United Nation Habitat

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

UN Habitat has identified various pressing issues posing challenges for urban planners of Jaipur City.

Issues highlighted include:

• Rapid expansion of cities.
• Weak urban mobility.
• Extreme levels of drought during summer and also urban floods.

 Recommendations:

• Increase the green cover, strengthen urban biodiversity, and thereby enhance the quality of life for citizens.
• Implement the idea of a compact city with re-development and re-densification of the existing urban areas.
• To curb development on the city’s outskirts, link the distance from the main city to the development charges imposed on citizens.
• Eco-trails with plantations along natural drainage channels and railway tracks are recommended in the city.
• The 800 dry wells in City could be used for rainwater harvesting and raising the water table, mitigating urban floods and ensuring efficient utilisation of water resources.

 About UN Habitat:

• The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–Habitat) is the United Nations agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development.
• It was established in 1978 as an outcome of the First UN Conference on Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat I) held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976.
• It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
• It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
• UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly.
• It has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Habitat Agenda:

• The mandate of UN-Habitat derives from the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996.
• The twin goals of the Habitat Agenda are adequate shelter for all and the development of sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world.