Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-8 (section)

=== 8.2.2 Economic Development, Competitiveness, and Equity ===

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Sustainable management of urban ecosystems entails addressing economic growth, equity, and good governance. In total, 102 SDG targets (99 synergies and 51 trade-offs) are identified with published evidence of relationships with urban ecosystems – out of the 169 in the 2030 Agenda ( [[#Maes--2019|Maes et al. 2019]] ). The targets require action in relation to urban ecosystem management, environmental improvements, equality related to basic services, long-term economic growth, economic savings, stronger governance, and policy development at multiple scales.

Mitigation measures related to different sectors can provide co-benefits and reduce social inequities. Transport-related measures, such as transportation demand management, transit-oriented development (TOD), and promotion of active transport modes provide economic co-benefits through, for example, reducing health care costs linked with pollution and cardiovascular diseases, improving labour productivity, and decreasing congestion costs (including waste of time and money) ( [[#Sharifi--2021|Sharifi et al. 2021]] ). As a case-in-point, data from cities such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Beijing, Mexico City, Dakar, and Buenos Aires indicate that economic costs of congestion account for a considerable share of their gross domestic product (GDP), ranging from 0.7% to 15.0% ( [[#Dulal--2017|Dulal 2017]] ) ( [[#8.4.2|Section 8.4.2]] ).

Since policy interventions can result in negative impacts or trade-offs with other objectives, fostering accessibility, equity, and inclusivity for disadvantaged groups is essential ( [[#Viguié--2012|Viguié and Hallegatte 2012]] ; [[#Sharifi--2020|Sharifi 2020]] ; [[#Pörtner--2021|Pörtner et al. 2021]] ). Anti-sprawl policies that aim to increase density, or the introduction of large green areas in cities could increase property prices, resulting in trade-offs with affordable housing and pushing urban poor further away from cities ( [[#Reckien--2017|Reckien et al. 2017]] ; [[#Alves--2019|Alves et al. 2019]] ). Deliberate strategies can improve access of low-income populations to jobs, and gender-responsive transport systems that can enhance women’s mobility and financial independence ( [[#Viguié--2012|Viguié and Hallegatte 2012]] ; [[#Lecompte--2017|Lecompte and Juan Pablo 2017]] ; [[#Reckien--2017|Reckien et al. 2017]] ; [[#Priya%20Uteng--2019|Priya Uteng and Turner 2019]] ).

Low-carbon urban development that triggers economic decoupling and involves capacity-building measures could have a positive impact on employment and local competitiveness ( [[#Dodman--2009|Dodman 2009]] ; [[#Kalmykova--2015|Kalmykova et al. 2015]] ; [[#Chen--2018b|Chen et al. 2018b]] ; [[#García-Gusano--2018|García-Gusano et al. 2018]] ; [[#Hu--2018|Hu et al. 2018]] ; [[#Shen--2018|Shen et al. 2018]] ). Sustainable and low-carbon urban development that integrates issues of equity, inclusivity, and affordability while safeguarding urban livelihoods, providing access to basic services, lowering energy bills, addressing energy poverty, and improving public health, can also improve the distributional effects of existing and future urbanisation ( [[#Friend--2016|Friend et al. 2016]] ; [[#Claude--2017|Claude et al. 2017]] ; [[#Colenbrander--2017|Colenbrander et al. 2017]] ; [[#Ma--2018|Ma et al. 2018]] ; [[#Mrówczyńska--2018|Mrówczyńska et al. 2018]] ; [[#Pukšec--2018|Pukšec et al. 2018]] ; [[#Wiktorowicz--2018|Wiktorowicz et al. 2018]] ; [[#Ramaswami--2020|Ramaswami 2020]] ).

Depending on the context, green and blue infrastructure can also offer considerable economic co-benefits. For example, green roofs and facades and other urban greening efforts such as urban agriculture and greening streets can improve microclimatic conditions and enhance thermal comfort, thereby reducing utility and health care costs. The presence of green and blue infrastructure may also increase the economic values of nearby properties ( [[#Votsis--2017|Votsis 2017]] ; [[#Alves--2019|Alves et al. 2019]] ) ( [[#8.4.4|Section 8.4.4]] and Figure 8.18).

Studies in the UK show that beneficiaries are willing to pay (WTP) an additional fee (up to 2% more in monthly rent) for proximity to green and blue infrastructure, with the WTP varying depending on the size and nature of the green space ( [[#Mell--2013|Mell et al. 2013]] , 2016). Urban agriculture can not only reduce household food expenditure, but also provide additional sources of revenue for the city ( [[#Ayerakwa--2017|Ayerakwa 2017]] ; [[#Alves--2019|Alves et al. 2019]] ). Based on the assessed literature, there is ''high agreement'' on the economic co-benefits of green and blue infrastructure, but supporting evidence is still limited ( [[#8.7|Section 8.7]] ).

Implementing waste management and wastewater recycling measures can provide additional sources of income for citizens and local authorities. Wastewater recycling can minimise the costs associated with the renewal of centralised wastewater treatment plants ( [[#Bernstad%20Saraiva%20Schott--2015|Bernstad Saraiva Schott and Cánovas 2015]] ; [[#Gharfalkar--2015|Gharfalkar et al. 2015]] ; [[#Gonzalez-Valencia--2016|Gonzalez-Valencia et al. 2016]] ; [[#Herrero--2018|Herrero and Vilella 2018]] ; [[#Matsuda--2018|Matsuda et al. 2018]] ; [[#Nisbet--2019|Nisbet et al. 2019]] ). Waste management and wastewater recycling is also a pathway for inclusion of the informal sector into the urban economy with ''high agreement'' and ''medium evidence'' ( [[#Sharifi--2021|Sharifi 2021]] ). Additionally, authorities can sell energy generated from wastewater recycling to compensate for the wastewater management costs ( [[#Colenbrander--2017|Colenbrander et al. 2017]] ; [[#Gondhalekar--2017|Gondhalekar and Ramsauer 2017]] ). Another measure that contributes to reducing household costs is the promotion of behavioural measures such as dietary changes that can decrease the demand for costly food sources and reduce health care costs through promoting healthy diets ( [[#Hoppe--2016|Hoppe et al. 2016]] ) (Sections 8.4.5 and 8.4.6).

In addition to cost savings, various measures such as stormwater management and urban greening can enhance social equity and environmental justice. For example, the thermal comfort benefits provided by green and blue infrastructure and passive design measures can address issues related to energy poverty and unaffordability of expensive air conditioning systems for some social groups ( [[#Sharma--2018|Sharma et al. 2018]] ; [[#He--2019|He et al. 2019]] ). To achieve such benefits, however, the costs of integrating green and blue infrastructure and passive design measures into building design would need to be minimised. Another example is the flood mitigation benefits of stormwater management measures that can reduce impacts on urban poor who often reside in flood-prone and low-lying areas of cities ( [[#Adegun--2017|Adegun 2017]] ; [[#He--2019|He et al. 2019]] ). Generally, the urban poor are expected to be disproportionately affected by climate change impacts. Carefully designed measures that reduce such disproportionate impacts by involving experts, authorities and citizens would enhance social equity ( [[#Pandey--2018|Pandey et al. 2018]] ; [[#He--2019|He et al. 2019]] ; [[#Mulligan--2020|Mulligan et al. 2020]] ).

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