Amitabh Kant: G20: Urbanisation must be instrument of job creation, poverty elimination, says Amitabh Kant

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Thursday said successful cities are fundamental to a successful nation, underlining that urbanisation must be an instrument of growth, job creation, and elimination of poverty. Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day Urban20 City Sherpas’ inception meeting here, Kant said cities must be designed for cycling, walking and not for cars, and they must grow and evolve on the bank of transit-oriented development.

He said urbanisation will be the single biggest agent of change and this will be a change worldwide.

The Urban20 City Sherpas’ meet which aims to focus on promoting solidarity among cities to find common solutions that are in sync with the overall objectives of the G20 began here on Thursday.

This is the third of the G20 events being held in Gujarat as part of India’s Presidency of the Group of 20.

Addressing the gathering at the event, Kant said, the G20 Summit in India is being held under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time when the world has been facing several challenges, including a huge geopolitical crises in Europe, economic growth, climate action, and post-Covid challenges.

The country’s G20 sherpa said the prime minister’s view is that every crises is an opportunity and that these crises must be used by the leadership across the world to drive economic growth and bring inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth to the global economy.

“Master plan of any city is critical for managing urbanisation. We need to ensure they (cities) grow in scientific manner and this is not a challenge for India alone, but this is a challenge for the entire world,” he also said. A scientific plan to guide their special growth is critical. Without this, the world will not capture the benefit of urbanisation, he said.

“Successful cities are fundamental to a successful nation. Urbanisation must be an instrument of growth, job creation and elimination of poverty,” Kant added.

One of the engagement groups of G20, the U20 provides a platform for cities from G20 countries to facilitate discussions on key issues of urban development, such as climate change, social inclusion, sustainable mobility, and affordable housing, and propose collective solutions.

The sixth U20 highlights six priority areas, including environment-friendly behaviour, water security, climate finance, local identity, urban planning and administration, and digitalisation of urban amenities.