أرشيف الوسم: Corona

The fundamental question we must ask at this critical stage of our history is: How do we place the productive economy at the heart of urban development? Urban expansion can become a burden if it is not grounded in production and value creation. Building cities that evolve based on production rather than consumption is the key to authentic and sustainable development.

Our economy remains rentier, heavily dependent on oil, and the public sector remains the primary employer of citizens. With urban expansion and the establishment of new cities, we have a unique opportunity to invest in economic reform and redirect resources toward more productive sectors.

Here, I argue that urban expansion and housing plans must be closely linked and contingent upon the creation of productive jobs that generate real economic value and contribute to the increase of gross domestic product (GDP). These jobs should utilize the skills of local workers and offer fair wages that are driven by market demand.

The welfare state has created a form of fake employment or “disguised unemployment,” where resources are depleted without actual production. Excess labor in enterprises that do not need this number represents an economic loss, unlike productive labor that drives sustainable growth. Therefore, development plans must be based on production, not consumption, because expansion based on temporary resource abundance threatens economic stability.

In this regard, there is a pivotal role of urban planning, which must focus on:

• Encouraging productive uses, especially mixed uses.
• Investing in infrastructure that stimulates production, not false displays of well-being.
• Stimulating small industries and creative initiatives by supporting industrial land and entrepreneurial workspaces.

In conjunction with urban development, we must develop education and skills to keep pace with industrial and technological transformations, as curricula are still far from serving the needs of the future economy, despite significant spending on them.

At the same time, we must consider and support local production chains that rely on local raw materials and labor, as this has a positive impact on strengthening national wealth and social cohesion.

Development plans must include special attention to creative and cultural production in the fields of art, design, and architecture, as is the case in cities like Barcelona and Copenhagen, which have flourished thanks to the knowledge economy and creativity. Kuwait has a long history in these fields and boasts a distinguished human capital in these sectors in particular.

Finally, national policies must be based on policies, regulations, and governance that stimulate production through exemptions, facilitations, and research support, along with flexible land planning systems that enable productive activities to flourish.

It is time to link urban sprawl with strict economic policies that lead to the creation of productive cities, combining creativity, industry, and knowledge. Urban development must be a means of creating true wealth, not a means of fostering consumption and speculation.

لطالما ارتبطت التنمية الحضرية بالاستهلاك – مراكز التسوق، وناطحات السحاب، والمناطق السياحية، والمضاربة العقارية. لكن النمو القائم على الاستهلاك يُعمّق عدم المساواة، ويستنزف الموارد، ويُحوّل المواطنين إلى مستهلكين سلبيين. لذلك بينما نمضي نحو إنشاء المزيد من المدن ونواصل من التوسع الحضري فنحن بحاجة إلى تحول أعمق حين تصبح المدن منتجة اقتصاديًا، واجتماعيًا، وبيئيًا، وثقافيًا. ومصممة وفق متطلبات واحتياجات مستخدميها.

وذلك ما أشارت إليه جين جاكوبس ببراعة قائلةً: “تمتلك المدن القدرة على توفير شيء للجميع، فقط لأنها، وعندما، يُنشئها الجميع.”  تُذكّرنا كلماتها بأن المدن الناجحة لا تُشكّل من الأعلى إلى الأسفل، بل من القاعدة الشعبية أولأً، أي من خلال مساهمة الناس بفاعلية، وليس مجرد تلقيهم المنتج النهائي.

لبناء مدن منتجة، يجب أن نبدأ بوضع اقتصادات منتجة في مركزها. بدلًا من النظر لها كمنتجات عقارية أوإعطاء الأولوية لاستهلاك، ينبغي على المدن الاستثمار في مراكز الإنتاج والابتكار والتطوير المحلية. وبذلك، تُقلل المدن من الاعتماد على الموارد، وتُحفّز فرص العمل، وتُعيد تدوير القيمة محلياً.

ولذلك يجب أن يُعزز التصميم الحضري المجتمعات المُنتجة – الحدائق التعاونية، وورش العمل المشتركة، ومختبرات المواطنين، والتجمعات الثقافية – وليس مجرد مناطق سكنية واستهلاكية وترفيهية. وبذلك تُحوّل هذه المساحات السكان إلى مُشاركين في خلق بيئتهم.

ومن الناحية البيئية، يجب على المدن أن تُولّد الحياة لا أن تستهلكها. وقد لاحظ لويس مومفورد أن “الوظيفة الرئيسية للمدينة هي تحويل الطاقة إلى شكل، والطاقة إلى ثقافة، والمواد الخام إلى رموز فنية حية، والتكاثر البيولوجي إلى إبداع اجتماعي”.

بعبارة أخرى، لا ينبغي أن تدعم البنية التحتية الاستهلاك فحسب (الطرق وشبكات المياه والصرف الصحي ومواقف السيارات، وأنظمة تكييف الهواء).  بل ينبغي أن تُنتج الطاقة، وتُولّد المياه النظيفة، وتُحوّل النفايات العضوية إلى طاقة أو سماد، وتُدمج الأنظمة الخضراء في النسيج الحضري.

وأخيرًا، يجب أن تعكس الحوكمة الإنتاج. يجب أن يكون التخطيط والميزانية متلازمين، وأن يُوجّها سلطة اتخاذ القرار إلى المجتمعات المحلية حتى تُصبح المجتمعات مُنتجة للسياسات، لا مجرد مُشاركة فيها.

حيث أن مدننا حالياً تؤدي فقط لتغذية المزيد من الاستهلاك وفرضه على الناس.  بينما المدن المنتجة تسعى لخلق القيمة المادية والثقافية من الداخل. وقد حذّرت جاكوبس في موضع آخر: “لا يوجد منطق يُمكن فرضه على المدينة؛ فالناس هم من يصنعونها، وعلينا أن نُلائم خططنا معهم، لا مع المباني”. إذا انتبهنا لهذه الحكمة، يُمكن لمستقبلنا الحضري أن يتطور من الاستهلاك السلبي إلى الإبداع النشط – حيث نبني مستقبلاً مستداماً، عادلاً، صانعاً للدخل ونابضاً بالحياة.

Urban development has long been associated with consumption – shopping malls, skyscrapers, tourist areas, and real estate speculation. But consumption-driven growth deepens inequality, drains resources, and turns citizens into passive consumers. As we move towards the creation of new cities and more urban sprawl, we need a more profound transformation to make cities economically, socially, environmentally, and culturally productive. Cities are designed according to the requirements and needs of their users. This is how Jane Jacobs brilliantly pointed out this shift: “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, everybody creates them.”

Her words remind us that successful cities are not formed from the top down but from the grassroots up, through people’s active contributions, not just as recipients of welfare and housing products.

To build productive cities, we must start by putting productive economies at their center. Instead of viewing them as real estate products or prioritizing consumption, cities should invest in local production, innovation, and development centers. In doing so, cities reduce reliance on resources, stimulate jobs, and recycle value locally.

Urban design must foster productive communities – collaborative gardens, shared workshops, citizen labs, cultural gatherings – not just residential, consumer, and recreational areas.  These spaces thus transform the inhabitants into participants in the creation of their environment.
Environmentally, cities should generate life, not consume it. Lewis Mumford has observed that “the chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity”.

In other words, infrastructure should not only support consumption (roads, water and sewage networks, parking spaces, and air conditioning systems).  They should produce energy, generate clean water, compost organic waste, and integrate green systems into the urban fabric.

Finally, governance must reflect production. Planning and budgeting must align and be participatory, with decision-making power channeled to communities so they become policy producers, not mere participants.

Whereas our cities are currently only seeking to attract and feed more consumption that is forced upon citizens. Productive cities strive to create material and cultural value from within.  Jacobs warned elsewhere: “There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.”
If we pay attention to this wisdom, our urban future can evolve from passive consumption to active creativity – building a sustainable, just, income-generating, and vibrant future.

We are back to the usual traffic congestion starting with the school year. Most people complain, some put forward suggestions and proposals to tackle the issue, and many blame the responsible road/traffic authorities. There have been calls upon the Ministry of Education to alternate official school day timings, in an effort to try and relieve the problem. However, others have suggested more radical solutions that call for a ban on issuing driving licenses for foreigners and preventing them from owning private cars! This scenario inevitably repeats every year without progress, change, or resolution.

One cannot deny the efforts made by the Ministry of Public Works, and the Public Authority of Roads and Transportation, who are responsible for the mega projects underway that are changing the face of Kuwait’s roadways; many of which are still in the design and/or construction phases. While we feel some improvement in terms of journey duration with each projects completion, the effect isn’t lasting and quickly returns to its previous, terrible state.

Of course, it is an undeniable truth that traffic congestion is a positive sign of growth, prosperity, and attractiveness in a city. According to the Central Agency of Statistics, the number of private cars had reached 2,300,000 at the end of 2019. At the same time, the total population reached 4,400,000, meaning that there is one vehicle for every two residents in Kuwait; a high percentage indeed. However, despite the vehicle numbers, the quality of mobility really depends on the metropolitan area.

It has become crucial to understand the negative effect of traffic congestion. Kuwait’s urban transport conditions are terrible, and is the result of years of neglect, alongside a series of arbitrary decisions that have led to the current urban environment situation. It also has a corresponding high economic cost; many commercial activities lose possible customers due to bad traffic. Also, there is a time cost to be considered with congestion, where most of the labor force endure daily delays that costs the economy more than 633 million KD per year.

Various studies confirm a direct relationship between the daily experience of traffic congestion, and the decline of mental health, such as high-stress levels, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, traffic congestion is considered among the leading causes of environmental pollution, both due to noise, and low air quality, which leads to various health threats.

We must realize that there are no magic solutions, and we won’t be able to improve the condition through more capital being spent on roads and bridges. We won’t achieve a sound urban environment without a willingness to change our lifestyle, and make some sacrifices. Thus, any corrective measures will not be readily accepted by the public, and would face significant opposition. The below set of recommendations is intended to guide decision-makers and those working in the urban development field:

• Review all urban planning policies, and re-evaluate our land use to achieve balanced distributions and more mixed land uses. This should reduce the need for mobility and the use of private vehicles.

• Invest in public transport; directly fund public bus networks to attract more users, and revive the metro project, despite economic unfeasibility. Also, re-evaluate the condition of taxis, and improve performance through the development of systems, standard types of vehicles, and mandatory driver standards.

• In parallel with the provision of public transport alternatives, introduce policies to reduce the use of private vehicles by increasing the cost of issuing licenses and registration fees, fuel prices, and parking fares, especially in commercial centers.

• There is no other country where all students go to school by private car, and no university in the world matches Kuwait’s for the number of students who own personal vehicles. It is crucial to impose collective transport on students, which would make a giant leap towards changing the culture of using public transport in the long run.

• Create residential neighborhoods with the necessary services to lower travel needs, and provide pedestrian networks and bike lanes. Introduce measures to limit speed and increase safety, to encourage youth and children’s walkability.

• Encourage working from home, in both public and private sectors, utilizing modern technology. The speedy activation of the small business license allows Kuwaitis to use home addresses for various businesses. At present this process still faces bureaucratic obstacles and regulations that fail to understand the programs value and the spirit of the time we live in.

These broad lines could create a significant shift in the urban environment of Kuwait, and ignite a cultural transformation. However, these will not succeed without specialists, and a credible team with a futuristic vision willing to face the prevailing views, to achieve a change for the public good and serve future generations.