Over 90 percent of COVID-19 cases are occurring in urban areas. The pandemic is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest, including the 1 billion residents of the world’s densely populated informal settlements and slums. Even before the new coronavirus, rapid urbanization meant that 4 billion people in the world’s cities faced worsening air pollution, inadequate infrastructure and services, and unplanned urban sprawl.

According to data from 2019 for 610 cities in 95 countries and territories, about half of the urban population has convenient access to public transport. As a result of the COVID-19 response measures imposed in countries and territories throughout 2020, access to public transport in cities worldwide was significantly disrupted, from partial closures and reduced capacities to total closure of networks.

Data on a sample of 911 cities from 114 countries and territories indicate that the share of urban area allocated to streets and open public spaces averaged only about 16 percent globally in 2020, well below the allocation recommended by United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) of 30 percent for streets and an additional 10 to 15 percent for open public spaces.

Currently ensuring the security and resilience of cities means ensuring access to safe and affordable housing and improving housing conditions. It also involves investing in public transport, creating green public spaces and improving urban planning and management with public participation.

According to the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics, since 2001 to 2021, the share of the urban population increased from 37.2 percent to 50.7 percent. The republic has 35 cities with a population of more than 100 thousand inhabitants and 3 cities with a population of more than 500 thousand inhabitants. These are Tashkent (2,694.4 thousand), Namangan (644.8 thousand) and Samarkand (551.7 thousand).

On the other hand, in 2011-2020, the area of city parks of culture and recreation per capita decreased from 1.22 m2 to 1 m2.

In the future, in Uzbekistan, the solution of the issues of resilience and security will be connected with the solution of the tasks of ensuring access of the population, including the poor, to quality housing with the proper infrastructure, as well as ensuring the environmental sustainability of cities and towns.

The relevance of the goal is due to the fact that Uzbekistan aims to continue the process of industrialization of the economy. Industrialization, as the experience of other countries shows, is usually accompanied by the development of the urbanization process, an increase in the load on the infrastructure of cities, especially the largest economic centers, and aggravation of various social problems.

To minimize (ideally, completely eliminate) the impact of the problems posed by the urbanization process, Uzbekistan is already implementing a set of programs to ensure balanced development, including by stimulating the development of regional centers and small towns, expanding and modernizing social, engineering and communication infrastructure. In the long term, there is the task of further improving the mechanisms for managing settlements and ensuring balanced spatial development of the country.

National Tasks

Target 11.1. By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable housing and housing and utilities services.

Target 11.2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of people in vulnerable situations.

Target 11.3. By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management.

Target 11.4. Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard objects of cultural and natural heritage.

Target 11.5. By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters, especially women and children, and substantially decrease the direct economic losses caused by disasters with a focus on protecting people in vulnerable situations.

Target 11.6. By 2030, reduce the adverse environmental impact of cities on population, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.

Target 11.7. By 2030, expand the areas of green spaces, recreational parks, playgrounds for children in cities and towns, and make them inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities.

National indicators

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