Urban Sprawl SOS: Can Innovation Save Our Cities From The Peri-Urban Peril?
"Discover how transformative innovation can combat exclusion and foster sustainability in Asia's rapidly urbanizing regions."
For over a century, the paradox of poverty amidst progress has haunted societies. Even in the most advanced economies, inequalities persist, while the environmental consequences of industrial development threaten the planet's future. This reality demands a shift in how we approach innovation, emphasizing environmental and social justice.
The concept of social innovation has emerged, seeking to address shared human needs and solve pressing social problems. Inclusive innovation aims to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, dismantling social injustices and restoring the relationship between society and the environment. This requires systemic changes that challenge existing innovation trajectories, promote diverse participation, and address the unequal distribution of benefits.
Urbanization presents a significant challenge and opportunity for systems-wide transformation. While cities can be engines of growth and innovation, they also concentrate social problems like poverty and environmental degradation. In the Global South, the peri-urban interface—where rural and urban areas meet—highlights inequalities and environmental issues. Transformative innovation is crucial for creating a more humane urbanism amidst rapid global urban transition.
Peri-Urban Dynamics: A Call for Urban Innovation
Peri-urban areas in rapidly developing countries like India and China face a self-reinforcing cycle of exclusionary urbanization. This cycle involves neoliberal restructuring of space, co-option of environmental agendas, and control responses to urban crises. Consequently, many poor and informal residents face displacement, environmental degradation, and exclusion from policy processes. However, these contexts also offer opportunities for alternative, sustainable development trajectories.
- Neoliberal Restructuring: Dominant patterns of urban restructuring lead to uncertainty over land use and livelihoods.
- Blurring of Boundaries: Weak traditional institutions and complex administrative activities create institutional vacuums.
- Changing Socio-Technical-Ecological Systems: Interactions between human and natural systems result in declines in ecosystem services and conflicts over resources.
Transformative Innovation: Building a Sustainable Future
Transitional peri-urban contexts present both challenges and unique opportunities for transformative innovation. Recognizing sustainability frontiers in these areas requires addressing inequalities and building synergies across the urban-rural continuum. By focusing on distinctive peri-urban features and their characteristics, we can develop inclusive, experimental, and direction-changing processes within the transformative innovation policy agenda. Fostering new alliances and capturing opportunities can lead to more sustainable and equitable urban development trajectories, ultimately contributing to a better future for all.