Urban Engineering: Concepts and Challenges

4. The challenges
Practitioners of urban engineering are currently faced by the highly complex situation
outlined above. Cities of different sizes and social/political weight are crying out for
specialized and competent engineers possessing broad managerial expertise combined with
a systemic approach to the tasks in hand. Cities are complicated environments requiring the
involvement of fully qualified professional staff capable of confronting the many challenges,
particularly in the cities of the developing world.

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Methods and Techniques in Urban Engineering
8
University-level urban engineering teaching in Brazil has traditionally been carried out at
graduate level. The following urban engineering graduate courses were registered
according to their original date of introduction: 1970, USP 
Escola Politécnica
; 1994, Federal
University of São Carlos; 2000, Federal University of Paraíba; 2002, Federal University of
Uberlândia and Federal University of Passo Fundo; 2005, Federal University of Bahia; 2006,
Federal University of Maringá; 2008, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Rio de
Janeiro Catholic University. Two undergraduate courses have also come to our notice: one
at the Federal University of São Carlos and the other at the ABC Federal University.
We need to train and qualify our urban engineers to face, inter-ally, the following
challenges:
(a) ever-growing urban population pressure on existing infrastructure and public services.
As can be seen in Table 2, "macro-regions" throughout the world have recorded
continuing urban demographic growth in both absolute and percentage terms;
Population (millions)
Urban population
(millions)
Urban population
(%)
1950
2005
2030
1950
2005
2030
1950
2005
2030
World
2,535 6,464 8,200
735
3,148 4,912
29.0
48.7
59.9
Africa
224
922
1,518
33
353
770
14.7
38.3
50.7
Asia
1,410 3,938 4,931
237
1,567 2,668
16.8
39.8
54.1
Europe
548
731
707
277
528
554
50.5
72.2
78.3
LA &
Caribbean
168
558
713
71
432
601
42.0
77.4
84.3
North
America
171
332
405
109
268
351
63.9
80.7
86.7
Oceania
13
33
43
8
23
32
62.0
70.8
73.8
Table 2. Demographic change by macro-region (UN World Population Prospects, 2006)
(b) in spite of this growth, what have been observed is that in general the quality of living
in cities improves as increases the urbanization rate, particularly in developing
countries. As an example of this phenomena, Figure 1 shows that as the urbanization
process advances, the infant mortality rate which is a largely adopted social indicator,
decreases. It is quite logical that this kind of situation occurs because population will
have more access to health care, education and information in cities even if these
services are not so well delivered. This situation leads to an approach which
understands cities not only as a problem but the solution, or at least an important part
of it.
Urban Engineering: Concepts and Challenges
9
Percentage urban. Source: United Nations Population Division (2006). World Urbanization Prospects (2005).
Infant mortality. Source: Spreadsheets provided by the United Nations Population Division. Both genders
combined.
Figure 1. Percentage urban versus Infant mortality in World, Africa, Latin America and
Caribbean, and Brazil
(c) urban population growth has tended to be concentrated on the metropolitan regions,
given that these attract incoming workers to available employment opportunities.
Brazil’s ‘metropolitan regions’ possess formal and legal status but they are not in reality
‘political’ entities as such, able to exclusively benefit from government resources while
undertaking appropriate responsibilities and commitments. This creates serious
administrative difficulties since problem-solving is often not confined to the territorial
boundaries of a particular municipality but calls for intervention at a wider regional
level. A prime example of this situation is the whole question of the final disposal of
solid waste;
(d) the deterioration and obsolescence of existing infrastructure networks and the need to
introduce new technical solutions in keeping with the physical and population growth
of the cities. In this respect many new, lighter and more durable materials have come
onto the market but these have often not been properly tested in real situations.
Moreover, the higher building densities in the urban areas (“verticalization”) generally
mean that infrastructure and services networks need upscaling in order to meet new
demands;
(e) the introduction of new technologies such as cellphones and the internet and the rapid
evolution of increasingly more efficient, accessible and cost-effective information
management, access and retrieval systems such as those based on geo-processing;

---

Methods and Techniques in Urban Engineering
8
University-level urban engineering teaching in Brazil has traditionally been carried out at
graduate level. The following urban engineering graduate courses were registered
according to their original date of introduction: 1970, USP 
Escola Politécnica
; 1994, Federal
University of São Carlos; 2000, Federal University of Paraíba; 2002, Federal University of
Uberlândia and Federal University of Passo Fundo; 2005, Federal University of Bahia; 2006,
Federal University of Maringá; 2008, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Rio de
Janeiro Catholic University. Two undergraduate courses have also come to our notice: one
at the Federal University of São Carlos and the other at the ABC Federal University.
We need to train and qualify our urban engineers to face, inter-ally, the following
challenges:
(a) ever-growing urban population pressure on existing infrastructure and public services.
As can be seen in Table 2, "macro-regions" throughout the world have recorded
continuing urban demographic growth in both absolute and percentage terms;
Population (millions)
Urban population
(millions)
Urban population
(%)
1950
2005
2030
1950
2005
2030
1950
2005
2030
World
2,535 6,464 8,200
735
3,148 4,912
29.0
48.7
59.9
Africa
224
922
1,518
33
353
770
14.7
38.3
50.7
Asia
1,410 3,938 4,931
237
1,567 2,668
16.8
39.8
54.1
Europe
548
731
707
277
528
554
50.5
72.2
78.3
LA &
Caribbean
168
558
713
71
432
601
42.0
77.4
84.3
North
America
171
332
405
109
268
351
63.9
80.7
86.7
Oceania
13
33
43
8
23
32
62.0
70.8
73.8
Table 2. Demographic change by macro-region (UN World Population Prospects, 2006)
(b) in spite of this growth, what have been observed is that in general the quality of living
in cities improves as increases the urbanization rate, particularly in developing
countries. As an example of this phenomena, Figure 1 shows that as the urbanization
process advances, the infant mortality rate which is a largely adopted social indicator,
decreases. It is quite logical that this kind of situation occurs because population will
have more access to health care, education and information in cities even if these
services are not so well delivered. This situation leads to an approach which
understands cities not only as a problem but the solution, or at least an important part
of it.
Urban Engineering: Concepts and Challenges
9
Percentage urban. Source: United Nations Population Division (2006). World Urbanization Prospects (2005).
Infant mortality. Source: Spreadsheets provided by the United Nations Population Division. Both genders
combined.
Figure 1. Percentage urban versus Infant mortality in World, Africa, Latin America and
Caribbean, and Brazil
(c) urban population growth has tended to be concentrated on the metropolitan regions,
given that these attract incoming workers to available employment opportunities.
Brazil’s ‘metropolitan regions’ possess formal and legal status but they are not in reality
‘political’ entities as such, able to exclusively benefit from government resources while
undertaking appropriate responsibilities and commitments. This creates serious
administrative difficulties since problem-solving is often not confined to the territorial
boundaries of a particular municipality but calls for intervention at a wider regional
level. A prime example of this situation is the whole question of the final disposal of
solid waste;
(d) the deterioration and obsolescence of existing infrastructure networks and the need to
introduce new technical solutions in keeping with the physical and population growth
of the cities. In this respect many new, lighter and more durable materials have come
onto the market but these have often not been properly tested in real situations.
Moreover, the higher building densities in the urban areas (“verticalization”) generally
mean that infrastructure and services networks need upscaling in order to meet new
demands;
(e) the introduction of new technologies such as cellphones and the internet and the rapid
evolution of increasingly more efficient, accessible and cost-effective information
management, access and retrieval systems such as those based on geo-processing;

---

Methods and Techniques in Urban Engineering
10
(f) complex, decentralized and automated administrative and governmental systems
requiring efficient and coherent coordination and follow-up. Financial resources are
under massive pressure everywhere, calling for the development of efficient ‘allocation
and usage’ criteria by urban management practitioners. The need for maintaining good
lines of communication with members of society and organized economic sectors is also
important. While it is obvious that the interests of these urban stakeholders have to be
taken into proper consideration, the broader interests of society as a whole need to be
respected in the short and, above all, the longer term, with due attention paid to the
relevant strategic planning processes;
(g) increased community participation demanding a higher level of transparency on the
part of the public authorities. Communities have begun to protect their own interests at
the neighborhood and city block level by employing direct action, as well as through
indirect pressure exerted by social organizations. Communities have also expanded the
scope of their activities and are currently in a better position to influence, for example,
master plans and other urban planning laws at the initial stages. It is also worth
mentioning that professional and corporate associations are increasingly involved in
pressuring local authorities to undertake appropriate action. The latter, for their part,
are increasingly obliged to engage their interlocutors in sensible dialogue;
(h) increasing involvement by the private sector through concessions and permits which
call for complex bidding, tendering, contracting, control and remuneration systems.
The so-called Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) currently provide new opportunities
for service provision and the sharing of responsibility between public-sector and
private bodies;
(i) the growing need for the processes and products developed and used in cities to
comply with environmental requirements. These requirements, apart from conforming
to new compulsory environmental legislation, are also the outcome of a series of social
demands presented by NGOs, community groups and by the many proactive voluntary
approaches by private service delivery organizations. Also on the environmental level,
it is worth noting the increasing inroads made by systems that govern the rational use
of water and energy contributing to reducing global warming. In this aspect it is
important to register the importance of the urban transportation as one of the main
responsible for the environmental problems which affect contemporary cities.
A further crucial challenge exists in many developing countries: problems arising from the
contiguity of conventional, "formal" cities with “clandestine”, “informal" cities. Given their
size, the latter - consisting mainly of 
favelas
(slums) and irregular subdivisions - can no
longer be considered as illegal settlements, mainly on account of their large size. According
to Benevolo (2006), past attempts to suppress the informal areas of cities (replacing them
with planned developments and/or relocating the inhabitants) have met with limited
success. It is now generally accepted that in the longer term the best way to approach this
situation is to introduce incremental improvements and to stabilize the original irregular
land occupations by introducing basic infrastructure and services to the poorer areas in
question.
Urban Engineering: Concepts and Challenges
11
In Brazil this approach is perhaps best illustrated by the slum upgrading (
urbanização de
favelas
) initiatives that are being taken forward in the majority of our large cities. Moves are
afoot to retain the resident populations in the already-occupied areas while improving
living conditions by introducing better street layouts, eliminating risk areas, installing water
supply and sewage/storm-water collection systems and electricity/telephone distribution
networks, street-lighting etc. A range of other public services and complementary facilities
such as income generation and post-works social monitoring programs have frequently
gone hand in hand with public works in these problematic areas (Abiko, 2007). Some of the
favelas
have in fact become ‘real’ cities, in view of their enormous size and number of
inhabitants (Marques (2007) has produced an interesting survey of "precarious settlements"
in Brazil).
The 
favela
upgrading developments have involved the participation of architects, lawyers,
social workers, doctors and engineers, together with other professionals working in
interdisciplinary teams. It is now obvious that in housing interventions of this nature the
involvement of the 
urban engineer
, possessing a clear understanding of systemic urban
requirements and an ability to act accordingly, is paramount. The services of the urban
engineer are vital not only at the project design, planning and execution level but also at the
technical and ‘social’ levels - two specific areas of expertise that go beyond the traditional
narrow confines of the qualified civil engineer’s job description.
To conclude, it is clear that engineers with a broad, systemic approach rooted in the historic
efforts of the pioneering urban engineers at the beginning of the last century, have an
extremely important future role to play in our cities. Although the urban engineering
pioneers labored in totally different circumstances a century ago they nevertheless continue
to serve as examples of clear-sightedness and dedication in the quest for a better quality of
life for the inhabitants of our cities.