{"id":63326,"date":"2023-10-25T09:22:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T07:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=63326"},"modified":"2024-12-16T17:24:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T16:24:21","slug":"dream-cities-within-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/63326\/dream-cities-within-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"Dream cities are within reach\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For millennia, people have been living in cities. Throughout human history, cities have been at the centre of great strides in technological and societal development, creating communities and advancing culture, science, and trade. <\/p>\n\n

\"Greenpeace
For Urban October, staff, volunteers and guests attended an event organised by Greenpeace Africa at the University of Nairobi, to share ideas, stories and participate in creating a shared vision for their dream city.
\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Caleb Mbuvi<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Cities come in all shapes and sizes, but the notion of collective resilience and wellbeing for the majority of the population has always underpinned their very foundations. However, as cities are often a nexus for decision-making and societal advancement, they have also become the places where the inequities and disparities in society are the most clear, with certain sections of the population excluded, marginalised and vulnerable. <\/p>\n\n

As the climate emergency intensifies, the role of cities will become increasingly important, both as protectors of large numbers of people -particularly the most vulnerable- and as catalysts for the move towards the cleaner, safer, and more sustainable world we need to see.  This can only be done if we lean into our communities for collective strength, to work together to achieve urban justice. <\/p>\n\n

Cities for Hope<\/h2>\n\n

As part of Greenpeace International\u2019s Urban Justice campaign, an Opinion Poll<\/a> was conducted in seven major cities across the Global South. This was done to better understand the common lived experience of different populations, how they envisioned a better city, as well as their major concerns regarding life in their city. <\/p>\n\n

While the respondents came from different regions across the globe, including South America, Africa, MENA and South East Asia, one thing was clear: a sense of hope. <\/p>\n\n

\"Flor
Flor Alba Garc\u00eda P\u00e9rez is a waste picker, a family legacy of doing this line of work. She has been working for more than 40 years as a professional waste recycler in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia. She is also fighting for the dignity of her profession and to almost 60,000 waste pickers in Colombia. \nThrough her work, she was able to help all Bogotanos to have a cleaner, more inclusive, resilient and green city. She inspires many environmental movement to recover Bogota’s sense of belonging towards a more sustainable city.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Diana Rey Melo \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Despite the myriad of daily challenges faced, over half of the people polled (56%) are optimistic about the future and believe that their current city could become their \u201cdream city\u201d. <\/p>\n\n

This does not mean that they are unaware of the shortcomings of their city, or the deep structural problems that exist. Rather, there is a strong, clear and collective belief in most cities that positive change is possible.<\/p>\n\n

For example, when respondents were asked to describe their ideal or perfect city, the emergent themes were common across the world: clean air, clean water, easy access to education and medical treatment, along with safe, green spaces to connect with nature. <\/p>\n\n

As one of the respondents from Nairobi, Kenya put it: \u201cI believe that a good city would be friendly, inclusive and environmentally friendly. It would be a place where everyone can feel welcome and valued, regardless of their background. The people of a good city would have a sense of cooperation and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Residents in Nairobi were the most optimistic in the poll with 91% believing that the city could become their \u201cdream city\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

\n<\/lite-youtube>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n

A Clear Path Forward <\/h2>\n\n

Daily struggles such as commuting via public transport are exacerbated by problems such as traffic congestion in many Global South cities, which in turn impacts air pollution and CO2 emissions. In the case of a recent initiative in Delhi, India, where women commuters are given free access to public transport, Haseena, a 43-year-old single mother from explains that due to discrimination, often the predominantly male bus drivers will not stop for women waiting at the bus stops. However, like many urban residents, communities have solutions to offer and Haseena\u2019s is as simple as it would be effective: employ more female bus drivers. <\/p>\n\n

\"Portraits
Haseena, a 43-year-old single mother residing in Dilshad Colony, Nayi Seemapuri, works as a domestic helper in various households. Her daily commute involves relying on DTC buses, which often present several challenges. Overcrowding is a persistent issue, making her journey uncomfortable. Delays in bus schedules sometimes hinder her punctuality at work. Additionally, she highlights a problem where buses occasionally fail to stop if there are many women waiting, or they stop far from the designated bus stand, requiring passengers to sprint to catch them.\n\nHaseena envisions a solution: female bus drivers. She believes that having women behind the wheel would instill a sense of pride and responsibility, leading to improved bus services.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Vinit Gupta \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In the seven cities polled, the responses on what constituted the biggest problems -and who was primarily responsible for addressing them- were relatively uniform in nature despite the geographical differences. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

This is because people simply want to live healthy, safe lives.<\/p>\n\n

At the same time, as extreme weather events are becoming more intense and frequent , less than half (47%) of the residents polled feel safe from these events in their cities. Again the notion of climate justice and the reality of living with multiple, intersectional crises is glaringly evident, particularly for those living in the Global South.<\/p>\n\n

A call for #UrbanJustice<\/h2>\n\n

Across the globe, communities that have historically been excluded are facing the brunt of the climate and social crises. It is imperative, if we are to achieve clean, safe, resilient cities for all, that we include everyone in every step of the way, especially the marginalised and traditionally underrepresented. It is only through collective co-creation and the adoption of urban, social and climate justice principles that cities in the Global South will thrive in the years to come. This is again evident in the poll whereby higher income residents in five of the seven cities felt safer from extreme weather events than lower income residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

You cannot put a price on human life and income should not be a determining factor during the climate crisis. After all, cities bring people together, but communities bring them to life.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n \t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUrban Justice\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Urban Justice is addressing a global crisis from its local perspective by placing life in the centre of cities.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t \n Learn more\n <\/a>\n \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\n

Hendri Pelser is a Global South citizen and a senior campaign analyst at Greenpeace International. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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