Writing sample
RISKS OF TRANSFERRING ‘PLANNING KNOWLEDGE’ FROM WESTERN OR ANGLO-EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Quazi Tausif Iqbal Master in Urban Planning, American University of Sharjah, UAE q.tousif@gmail.com
Any planning problem requires a unique solution depending on the context of the place. Context here refers to climate, topography, culture, values etc. These attributes vary largely from place to place and therefore require careful examination before a policy or ‘planning knowledge’ is adopted (or rather adapted). To understand the risks of copying planning knowledge, it would be interesting to first analyse the challenges faced by the western world today. By doing so, we can foresee the problems that will inadvertently get reflected by adopting the planning knowledge of the western world. Since planning includes practically every aspect of cities, we shall restrict our analysis to 3 categories – economic challenges, environmental challenges, and social challenges. 1. ECONOMIC CHALLENGES Economic superiority is perhaps the only reason why United States and many European countries today command the power exercised by them. However most of this wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few elite and the ever increasing inequalities in distribution of wealth is well documented. David Korten, author of ‘When Corporations Rule the World’ quotes statistics which show the growth in wealth of US between 1983 and 2008. The total GDP of US grew from $6.1 trillion to $13.2 trillion in constant 2005 dollars, 80% of this growth went to the wealthiest 5% of America. The bottom 60% of the population witnessed a loss by 7.5%. In fact of all the developed world, the income inequality is the highest in the United States. This single statistical figures should suffice for the developing world to take a step back and reevaluate their developmental models. Globalization has transferred this epidemic to much of the developing world, where natural resources are exploited by the corporations for huge financial gains in return for a handful of jobs in the developing world. One example of corporate exploitation of labour can be found in Bangladesh in Southeast Asia where international clothing brands establish factories, where labours work in sub human conditions for meagre income. In 2012 an accident which resulted in about 1000 deaths of factory workers revealed the dark side of air conditioned modern branded stores. The recent crisis of 2008 has exposed the increasing dependence of the developing countries on the United States. Any political or economic uncertainty in the US leads to chaos and worry in most of the world which is nothing but a manifestation of colonialism where countries are controlled through economic power instead of direct military presence. These facts show the harmful effects of the capitalistic model of economic development which is adopted by most of the developed world and is slowly penetrating the developing world. This model is not only based on exploitation but also undependable as evident from the recession once in every decade.
2. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE5
Writing sample United States which is about 4.5% of the world population consumes about 25% of the world’s energy (United Nations, 2011). Imagine the effect on the environment if such trends are followed elsewhere. The increasing dependence of countries on traditional energy sources would result in a catastrophe for the environment when most developing countries are already facing severe consequences as a result of pollution of land, air and water. The ever increasing sales of personal automobile in the developing world and with manufacturers targeting these markets as the developed world gets saturated, the effect on the environment would be irreversible. Other problems such as urban sprawl, congestion, air pollution, unsafe streets etc. are a direct result of car culture of the modern cities. Governments need to make conscious efforts to diversify and promote alternative land use development models which cater to the local population. Modern agricultural practices with extensive use of pesticides and lowered nutritional value of food is another result of adopting western agricultural practices. Dr. Vandana Shiva, an environmentalist extensively debates the false notion of increasing productivity of the GMO crops in her book ‘Earth Democracy’. The deteriorating soil quality due to ever increasing use of pesticides has made irreversible damage to the environment. She quotes statistics that in India alone, between 1997 and 2009 around 200,000 farmers have committed suicides due to debts caused by expensive GMO seeds. This phenomena is repeated in parts of South Asia, and Africa where GMO crops are being extensively adopted and in most cases being forced upon the populations by means of treaties. Europe on the other hand has taken a strong stand against the use of GMO seeds. 3. SOCIAL CHALLENGES Some of the challenges faced by the developed world are increasing crime rates, increasing obesity, increasing violence among teenagers, increased use of drugs, addiction, lobbyism, increasing corruption, decreasing participation in the political processes (less and less people voting), decreased human interaction, materialism, consumerism etc. Capitalism is fuelled by the culture of consumerism. Due to constant bombarding of media outlets asking people to buy stuff even though they might not need it, and the notion that material wealth determines a person’s status in the society, people work day in day out to achieve this material wealth. This results in a constant struggle towards acquiring more wealth without any regard to the means adopted to pursue it. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 870 million people go hungry every day and 1/3rd of the total agricultural produce of the world goes into wastage which is more than enough to feed the hungry population. In UAE alone, 35% of the total solid waste generated is food (Bureau of Statistics, 2011). The food wastage figures get worse in many parts of the western world. These problems are a result of apathy of developed world population towards basic necessities of life. THE WAY FORWARD These are serious issues which need to be addressed and should become a consideration when framing policies (proactive) rather than choosing to act upon it when the problem arises (reactive). The developing world has a choice - to copy western world’s planning knowledge and reciprocate all the challenges that come with it or choose an alternative sustainable path and set a role model for the western world. Traditional practices are still relevant in most of the developing world and this can form the source of knowledge to determine a different future, a future which is selfless and sustainable.