Knowing your resources
In the book "Be Water, my friend," among multiple insights, Shannon Lee presents the astonishing idea that our strengths are basically just the back sides of our weaknesses. Mindfulness and purpose of using our unique and, at times, non-obvious set of wired "tools" was one of the main takeaways of this "manual" to the philosophy of her legendary father. Another biggie was flexible "fluid" responsiveness derived from the attitude to each battle (technically, a conflict) - as a sort of relationship. And as many other types of subject relationships - not less than object relationships - they must be taken with decent respect and reflection.
Coastal areas and cities next to the rivers have such innate integral resources as accessible water, ecosystems, transportation, and often - energy for industrial and residential uses. These resources can be taken and utilized so differently that planning efforts constitute only a halfway to success, as we see in multiple examples of the rises and falls of local economies. The full-scale "art of the real" begins with implementation. Here, the race for limited resources of energy, water, money, and human capital causes the trend to develop city branding - to emphasize their strong competitive edge. This move embodies a solid market economy attribute, but the precedents differ based on city managers' mindfulness level. The image of a city can be found on the insightful look into the "hidden gems" that it can offer, or, on the other end of the spectrum - spawn the cookie cutter "garden cities" in the desert, "capitals of love" amidst social anxiety or other centers of all goodness where the locals never even saw proper utility services. Technically, they either skillfully use available resources or go into extensive debt.
Water cities are also associated with a range of challenges and weaknesses. Land subsidence, floods, storms, watershed pollution caused by intensive uses and mismanaged tourism, and temperamental seasonality affect multiple local economies. Water needs the way to go, and people constantly need clean water and correlated natural resources for their sustained welfare. Balancing the seasons of ample precipitation with the episodes of aridity takes a skillful approach, as many factors affect the availability and appropriation of essential resources. The intelligent system is based on long-term projections to assess the availability of various resources and challenges for future generations - as the coastal and riverine areas continue to accommodate growing urbanization.
According to the United Nations, long-term sustainable development is defined by balancing economic, social, and environmental factors and goals to ensure the well-being of current and future populations. As well as understanding intrinsic values, this is a dynamic process of unleashing the potential and improving the quality of life to support nature. It consequently generates economic growth essential for sustained social well-being. The following part of the process is sustainable city management to use integrated strategies, policies, and actions to enforce cities` resilience, livability, equitability, and low environmental impact. Urban governance that incorporates economic, social, and environmental considerations in decision-making processes enforces the smart and resilient planning of the shoreline areas. It is associated with effective coordination of planning, design, infrastructure, and services to create better cities by the water over time.
The United Nations is an international leader in paving the way towards Sustainable Development globally. The most important among 17 SDGs regarding sustainable waterfront management is SDG 11, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities. It frames out the objectives of ensuring equal access to essential services, housing, transportation, and public spaces for all citizens, regardless of their income or background. The goal promotes efforts to reduce vulnerability to disasters, improve infrastructure, and promote efficient land use, resource management, and environmental sustainability. Although the widely accepted commitment to achieving SDGs, there are the barriers of rapid urbanization, Slums, Environmental Degradation, and Social Exclusion preventing the sooner implementation of the Inclusive and Sustainable cities goal. Straining economic, environmantal, and social resources and infrastructure, these impediments impact human well-being and ecosystem health.
As important as the future of our cities can be, the recommendations towards SDG 11 will be constantly developing along with evolving knowledge and technological progress. The UN suggests Integrated Urban Planning and Sustainable Transport, promoting mixed-use development, preserving green spaces, and reducing congestion and air pollution. Developing and implementing new strategies to integrate affordable housing options for all income levels, promoting diverse community participation and engagement in decision-making processes, and enhancing climate resilience will enhance the comprehensive resilience of cities to climate change impacts. The most critical part of these global policies is their multilayered reach to various resources a place possesses. Because this deep reflection is the shortest path to the skillful transformation of weaknesses to advantages - and from zero to hero.
