In the past few decades, we have witnessed swift urbanisation and the rise of modern cities around the globe. These are often adorned with skyscrapers, and supported by fast-evolving technology and increasingly efficient infrastructure.
In more recent years, and rightly so given the race to reach net-zero emissions, metropolitan areas have become more proactive in implementing sustainable elements in their urban centres. Muscat, however, has adopted a distinct approach.
Oman’s National Spatial Strategy and its broader Vision 2040 agenda have informed growth plans to support population growth in the capital through sustainable and efficient urban development that preserves its breathtaking natural scenery and pays homage to the city’s traditions and heritage.
This also addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It is also in line with Oman’s nationwide decarbonisation strategy, to move away from fossil-fuel dependence and produce large quantities of low-emission hydrogen, a growing industry.
The objective is to maintain the essence and welcoming energy Muscat is known for while making it more inclusive for citizens, residents and visitors. This can be done by adding features and infrastructure that support accessibility and productivity across all areas, creating an abundance of green spaces that can be used for myriad purposes, as well as facilitating integration and interaction among the city’s communities.
Muscat’s growth plans directly address the sultanate’s economic goals as well, from boosting the tourism industry, empowering citizens by ensuring access to quality education, increasing productivity and boosting employment opportunities, making use of renewable energy and providing housing for the growing population.
A Light Rail Transit system is also in the works, and is set to ease access between residential and business areas, leisure spaces and all essential services that citizens and tourists would require access to. This approach to urban development, which pays homage to a city’s cultural heritage while deliberately planning growth around and through natural landscapes, is the best way forward and can establish a template that many other cities across the world could use.
This approach not only involves making the most of available resources, but allows cities to maintain their exclusive identities while providing citizens stability in the form of jobs, employment, education, infrastructure, community and housing.
There are a number of mandates that cities can apply in order to preserve culture and nature, with consciously designed elements that enhance sustainability. Some of these include the 15-minute model. This relies on designing a city where all of an individual’s day-to-day needs – from workplaces, schools, housing, medical care, shops, supermarkets, to fitness, community and leisure centres – can be met no more than a 15-minute walk away.
Honouring our roots, moving away from the over-consumption of recent decades and creating a circular economy, as humans have done for most of their history, are also essential components for a sustainable urban area. Smart technology, low or zero-emission machinery and transport, green buildings and homes, renewable energy sources including solar panels, effective waste management, efficient and accessible public transit systems, urban farms and ample access to clean food and water are all crucial factors that can support the long-term development of sustainable cities.
Municipalities can enact laws to preserve and protect cultural and historical spaces and be proactive in rethinking how they can be better included in the city’s evolving ecosystem. Community engagement is central to a thriving cultural scene, so there must be an effort to foster close engagement and collaboration with all strata of society to enrich and carry the local heritage forward.
The young people of any urban area should feel empowered and connected to local and national visions. Students, entrepreneurs, creatives and young professionals are the future, therefore governments, community leaders and the private sector must ensure that they are front and centre in modern urbanisation plans.
In the current digital world, where we have a wealth of technological solutions, in addition to insights regarding climate change and myriad strategies towards achieving more sustainability, the most effective approach to urban development must take all of these elements into account. Following the increasing urbanisation seen in many countries around the world, we can appreciate the value in holding on to traditions, heritage and culture, keeping them in high regard with reference to the identity of any city or nation.
Muscat’s growth strategy is distinct in that it strikes a balance between the best of the past and the present. It is also an allegory for a knowledge-based approach to human development, taking wisdom and values from the past and carrying them into the future alongside modern tools and technologies. This framework has been widely praised, and I do not doubt that it will be used as a benchmark for urban development elsewhere in the future.
