The urban contradiction

Despite rapid urbanisation propelling Sri Lanka to lower middle-income status, ‘livability and prosperity’ make the country a ‘model of sorts’ for the region:

by Dilrukshi Handunnetti

This may appear contradictory: But experts say that it is the spatial concentration in the Colombo metropolitan area – a headache for city planners and managers – that had propelled the island to its lower middle-income status.

Decidedly, they see a benefit there and even feel, Sri Lanka can be a model of sorts, due to its ‘relative prosperity and the livability.’

As urbanisation takes place at rapid speed, if managed properly, the same trend can be used to achieve upper middle-income status for Sri Lanka, say experts.

Ede Jodge Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director, Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, World Bank, sees many pluses in Sri Lanka’s urbanisation story – as well as challenges.

Sri Lanka is ‘relatively prosperous’ when compared with other South Asian countries. Its urban poverty rate is lower as well as the urban population living in slums. The process of urbanisation too is ‘less messy,’ he noted, peaking at the September 29 launch event of World Bank’s report “Leveraging Urbanization in South Asia: Managing Spatial Transformation for Prosperity and Livability.”

Messy and hidden

According to Jodge Ijjasz-Vasquez, Sri Lanka recorded the highest ‘real GDP’ per capita among the eight SAARC nations. Other major cities in the region have lower than predicted GDP per capita levels against their urbanisation levels, while Sri Lanka is performing as predicted – consistent with its more effective leveraging of urbanization for national productivity gain.

However, the challenges, if unmanaged, can turn the picture negative. Unless policies and programs are scientific and practical, increasing urban populations can exert significant pressure on housing, land, infrastructure, basic services and the environment. ‘There lies the problem. It constraints growth and results in “messy and hidden” urbanisation in South Asia.”

Messy and hidden urbanisation is symptomatic of the failure to adequately address congestion constraints that arise from the pressure of urban populations on infrastructure, basic services, land, housing, and the environment, according to World Bank experts.

In Sri Lanka, urbanisation has been less messy, reflected in the small proportion of the urban slum dwellers. Yet, as trends between 1999 and 2010 show, Sri Lanka had been the SAARC country that experienced fastest expansion of urban areas – measured using night-time lights data.

Adds the World Bank Vice President: “Rapid expansion of urban areas relative to urban population reflects the sprawl and ribbon development, characteristic of Sri Lanka’s urban development.”

This is also linked to productivity. Data since 2000 show that increased productivity being linked to Sri Lanka’s decline in the urban population living below the national poverty line, which has dropped from 7.9 percent in 2002 to 2.1 percent in 2013. Unlike many other countries in the region, contribution made by manufacturing to national GDP has increased between 2000 and 2010.

Statistics also showed that the share of the population classified as living in urban areas actually fell slightly between 2000 and 2010, though this may exclude what is considered ‘hidden’ urbanisation. This means, at least one-third of the population may be living in areas which are officially classified as urban, but possessing strong urban characteristics.

Ribbon development

Sri Lanka’s ribbon development can be identified from Colombo along major routes, linking with Kandy, Galle and Matara, reflective of a unique urbanization pattern.

According to Francoise Clottes, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, recent diagnostics indicated that much of the island’s population that is vulnerable to poverty live close to the urbanisation belt that links Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Matara. Large numbers are also found in and around major urban centres in the North and East, Clottes said.

In addition, spatial transformation taking place has moved beyond the identified belts and is now moving towards parts of the island’s North and East, identified as Trincomalee, Batticaloa-Akkaraipattu and Jaffna.

The original belt – Kandy, Colombo and Galle – generates over 80 percent of national output and is considered the area with the “highest economic potential,” according to experts.

According to Nayana Mawilmada, Director General, Urban Development Authority, key challenges for Sri Lanka are concentrated in three areas. First is the governance of the cities itself, he said.

Agenda

“Secondly, we require a mass transit driven agenda which should be a collaboration of the private and public resources.

The management of connectivity is key to ensuring that urbanisation contributes to growth and productivity without compromising on cities’ livability and prosperity,” Mawilmada said.

The third is about managing the housing issue. “It is about changing the pattern of local housing. We need to look beyond the single family detached housing units to a more high density housing culture. Otherwise, the urban sprawl will be unmanageable,” he said.

The World Bank too in the report has identified the management of growth being near impossible if countries fail to address the need for enhanced connectivity.

Prof. Amal Kumarage, Senior Professor, Moratuwa University (Transport Planning) said, Colombo on a daily basis attracted over one million traffic. “In Singapore, the cost of mobility is only 5 per cent though in Sri Lanka, it is 10 percent,” he said, calling for an ‘urgent fix’ to face the future.

“We need a mass transport driven solution and the transport modes to be integrated, safe, clean and comfortable.” This integration also means better planned towns and cities.

“Development activities have often been ad hoc. Instead of cities drawing people, cities must go to the people because people do have urban aspirations, “according to Dr. Jagath Marasinghe, Moratuwa University (Town Planning).

“If the survival of the service and manufacturing sectors reflect the link to increased urbanization, that reality cannot be overlooked. This requires new strategic development formula and sound finance planning,” he said.

To create cities that are both prosperous and livable, action should be taken to improve the ways in which cities are connected and planned, the working of land and housing markets, and cities’ resilience to natural disasters and climate change, experts say in unison.

The same old path cannot be pursued, be it for Sri Lanka or the region: “Its fresh planning and reforms that will deliver the results,” concludes Mawilmada.