Urbanization is a Political Process

Today’s world is marked by ever more rapid urbanization. How can national and local governments work together to manage it?

Central governments have an important role to play in managing the process of urbanization that has not been fully understood. The tendency in general has been to delegate responsibility to local government. But especially in countries that are growing very fast, we need to understand that urban planning is a public function. It requires a proper set of rules and regulations and these must emanate from the legal framework of a country.

Urbanization is a political, collective process. It comprises a lot of conflicting agendas; it generates a lot of value; we all know about the dangers of corruption. You cannot hope to have good urbanization without proper checks and balances, without public accountability in a transparent system – a democratic system, I dare say. This is something that needs to be regulated by law and is mainly in the hands of the central government and the parliament.

Of course there is a need for strong co-operation and for delegation of power to the local authorities. But if we look at the disastrous cases of urbanization we are seeing in many countries and try to study the causes, what usually becomes immediately apparent is a weakened legal framework. There are other reasons, too: poor planning and design, inadequate financial support. But what is paramount is the willingness of the central government to systematically govern urbanization. Bees build their settlements by instinct, but we build ours by political consensus and agreement. Therefore legislation, rules and regulations, are of key importance for proper and sustainable urbanization.

At the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016, the United Nations adopted the New Urban Agenda. What changes do you expect this to bring about?  

The New Urban Agenda was the result of two years of elaboration in a huge process of consultation. I think what we would like to see come out of it is a new awareness of the strategic role that urbanization plays in modern society, and the assignment of proper responsibilities in addressing the question and solving the problems. It provides guidance to national and local governments to plan and make cities and human settlements safer, more inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

Do you see a role for a regional organization like the OSCE?

Yes, insofar as it focuses its attention on peace and security in the region, which is itself a transformative process. There is the ageing of the population, for example. The pressure of migration is a huge reality for the region, and this is something that requires a revitalization of thinking about urbanization – about how to properly integrate migrants. There is also the challenge of helping other countries outside the region to achieve their development objectives. We are living in an interconnected world and we cannot pretend to solve our problems in isolation. We are all called upon to be cosmopolitans, not just localists.

What we see here in our European cities is not the reality of the world. And this is a challenge for the region. To forget what is happening in the rest of the world can be a bad attitude. Globally we are seeing a fundamental shift from industrial to post-industrial economies. We need to confront the strategic societal transformation that is going to take place in the next couple of decades with open eyes. This is happening at the same time as the various regional conflicts we are witnessing. There is no other manner of looking at reality than in its full complexity, taking into account the full diversity of conflicting issues.

We live in a part of the world that is wealthy and therefore we have an additional responsibility. We can lead by example. Take the Austrian society, for example, Vienna in particular. Historically it has played changing roles in the world. It was the capital of an empire; that empire was lost; in the Second World War the city was severely destroyed; now it has recovered and developed as part of a welfare state, which sets very good example. If you look at the housing policy of this country and especially of this city, you see a very good example of integration. Vienna has achieved a high quality of life through the combination of very good central governmental policies that ensure citizens’ welfare and good local politics. This is the kind arrangement that produces a good outcome. You cannot have a good outcome with a central government that is absent, especially regarding issues of security, education and health, which affect the quality of life of citizens. 

You are a former mayor – of a major city, Barcelona. What do you bring from that experience to your current work?

I was fortunate enough to be in Barcelona during the democratization process after the Franco dictatorship. That process began in 1975, and starting in 1982 we had not just democracy but also a strong evolution of the welfare state in Spain, with healthcare for everybody and universal education. On top of that, in Barcelona we had the preparations for hosting the Olympic Games in 1992 as an occasion to change the nature of the city. Barcelona was an industrial city that suddenly became uncompetitive in early 1970s due to the oil crisis, which caused huge unemployment. Thanks to democracy and a strong partnership between the people and the central government, we were able to elaborate a long-term strategy to transform the city. This did not happen by chance, but through hard work.