As a former resident of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro (I was here for 10 years), I could not help but think of the city as we drove out of Davos, Switzerland, the host of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
As it is situated in the Swiss Alps, Davos has neither blue seas nor sandy beaches, so why did I think of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, of all places?
I wish I could say the reason was that so many investors Team South Africa spoke to could not stop gushing about the Bay, its Special Economic Zone status and prime tourist spots.
The reason was one of the hottest topics at the conference – global risks.
Discussions were based on a document the WEF releases every year, the Global Risks Report.
In the latest version, it is what is described as likely to have the largest impact that reminded me of the city and some of its current challenges.
These risks are extreme weather events, (resultant) natural disasters, failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, water shortages and biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, among others.
I do not have to remind readers of this newspaper about the water situation, specifically the shortage so severe water usage has had to be restricted.
It will also take little to remind people about the devastating fires down the Garden Route that left so many people’s lives in tatters.
The same can be said about extreme weather events where streets quickly turn into torrential rivers that leave a trail of damage to infrastructure and homes.
These matters have an immediate and frequent impact on residents that demands international, national and local attention but is hardly top of mind for most people.
Understandably, people will worry about jobs, housing and healthcare – all of which are extremely important and demand the urgent attention of all stakeholders.
What is important for the city and the province’s policymakers to consider though is the manner in which these risks are deeply connected to some of the major challenges they are trying to resolve, such as housing and unemployment.
They also need to think about how these risks mean even areas that are considered well serviced will ultimately suffer from the same problems as the under-serviced, poorer communities.
Extreme weather conditions, such as droughts and floods, both of which destroy crops and other forms of subsistence, are contributors to the pattern of rapid urbanisation where cities have to deal with a housing shortage they will never catch up with.
Water shortages mean that whether someone lives in an informal settlement or in Summerstrand, in future the problem will be inescapable for both.
In Cape Town, the rich were beginning to queue for water together with the poor due to water restrictions.
At the heart of some of these risks is climate change, a topic that is not politically exciting. In fact it is so dull as a political issue that I know of no party that has prioritised it in its election manifesto over the past 25 years.
Even in the coming national and provincial elections virtually all the political parties are unlikely to mention it at all.
If they do, it will be in passing – almost as if it does not matter at all.
It is a very serious matter. It demands that citizens start framing their questions to old problems in a new way.
It requires the citizens of Humewood to align themselves with those in Langa in Uitenhage because they will soon share the same problems in the future.
This means the service delivery question is no longer just about when the government will start supplying water to those who do not have but also how it will ensure that the taps keep flowing even to those who have water for the moment.
Citizens have to ask about whether the investment that delivers jobs is done in a way that protects the environment for those jobs will soon vanish if there is no water, or extreme weather conditions cause lasting damage to those very investments.
These are questions that have to inform robust but constructive conversations with corporates, government and party political leaders.
The causes of most of these risks are bigger than any one city to cause but it is also true that it is individual cities that must respond because all the impacts are felt at a local level.
It is cities and towns that must find ways of responding.
It would serve the Nelson Mandela Bay metro better if everyone took these matters seriously now and mobilised broad support for appropriate interventions.
If there is anything the WEF gatherings teach us it is that local collaborations are a very powerful tool in the fight for intergenerational sustainability.
The time to act is now – later will be too late.