President Joko Widodo highlighted the significance of the New Urban Agenda while virtually opening an event held to mark World Habitat Day on Monday night at the Surabaya City Hall in East Java.
“We meet in Surabaya to convince the world that the New Urban Agenda can no longer be delayed,” he remarked.
The President said 55 per cent of the global population is currently living in urban areas, and the figure is projected to increase to 68 percent by 2050, with the highest growth expected to take place in Asia and Africa.
“Indonesia is predicted to have a population of 300 million in 2030, and 63 percent of it will live in urban areas,” he noted.
The New Urban Agenda is crucial, he said adding, if not taken seriously, the rapid growth of urban population will create problems, ranging from population density, poverty, environmental disruption, limited public spaces, limited basic infrastructure, particularly clean water and sanitation, to housing and urban issues.
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“But, if it is handled properly, I believe that urbanization will offer opportunities to make national progress, to turn cities into centers of creativity and innovation, to spur economic growth, and to improve the quality of city dwellers,” he pointed out.
Housing is a basic necessity for people across the world, he remarked. Houses strengthen families as the main pillar of the nation and serve as the vanguard of various health risks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.
The government is making all-out efforts to allow each citizen to live in a decent home, he said.
Indonesia launched a one million homes program targeting low-income people in 2015. The target of building one million homes per year could be achieved in 2018, Widodo said.
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Editor : Mahdani
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