ISLAMABAD: While many in the middle and lower middle classes in the capital can only dream of owning their own homes, a lecture on Thursday revealed that residents of large cities around the world are facing a similar problem.

A lecture titled, ‘Open Door 2015 Interaction with Pakistani Civil Society: Dialogue on Globalisation, Urbanisation and Cities’ by Professor Olivier Mongin was held at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

Mongin is an author and the co-editor of the journal Tousurbains. He is also the editorial director of the Esprit journal and the vice president of the French Union for Cultural and Scientific Press, as well as a member of the forum for mobile lives of the SNCH (French national railway company). He has also taught political philosophy at the University of Lyon II and the Centre Sèvres in Paris.

In his lecture, Mongin said that people living in big cities are concerned about their children’s access to housing, which is a fundamental right.

“House rents are continuously increasing in Paris, due to which the middle class can only dream of having a house, even on rent. There was a class struggle at the start of the 19th century but now, there is a place struggle,” he said.

He explained that urbanisation is linked to the flow of people and freight, and said the private sector plays a more substantial role in urbanisation compared to the public sector.

“Migration also plays a very important role in urbanisation. There were political and environmental migrations but in Europe for the last few years the flow of refugees from the Middle East has become a big reason for urbanisation.

“The rapid urbanisation is experienced by South Asia and the Sub-Saharan Africa is phenomenal. In Africa, it has killed agriculture but in Pakistan, where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, this is not feasible,” Mongin said.

He said that migration around the world, from rural to urban areas is very rapid. In the 1900s almost eight per cent of the global population lived in urban areas, and that figure has now reached 50 per cent. He added that in Brazil urbanisation has occurred at the cost of forests.

“Moreover urban customs are affecting rural customs all over the world. Quick urbanisation is not sustainable so steps should be taken to stop the different reasons for urbanisation,” he said.

Discussing possible solutions, Mongin said the only solution was to curtail the migration of people into large cities and to decrease the burden on services. He said that legal filters can also be applied to halt urbanisation.

“In Shanghai, if a person comes from a rural area, he needs a residence certificate. If one does not have a resident certificate in Shanghai he cannot access facilities like residence and education,” Mongin said. “People, especially labourers, who don’t have a residence certificate come to the city in the morning and after work they go back to shantytowns. Dubai also has a similar setup and non-residents don’t have access to all facilities.”

“Despite taking steps, urbanisation is increasing all over the world. In some countries, where there is a ban on illegal construction, people do construction at night to avoid police action,” he said.

Mongin added that pollution in big cities is also increasing, and that measures are being taken to decarbonise cities.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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