SDG Brazil

    For my blog posts, I chose to focus on making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable as my sustainable development goal. To discuss urbanization, I thought it would be best to use Brazil and address how this nation has dealt with this process. In the last few decades, Brazil has witnessed monumental changes as their cities grow in size. Along with this growth, it should be noted that the quality of life should also be improved as well. That’s why the Brazilian Ministry of Cities and EMBARQ Brasil has begun working on a publication that “will provide guidelines to help assess potential projects, and will help cities craft projects that prioritize public transport, pedestrians, and cyclists to create more inclusive and sustainable cities” (Costodio, para 2).  The implementation of this criteria will serve areas of Brazilian cities that have not caught up to the infrastructural demand that is associated with urban development. Sustainable transportation is needed in Brazil especially as their economy continues to steadily grow, this type of growth has led to unplanned urbanization in rural areas that do not have the same resources as other cities. In response to this Brazil introduced the Mobility Pact “which requires cities with more than 20,000 residents to develop an Urban Mobility Plan to improve mobility and promote sustainable development” (WRI, para 2).      

    This initiative to promote urban mobility can be seen all over the world, in both developed and undeveloped countries the New Urban Agenda has been adopted with the hopes of making our future more sustainable. The cost of this goal can be equated by the amount of predicted beneficial outcomes. For instance, “New York City, where former Mayor Michael Bloomberg pedestrianized inner-city areas such as Times Square. This led to a 63% reduction in road accidents, an 11% increase in the number of pedestrians, and a 13% increase in bus speeds in the pedestrianized areas, at the cost of only US$ 1.5 million” (Costodio, para 6). This report reflects that with successful implementation positively impacts the various sections of urban life. This can be monitored by the annual reports of inclusive and accessible environments being utilized in heavily urbanized areas, these areas include BRT, bus corridors and dedicated lanes, bike paths and bike lanes, sidewalks and road safety.       

    Why does this matter? The urbanisation of Brazil has left a polarized effect on the Brazilians who are witnessing the development of local areas. Due to colonial history, Brazil was left in a state of social inequality where disparities have defined the way of life for those living in rural areas. Behind this history, systematic oppression has left “the elite to occupy most of the areas with sufficient infrastructure, or nuclear cores, as compared to the rural poor who resigned themselves to living on the cheaper periphery of the city, further from working opportunities” (Logan, para 3). These circumstances have left inhabitants to face poor living conditions and jeopardize their degree of quality living. With the global spread of this disease, policy makers and city officials are forced to rethink the standards of public health and sustainability that existed before. Cities are the frontline of this global battle, now more than ever before proper urbanization is crucial to public health. With half of the global population living in cities, billions of people are faced with the challenge of rising temperatures, poor air quality, lack of public transportation, higher crime rates, and more prone to disease.  

References

Costodio, F. (2014, October 7). Ensuring That Brazil’s Urban Mobility Projects Support Sustainable Transport. World Resources Institute. Retrieved from: https://wrirosscities.org/news/ensuring-brazil’s-urban-mobility-projects-support-sustainable-transport

  

Logan, A. (2015, July 12). Crossing Streets Social Divides Urbanization Brazil. The Borgen Project. Retrieved from: https://borgenproject.org/crossing-streets-social-divides-urbanization-brazil/

  

World Resources Institute. (2020, September 20). Brazilian Cities Begin to Reshape Urban Areas Through Sustainable Mobility Plans. World Resources Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.wri.org/our-work/top-outcome/brazilian-cities-begin-reshape-urban-areas-through-sustainable-mobility-plans