legally established low-income households
usually have a communal waste bin. Most squatter settlements do not have a waste disposal service, hence wastes are dumped in canals and open spaces
causing a hazard. The most important issue with regard to municipal waste management policy is, minimize, reuse and recycle.
48,50
Waste recycling industry
provides employment for tens of thousands of families in many cities. However, income from waste recycling for poor families is meagre and some working
conditions are below acceptable standards.
4

8. Urban Transport

Sustainable transport is a vital component of urbanization. Traffic congestion is a common problem in almost all large cities. Congestion arises from
several factors including growth of population with car ownership, inefficient public transport systems, bottlenecks in arterial networks, long-distance
commuting by car and through traffic.
2
In most cities traffic congestion is also adding to the air pollution. The costs, disbenefits and solutions to traffic
congestion in all high-middle and low-income countries are fundamentally the same. Some of the disbenefits are delay in journeys, driver stress and higher
air pollution. The solution to traffic congestion usually comprises a combination of several measures. These are, improvement and expansion of road
infrastructure, improvement of public transport, including bus prioritisation and mass transit systems, and as a last resort fiscal and planning measures to
control car use in the city during congestion times (Fig.7).
51,52
Some examples of these car control measures are car and fuel taxes, congestion charging
and road pricing, bus lanes or bus ways, pedestrianisation of city centre areas, diverting through traffic, and park ride facilities.
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Phot o wit h t he court esy of Robert St einer
(a) Bus Lane in Singapore

Photo 1995-2005 www.ncsubwa.org with the courtesy of Mark Feinman

(b)Singapore Mass Rapid Transit

Fig. 7. Pblic Tanpo Inface

In the developing countries, traffic management systems, driver and road user behaviour are worse than in most high-income nations. The rate of
accidents for the number of vehicles registered is greater.
53
Buses are overcrowded far beyond tolerable limits.
54
Legislation to control such overloading is
desirable. However that will increase the fares that in turn will affect the low-income travellers. Without controls on overloading buses and alternative mass
transit systems, it will be difficult to encourage car users to travel by public transport. Sustainable transport is a key component of sustainable
urbanization.
55
Sustainable transport encourages walking and cycling on relatively short journeys. Walking and cycling give added benefit of physical
fitness.
55,56
Legislation exists for the requirement of better maintenance of vehicles and control of emissions. Mexico City is a classic example of the
adverse synergic impacts of air pollution from traffic and industries combined with climatic and geographic features.
4

9. Impac of Enionmenal Pollion

Environmental pollution is the biggest challenge of sustainable urbanization, since the latter depends on economic growth through industrialization.
Industries are the biggest polluters of water, air and land in the cities that render valuable water and land resources unsuitable for human use, and pollute the
urban atmosphere beyond safe limits. All nations have the legislation of environmental impact assessment in view of sustainable development. All
significantly large development projects require an environmental impact assessment report for the project to be implemented. The environmental
assessment report identifies the adverse impacts on the environment and recommends the options to mitigate the adverse impacts to a sustainable level.
Since industries produce liquid, solid and gaseous wastes, they need to incorporate technology to treat these wastes on the industrial sites before
discharged to the environment. These waste treatment measures add to the costs of the projects, may require more land area and adversely affect the cost-
benefit appraisals. Mostly the small industries fail to comply with waste discharge standards.
2,4,17
Alternatively all industrial effluents should be discharged
into a public sewer and then treated at a wastewater treatment facility. The effluent discharge consent charges should encourage on site treatment of
wastes. The waste treatment technologies often turn wastes into by-products or make them fit for other uses such as energy or irrigation. Such innovative
integrated projects improve the cost-benefit ratio and make the urbanization sustainable. The literature suggests that in some countries environmental impact
assessment and planning procedures are not integrated, and the enforcement of environment protection law is ineffective. Pressure from international
customers and fair trade campaigns is prompting the Third World industries to adopt environmentally sustainable technology and respect human rights
issues like child labour. In Shanghai which is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, the enforcement of environmental impact legislation is flexible,
and is delegated to the lowest hierarchy of the local authorities, which incidentally accedes with the good governance inspirations of the global institutions.
17
Ad hoc resolutions are passed when hopeless impasses become blatant or politically inconvenient.
8
Globally, poor populations contribute far less to the
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Ad hoc resolutions are passed when hopeless impasses become blatant or politically inconvenient.
8
Globally, poor populations contribute Iar less to the
impacts oI climate change and environmental pollution than the rest oI the population who consume more energy, space, Iood, and resources in general.
4
However, squatter settlements are a cause oI urban blight in the local environment.

10. Water Resources

The common sources oI water supply Ior cities are surIace water reservoirs outside the city, abstraction Irom rivers, and groundwater aquiIers.
Many cities depending on groundwater have experienced depletion oI groundwater aquiIer. Mining oI groundwater has led to the intrusion oI saline water
into the aquiIer, Iorcing to abstract groundwater Iurther away Irom the cities.
4,57
The capacity oI surIace water reservoirs is inadequate to meet the
increasing urban demand. Many cities have rivers nearby which could provide a reliable source oI water. UnIortunately most oI these rivers are not suitable
Ior extraction Ior water supply. The quality oI the rivers has to be improved by implementing plants to treat the wastewater discharges into the rivers,
beIore they can be relied upon as a source oI water supply Ior the city. The other ineIIiciency in water supply in Third World cities in common with
developed countries is, the wastage through leaks in distribution system which has to bring under control by regular maintenance. Usual technique oI
demand management oI utilities such as water and electricity is to set up increasing levels oI tariII Ior increasing levels oI consumption.

11. Haards of Slum Settlements

Many slum settlements are located in low-lying areas oI canal and river banks, Iloodplains, steep hill slopes, vulnerable to Iloods, river bank
erosion, tidal inundation, landslides, and dangerous locations like railway margins, landIill sites, and industrial sites polluted with industrial wastes (Figs.1,3
& 8).
4,18
Reclamation oI lowland areas in Bombay in the past without serious consideration oI planning and design Ior drainage, is a major problem oI
Ilooding, sewerage management, and traIIic disruption during monsoon rains. Reclamation oI coastal areas Ior buildings also seems to have aggravated the
erosion in some other parts oI the seaIront which has needed coastal protection measures.
2
Vulnerable coastal environments should be protected Irom
harmIul developments and resource exploitation.
58
Building on reclaimed Iloodplains oI growing cities exacerbates Ilooding elsewhere and needs extensive
Ilood deIence systems which is unrealistic. However, practical measures are taken within economically Ieasible limits to protect the existing slum settlements
on the Iloodplains.
59
Flood retention ponds are a vital component oI sustainable urban drainage (Fig. 8)
18
. Embankments, clearing debris and silt in
drainage canals and streams are usual methods oI Ilood protection. A general hazard in slum settlements is environmental health. Wastes and excreta on the
unpaved Iootpaths are breeding grounds Ior disease carrying helminths and pathogenic organisms. The slum settlement should be served with paved
Iootpaths and drainage channels to ensure proper drainage and minimize insanitary conditions in the environment.

Phot os wit h t he court esy oI D P Morgan

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Fig. 8. Dwellings on the margin of Stormwater Retention Ponds in Colombo
Some hill sites are vulnerable to landslides, and mainly low-income communities live in such locations in cities, because the value of such land is
very low. It is extremely expensive to engineer hillside stability, and there are limits to the effectiveness of any attempt to thwart a natural process.
60
Both
hard and soft approaches are implemented in an attempt mitigate landslide hazards. Soft solutions include, avoiding landslide areas by zoning and
regulation, engineering measures like drainage improvement, wire nets, gabions, low- height retaining walls, and bioengineering of planted vegetation.
61,62
Conventional engineering solutions to landslides hazards include the retaining walls and improvement of drainage and slope stability.
63

12. Empowerment for Communit Development

The current strategy for human centred development for low-income communities follow the approach of public participation. Community
development based on active-participation has transformed a welfare-oriented approach with masses of passive beneficiaries to a development aimed at
disadvantaged communities through self-help. The key instrument of this strategy is community empowerment.
43
World Bank defines Empowerment is the
process of increasing the assets and capabilities of individuals or groups to make purposive choices and to transform these choices into desired actions and
outcomes.
64
The comprehensive process of empowerment entails, raising consciousness, developing relevant skills, knowledge, identifying issues and
needs, prioritising them and evolving the whole of project cycle of strategic selection and implementation of the most appropriate solution, and evaluation of
the outcomes.
17,43
Effective empowerment is an enabling process of imbuing all the planning, design and management processes, associated technical
issues, assessing resources and constraints, negotiation and implementation with the support of a host of actors like CBOs, NGOs, government officials,
politicians and often donor agencies.

13. Good Governance

Governance means the process of ruling a state or a municipality by making and implementing policies, plans and regulatory framework. The
government is the principal actor of governance. The other actors include the national and provincial government decision makers, elected local officials,
entrepreneurs, and elite of the civil society. All actors other than government and the military are grouped together as part of the civil society.
65
(UNESCAP 14 Nov-em).

The attributes of good governance include, participatory, transparent, responsive, accountable, efficient, tackling corruption, equitable, democratic,
and follows the rule of law.
65
They are directly associated with programmes that seek greater effciciency and effectiveness in the use of resources through
the structural adjustment of government administration.
38
Structural adjustment programmes involve policies favouring privatisation and the promotion of
market-oriented systems, public sector cutbacks, retrenchment, and devaluation. These policies are often associated with rising levels of urban poverty and
reduced rate of urban growth.
27

The term urban governance formerly associated with urban management has transformed to represent both government responsibility and civic
engagement. Generally it refers to the process by which local urban governments, in participation with other public agencies and actors of civil society
respond effectively to local needs in a participatory, transparent and accountable manner.
1,40
Improved urban governance with increasing community
participation is a prerequisite for improved urban management.
41
Good governance should afford more responsibility and resources to community based
organisations CBOs, NGOs and other voluntary sector groups (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS).
4
Discourse has been deployed
as a means of endearment during the times of adversity, using the natural disasters and environment as a metaphor to articulate government agenda.
17
Many
agencies have shifted a significant part of their support for urban development from specific urban projects to what was originally called strengthening the
institutional capacity of urban governments and later called supporting good governance. The aim of the change is to stop deterioration of donor-funded
urban infrastructure projects, and improve the local capacity to manage and maintain them.
4

For cities, sustainable development is about developing systems of governance that can reconcile meeting development goals with environment.
4
The true indicators of good governance are in the achievements in improvements in environment, transport and quality of life of the poor. Good governance
should negotiate foreign investment to establish less polluting industries in the cities to provide employment for local people, and allocate shared space for
housing the urban poor. Outward form is not a reliable indicator of the quality or viability of a structure, whether it be physical or administrative. Changes
that do not touch the underlying factors responsible for generating particular conditions are palliatives beneficial to few, rather than solutions.
8

14. Enabling Paradigm

There are two contributory sources of enabling paradigm. One is that, the concept of state as enabler is an outcome of the conflation of two
prevailing socio-economic ideas by the international aid agencies in the 1980s. These are, that financial resources were too limited to implement centrally
funded mass housing schemes, and existence of high levels of under-and unemployed among the poor could be converted to sweat equity. These two ideas
came together and gave rise to the view of the state as facilitator or enabler and not provider.
27
The current policy of enabling paradigm is based on the
approach of initiative combined with social ideals of persuasion and accommodation. Whereas formerly the government was regarded as the leader,
provider and sustainer, the new roles assigned to it are primarily those of a facilitator and enabler. A transformed government is supposed to foster
regeneration in society of individual freedoms and responsibilities.
38
Successful enablement is always a careful balance between encouragement and
control.
4

Another initiative is the participatory self-help movement that was introduced to reduce the construction costs and public expenditure in the low-
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Another initiative is the participatory self-help movement that was introduced to reduce the construction costs and public expenditure in the low-
cost housing sector that would save the contractors overheads and profit. Participatory, enabling strategy for housing is based on good governance that
fosters qualities of transparency, deregulation, decentralisation and devolution of responsibility and authority. They are associated with programmes that
seek greater efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources through the structural adjustment of government administration.
38

15. Economic Impac

A boom in the housing industry whether it is public sector funded, subsidised or by private sector development for high- middle and low-income
residents, put a strain on building resources, land, skills, labour and materials. Rise in demand of resources without a rise in supply, increases the cost of
resources which is inflationary.
17
In an ideal industrious, competitive market, the entrepreneurs will grasp the opportunity of demand for resources, and the
production and supply of building materials that will keep the price of materials stable. The government as the enabler and facilitator must ensure the
adequate training and availability of skilled and semi-skilled labour from the under-and unemployed masses, and environmentally sustainable generation of
material resources. Without integrated development of land, skills and material resources, the house construction is impeded by distortions in markets.
Timber is a vital commodity that can be produced in rural gardens and in forest plantations. There are appropriate technologies that turn waste into building
products, and research in these areas should be encouraged. In the informal sector standards are determined by the market which is driven by the
economic demand of willingness to pay. Skills training and material production must maintain appropriate standards. The government should disseminate
the standardised technological information appropriate for community infrastructure.
17
Appreciation of affordable quality and a healthy competition must
thrive to maintain standards.

Conclion

Sustainability of urbanization is about improving the capacity of urban centres to enable its populations to maintain a decent quality of life and to
ensure the cities as centres of multifunctional operations in the nation, continue to function in an efficient environment. Sustainable development entails
realising a vision by implementing necessary constituent parts to meet the mosaic of inputs and outputs of an integrated programme. Sustainable
urbanization does not generate in isolation without economic alliance with the rural sectors.

About one-third of the urban population is regarded as law-income communities and large proportion of this live below poverty line. Overcrowded
ramshackle housing, inadequate access to basic needs of water, sanitation, health care, education, and other services are characteristics of slum
settlements. To improve the living standards of the poor, mixed development of high density, low-income housing development is promoted in partnership
with private land owners, commercial enterprises, public sector and civil society organizations. Aided self-help housing and environmental health
infrastructure and services development by low-income communities is the current trend of slum upgrading. A key objective in empowerment is the process
of education and training of low-income communities to organise and improve their housing environment by self-determination. Integrated slum upgrading
embraces health, education, income generation, microcredit and the needs of children and women. The civil society organisations are an important force in
initiating and mobilizing integrated slum improvement programmes. Skills training and sustainable development of building materials to build and maintain
housing and infrastructure services are fundamental to sustainable urbanization. Sustainability of infrastructure lies crucially on the careful selection,
innovative adoption, and adroit implementation of technology appropriate to the set of circumstances. Attempts to boost housing and infrastructure without
increasing the supply of skilled labour, land and material resources have caused cost escalation and inflationary problems. Attraction of foreign investment
and enterprise partnership with foreign investors are vital to urbanization. Good governance is important to attract inward investment. Good governance
represents both government responsibility and participatory civic engagement. Industrialization policies must favour less polluting industries and
technologies. Environmental protection and integrated development need a national consensus of the stakeholders. Community participation in urban waste
management, integrated drainage and wastewater management and urban farming are assets of sustainable urban development. Third World cities have a
formidable task of cleaning their rivers to use them as a source of water to meet their demand. Improving road networks and public transport,
implementation of mass transit systems, and fiscal control of car use during congestion are means of improving urban traffic management and transport.
Walking, cycling, and using public transport instead of the use of car in cities during peak hours are common inspirations both in western and Third World
cities. Pedestrian friendliness, tourist attractiveness, parks and open spaces are essential features in sustainable urbanization. Sustainable urbanization needs
a vision concentrating on major areas of problems and planned solutions. The solutions should embrace the key stakeholders, including foreign investors,
and low-income, under-and unemployed inhabitants. Economic, technological and environmental resources and constraints should be appreciated.

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