أرشيف الوسم: sprawl

Every now and then, GCC citizens wake up to a new announcement for the launch of another novel megaproject. These megaprojects often share the same promises and goals, such as creating financial centers, attracting foreign investments, job creation, transfer of knowledge, an alternative income stream, or economy diversification. Past projects include Silk city in Kuwait, NEOM and the unique Line in KSA, the Duqm in Oman as well as many others. Unfortunately, the problem is that more often than not, these mega builds deliver on only a fraction of their stated promises.

The primary issue with these megaprojects is their clear lack of citizen participation. Despite elaborate marketing campaigns directed at the public, the projects rarely manifest from community input or interests. Lofty promises are made by organizers, and citizens remain skeptical. Further, these ambitious plans ask citizens to make sacrifices and contribute to their success, even though community members feel alienated throughout the process.

We cannot deny the positive impacts generated by these projects and the wide international coverage they receive. They infer attempts to move the stagnant economy and escape the repetition of traditional endeavors that proved unsuccessful in the past. Nevertheless, we must raise some worthy questions, as projects of this scale should not pass without careful study and examination. If the project fails, it’s very difficult to undo without high economic, social, and environmental costs.

Here are the questions to ask when considering a megaproject:

• Do the GCC countries have the luxury of investing future generations’ funds for immature/high-risk projects?
• Are these projects worth risking untouched land that is financially and environmentally costly to develop while ignoring existing urban centers suffering from complex problems and when GCC countries face an unprecedented lack of financial/human resources?
• Can the Arabian Peninsula accommodate an additional influx of migrant workers, population, tourists, and consumers? Were the associated environmental and financial costs resulting from further urban sprawl and population expansion taken into consideration?
• Will GCC countries truly benefit from this project, or does it only serve to add another item on the portfolio of international mega consultancies and contracting companies?
• Should national investments of this scale necessitate more citizen participation?

In this moment, we are moving against the current. Nations worldwide invest in wise valuable projects where the environment, conservation, and recycling are all priorities. Advanced nations approach projects with an intense analysis of cost and returns. Contemporary successful projects are local, compact, smart, and efficient, while our present proposals are foreign, mega, conventional and wasteful.

The “Before It’s Too Late” report was prepared by 29 Kuwaiti academics who set out to shed a light on the dire state of Kuwait’s economy. The report included a call for major reforms to correct the current trajectory of Kuwait’s chaotic urban sprawl and rescue the general condition of the State while it is still possible.

The report states that “the sustainability of the welfare state for future generations is not possible without sacrifices and concessions made by our current generation.”*  In this context, reforming Kuwait’s urban growth model is key to its overall transformation. Although the model of urban growth that Kuwait followed for more than 50 years may have been suitable when the population was limited and the resources vast, it is no longer appropriate or sustainable.

After many years of explosive population growth and a surge in spending and subsidiaries coupled with wasting resources and missing opportunities to create a productive sector, many challenges have arisen. Thus, we are obliged to reconsider our urban growth policies and unwise expansion, which is the source of massive governmental and individual wastage.

Reestablishing urban development in Kuwait on sustainable principles that protect the rights of future generations must be made a priority. The first step toward this goal is to control the model of chaotic urban sprawl, which is rejected worldwide due to its disastrous effects on the economy and environment.

Chaotic urban sprawl has a negative economic impact, as the segregated new cities require the construction of new roads, infrastructure, and services. They also require the employment of many services and an administrative workforce that would increase the State’s spending. This cost is felt now, and in the near future, it would constitute heavy obligations, which the State may not be able to keep.

The model employed today provides a single housing option that drains the state’s and the individual’s budget. Moreover, this model forces families to spend their entire savings on the procurement of housing, leaving them in debt for the rest of their lives. This cost does not even include the price of furnishing and maintaining large homes secluded on the outskirts with inadequate amenities. Also, in the future, the peripheries would receive the least amount from municipal and public services and become locations of complex economic and social problems.

The chaotic urban sprawl negatively impacts the environment. Urban sprawl consumes natural land, destroys the environment, and increases greenhouse gas emissions that result from a dependency on private vehicles and road usage. These factors contribute to increased temperatures as well as other climatic disasters, such as seasonal floods.

Chaotic urban sprawl also imparts a negative social impact in addition to its economic consequences. Chaotic urban sprawl increases class disparity and hinders the creation of coherent communities. The secluded urban setting, the time spent on roads, the large distance between home and work, and the lack of physical movement directly impact psychological and physical health.

We must take a stance while it is still possible and reconsider our urban development model. We need to choose a sustainable approach that meets our aspirations and protects the rights of future generations. Decision makers should urgently take these steps:

• Review the state’s master plan and reevaluate the location of future housing cities to ensure their suitability and efficiency, measuring their life cycle cost based on real givens.
• Conduct detailed studies on the existing metropolitan area, consider the possibility of redistributing land-uses, and introduce new land-uses that correspond with current conditions, requirements, and circumstances.
• Update housing design criteria and establish highly efficient guidelines that consider long-term costs and meet economic and environmental standards.
• Revise current building regulations and produce new ones that propose alternative housing options that accommodate different families and individuals.

… Before it’s too late!

• *kuwaitimpakt.com

منذ سنوات والكويت تواجه مشكلة تنموية تتمثل في نموذج مركب يجمع بين الفشل الإداري وإدمان الهدر الريعي. وفي ظل هذا النموذج تتفاقم المشاكل الاقتصادية والاجتماعية، ويستشري الفساد الإداري والمالي، ويوماً بعد يوم يزيد الضغط على المواطن البسيط، وتخسر الطبقة المتوسطة العديد من مكاسبها، ويجد الفرد في مواجهة ذلك صعوبات حاضرة ومستقبل مجهول.

وبينما يسعى مخططو المدن لتحقيق الأهداف التنموية، والتي عادة ما تكون بعيدة المدى ومستدامة، وتتبع خطط حريصة على حفظ الموارد، وحماية البيئة، ومراعاة حقوق الأجيال القادمة. ويعتبر المخططون أنفسهم نخبة تستند على نظريات علمية، وتستخدم أدوات فنية وعقلانية للمفاضلة بين الخيارات ولاتخاذ القرارات.

ولكن من جهة أخرى، فإن من يقود الرأي العام مجموعة شعبوية تستند على الأسلوب الخطابي العاطفي والتبسيط المخل، ويتسم خطابها بمعارضة النخب، والسياسات الحكومية، والسعي لربط آراء المختصين بالسلطة الحاكمة، والتكسب من خلال اللعب على الانقسامات الطبقية في المجتمع. ويفتقر طرحها للمنطق السليم، ويشجع المطالبات الاستهلاكية والخطط الريعية الحكومية بغض النظر عن جدواها.  لكن هذا الخطاب الشعبوي يجد قبولاً لأنه يستند على حالة الإحباط العام، وانسداد الأفق، وفشل النظم الديمقراطية في تحقيق طموحات الشعب، وشعور المواطن العادي بالظلم، وأنه غير قادر على التأثير على واقعه.

إن هذا الاتجاه الشعبوي الذي أصبح يمتلك الرأي العام من خلال تواصله المباشر مع المواطن البسيط، وامتلاكه لمنصات إعلامية عديدة وعلى رأسها منصات التواصل الاجتماعي، فأصبح يقود الخطط، ويوجه الأولويات الحكومية، ويحدد مستقبل البلد في كل المجالات ومنها التخطيط الحضري والعمراني.

لذلك، وفي ظل هذه الظروف الحرجة التي نمر بها، أصبح لزاماً على المختصين السعي الحثيث نحو مواجهة هذا التيار الشعبوي وإعادة الاعتبار للمهنية والمنطق السليم، وممكن أن يتم لك من خلال:

• إعادة بناء الثقة بذوي الاختصاص لاسيما في مجال التخطيط العمراني والحضري.
• المشاركة في النقاشات الشعبية والتواصل المباشر مع المواطنين.
• معالجة الخلل في نظمنا الديمقراطية بحيث تحقق أفضل تمثيل للشعب.
• معالجة الخلل في النظم البيروقراطية التي باتت عائقاً نحو تحقيق الأهداف التنموية.
• تعزيز الوعي بدور الخطط الهيكلية العمرانية في رفع جودة الحياة.
• تعزيز الشفافية والنزاهة وتعزيز ثقة المواطنين بالقرارات الحكومية.
• إعادة الكوينالمجلس البلدي، وتوسيع دائرة تمثيله، وبسط سلطاته على القرارات البلدية.

For years, Kuwait has continued to face a major development crisis, and this is evident by the composite model that combines administration failure and addiction of wasteful (welfare) policies. The current paradigm exacerbates our economic and social problems, as we are witnessing widespread administrative and financial corruption.

Each passing day, citizens are confronted with tremendous pressures, and the middle class is losing many of its gains, while the individual is confronted with difficulties and an increasingly nebulous future.

Urban planners promote plans that meet development goals, which are long-term, sustainable, protect resources and the environment, and consider the rights of future generations. Further, planners rely on scientific theories and utilizes technical sensible tools to evaluate alternatives and make decisions. On the other hand, public opinion is led by pulpit groups that focus on an emotional and rhetorical narrative that is generally weak, simple, and opposes elites and governmental policies. It seeks to form a link between professional opinion and authority.

The populist play on the existing class division in society, and their rhetoric lack sound sense. It tends to encourage consumption demands and wasteful government spending despite their feasibility. This populist front is accepted and widely supported because it relies on the overall frustration as well as the failure of the democratic system to meet the ambitions of its citizens. Frustrations such as these spread the feeling of injustice and an inability to control its destiny.

At this moment, populists own public opinion through direct communication and controlling media platforms, especially social media. The populist movement began to lead plans, guide governmental proprieties, and determine the future of the country in all sectors including urban planning.

Under these difficult times, professionals must face mainstream populism head-on and reinstate professionalism and common sense. This can be achieved through:

• Building trust in professional, especially, urban planners;
• Engage in public discussions and debates and address the common citizen;
• Reform our democratic system for better representation and efficiency;
• Restructuring bureaucratic systems that became an obstacle to meet development plans;
• Reinforce awareness about the role of master plans in the creation of quality life;
• Establish transparency measures and integrity government to regain trust in authorities’ decisions;
• Empower the municipal council and expand its representation as well as broadening its powers and jurisdictions on municipal matters.