Wednesday, October 7 2009

Urban planners are facing new challenges including the effects of climate change as they planned for the growing populations of cities, said Isaac James, deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment.

At the launch of the Ministry’s Urban Planning Career Caravan at South-East Port-of-Spain Secondary School for Monday’s observance of World Habitat Day 2009, James referred to the United Nations warning that planners were facing unprecedented challenges with rising sea levels, flooding and climate related hazards.

“In both developed and developing countries cities and towns are feeling the effects of not only climate change, but ozone depletion, food insecurity, population growth, economic instability. These factors will significantly shape towns, cities”. James said UN Habitat has reminded that there was no replacement for planning, and meeting the needs of city dwellers in a rapidly urbanising world which was highlighted on World Habitat Day. He said the challenges required fresh approaches for workable solutions in the urban landscape.

James said in many of the largest cities of the world the failure of communities and other interest groups to be meaningfully involved in urban planning has led to problems of marginalisation and problems of rapidly growing “largely poor informal cities”. TT is fortunate not to have slum areas like other countries. “One of our aims and objectives is that we never reach there,” James said.

He said half of the world’s population live in urban areas and urban planning was important for governments. The ministry through the Town and Country Planning Division he said was working to transform densely populated areas such as Arima and El Socorro.

Locally, James said, Port-of-Spain ranks as the highest populated city followed by San Fernando.

He said it had a population of 60,000 and thousands of persons commuted to and from the city for a variety of reasons including to attend school and conduct business.