Issue 4: Social Equity

Oxfam recently reported that 85 individuals control as much wealth as the poorer half of the world’s population, or 3.5 billion people. These startling figures come in the wake of rising inequalities of wealth and income in both developed and developing countries.

Inequality is a hot button issue, but we also know that perfect equality implies a distribution of resources without regard to individual effort or need, which creates its own problems of fairness and efficiency. A more nuanced view of inequality seems needed, as something to be managed rather than abolished, while bearing in mind wider goals like social equity, as well as competitiveness and sustainability. We have therefore framed the special focus of this issue of URBAN SOLUTIONS in terms of “social equity” – including, but not limited to, the topic of inequality.

In our Interview section, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam presents a thoughtful overview of social equity, including some of the ways Singapore and other places have tried to promote equity. We also feature an Opinion piece on the consequences of inequality by Professor Susan Fainstein, a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Liveable Cities and a global authority on this subject.

In this issue, we have also tried to shift the traditional focus from nation-states to cities, and from fiscal policies to other tools for promoting social equity. In our Essay section, we feature an article by CLC researchers on the spatial aspects of inequality in Singapore. Our Case Study and Illustration sections profile practical solutions, from social housing and urban planning to hawker centres and city events, in cities ranging from Cleveland and Singapore to Ahmedabad, Paris and elsewhere. In particular, we have looked past national governments to consider the role of urban governance, including municipal agencies, social enterprises, cooperatives and volunteers. The sharing economy is an especially interesting model that we asked Seoul Mayor Park Won-Soon to discuss in our Interview with him.

Elsewhere, we look at urban China, with an Essay on how public service delivery in Chinese cities relates to citizens’ happiness, and a City Focus article on Xiamen, considered to be among China’s most liveable cities. Rounding off this issue is an Essay by a CLC researcher, gently advocating that urban planners take better advantage of water resources and infrastructure as an ingredient in city planning and design, a topic close to my own heart.

Happy reading!

Khoo Teng Chye
Executive Director
Centre for Liveable Cities