The achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 provides for the solution of several tasks – to ensure universal access to safe and affordable housing, to use safe, inexpensive and environmentally sustainable transport and access to safe, green areas open to all, as well as the creation of a comfortable and attractive environment for living and working in cities.
According to the population and housing census of Turkmenistan conducted in December 2022, 47.1% of the population in the country live in cities, 52.9% – in villages. In the context of SDG 11 in Turkmenistan, the most important task is to improve the living conditions of the population, reduce the gap between regions due to the advanced development of rural areas.
In recent years, large-scale urban development programs have been actively implemented in the country in order to provide all urban residents with access to safe, high-quality housing. As a result, in 2022, the number of people living in emergency homes decreased by 97.1% compared to 2019.
The government pays special attention to urban infrastructure, which includes a complex of social and other facilities. These are kindergartens, schools and other specialized educational institutions, institutions in the fields of healthcare, culture, trade and services, sports facilities, administrative buildings, as well as transport and communication and engineering systems.
The country is also working on comprehensive and balanced planning of regional development. The “National program of the President of Turkmenistan on the transformation of the social and living conditions of the population of villages, towns, cities of districts and district centers for the period up to 2028” is aimed at accomplishing this task.
The improvement of the living conditions of the country’s citizens in recent years has been largely facilitated by an increase in the incomes of the population and the program of preferential mortgage lending, the volume of which increased 2.5 times in the period from 2015 to 2022.
Totally, more than 1,5 mln square meters of housing were commissioned in Turkmenistan in 2022, which is 2.2% more than in 2019. By the end of 2022, the ratio of construction rate and the rate of population growth was 99%.
Currently, a joint project of the UN Development Program “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated development of green cities in Ashgabat and Avaza” is being implemented in the country. The Project provides for the development and implementation of integrated low-carbon and climate-sustainable solutions, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other negative impacts on the environment, as well as the promotion of a strategy for sustainable urban development.
Due to the development of urbanization processes, the burden on the environment and ecology is increasing. In this regard, monitoring of atmospheric air quality is carried out on a systematic basis in large cities of Turkmenistan.
The average annual dust level in the country does not exceed the maximum permissible concentration. Within the framework of the UNDP project “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Development of Green Cities in Ashgabat and Avaza”, a new ATMAS air analyzer device was installed.
An important component of the urban ecosystem of the country is the greening of cities and the expansion of open public spaces, especially streets and recreation areas. Thus, the total area of green spaces in Turkmenistan in 2022 amounted to 30.6 thousand hectares, an increase of 4.8% from 2015.
Green spaces to the total area of urban land in 2022 amounted to 16.1%. ///nCa, 16 August 2023 (based on the materials of the newspaper “Neutral Turkmenistan”)
#sustainable_development, #SDGs, #Turkmenistan, #Ashgabat, #Awaza, #sustainable_cities