Jeju Island – Green cities are well known for bringing tremendous environmental benefits. But in developing countries such as Rwanda, they can also bring about sustainable economic growth, job creation and human-centred development.
Experts from around the world met earlier this month at Jeju Island in South Korea at the Global Green Growth Week 2016 to discuss green growth trends, financing models, technology and products and services. At the Rwanda Country Focus Session, Tim Hall, an architect from Light Earth Designs, presented on Rwanda’s urbanisation and green cities development plans.
According to Hall, “green cities development in Rwanda can be a generator for sustainable economic growth and job creation,” reported the Rwandan newspaper The New Times. He spoke about how the use of locally produced materials with low carbon costs encourages the private sector to invest more in producing green materials. This in turn generates jobs for local communities while also driving low carbon development and production.
Rwanda’s urban population is growing at 4.5 per cent per year, more than double the global average. “This alone is enough to put sustainable urban development at the top of the government’s agenda,” said Emma-Francoise Isumbingabo, Rwanda’s ambassador to South Korea. “When you factor in climate change and the desire for rapid socio-economic transformation, building green cities is no longer a nice add-on, but an essential part of improving the lives of our citizens.”
To this end, Rwanda is developing six green cities across the country. But as Isumbingabo points out, these are not just about energy efficiency and renewable resources; it means “building green cities with citizens at the centre of their development”.
