Role of International and National Standards in Improving Quality of Life in Urban Environments in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Urbanization is a global societal trend where the proportion of people living in cities increases while the proportion of people living in the country side diminishes. Sri Lanka is in the phase of development after the end of civil war. For the past few years, Sri Lankan cities are urbanizing at an unprecedented scale and expected to rise further in future. Therefore, we are facing many challenges to ensure the development in a sustainable manner and to guarantee the high standard of living to all citizens. Standards contribute sense of urgency to improve urban quality of life by improving energy efficiency, increasing resource efficiency, increasing public safety, planning urban development, developing services and infrastructure, improving transport system, intelligent use of resources, creating more livable environment, reducing impact to bio diversity and ecosystem and acting to mitigate climate change.