IUESA: referring to the name of this year as “Economy of Resistance; implementation and action,” the secretary of IUESA in interview with ISNA news agency said, we are in the final decades of advancement and equity and attempt and focus for passing economic challenges should be increased at this time.
Saying that economy of resistance is meaningful in the field of urban economy and we may need to improve internal bases of urban economy more than other fields, he said, today more than 70 percent of the Iran’s population live in cities and it is predicted that it will reach to 80 percent in near future; it is clear that desirable servicing of city management to this population requires dynamic economy.
While the share of sustainable revenues in many developed cities even in Asia reaches to 70 percent, it is about 20 to 25 percent in our country. This will result in not presenting appropriate and comprehensive services to the citizens and if a crisis occurs such as downturn in housing, municipalities will be on the verge of bankruptcy, he added.
Saying that one of the most important resources of sustainable revenues of municipalities is renovation or property tax, he added, it is about 42 percent for Toronto, 25 percent for Cape Town, 63 percent for Seoul, and 19 percent for Mumbai, but it is only 2.6 percent for a metropolis like Mashhad.
Explaining that city management can take influential steps in two fields of improving energy efficiency and particular look to small and medium industries, he said, more than 75 percent of energy consumption occurs in the cities. Unfortunately, the figures are far from acceptable on energy consumption in Iran. Iran having a population of 77 million people can be compared to countries like China; therefore, it is necessary for city management to apply up to date knowledge in order to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
Regarding SMEs, he further said, nearly 85 percent of private enterprises are small and medium ones, but they are in very bad conditions due to economic downturn in them. Their major problems are providing liquidity. Since the vast majority of these firms are active in cities, city managers should apply comprehensive plan to support them.
