Sustainable Urbanization in India: A Holistic Urban Design Paradigm

WHITE PAPER
ON
SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION IN INDIA
SWATI RAMANATHAN
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OUTLINE
1. BACKGROUND
2. AN URBAN DESIGN PARADIGM FOR INDIA
3. ISSUES AND ELEMENTS IN URBAN DESIGN
4. SUCCESS FACTORS AND STAKEHOLDERS
5. ACTION STEPS AND EXAMPLE
6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
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1. BACKGROUND
Half a century ago, Karl Polanyi wrote of "the fatal irreversibility of urbanization". The
link between urbanization and economic development is today established
beyond doubt. The positive relationship between higher levels of economic
welfare and urbanization is a strong one, consistently confirmed by various studies.
Urbanization is an inevitable outcome of economic development. No nation in
modern history has managed to attain sustained levels of per capita income
growth without a massive transfer of population from land to city.
The universal conception of India is that of a rural country. Popular images that we
see, the bulk of Government programs, the focus of non-government organizations
(NGOs) as well as international funding agencies, are all geared towards the rural
population.
With political forces and reform agencies concentrating on rural issues, the urban
phenomenon has not been on the radar screen for most.
In fact, between 1901 and 1991, the urban towns or agglomerations have doubled
to 3768 in number. The 23 big cities have grown the fastest and retain 32-33% of
the total urban population since the past 30 years.
While “development” is an issue common to both rural and urban areas, specific to
urban centers, is the issue of planning and design. With such phenomenal growth,
urban planning is critical to sustain a minimum standard of infrastructure and
quality-of-life delivery.
The numbers are staggering: India no longer lives mainly in villages.

At the turn of the millennium 305 million Indians lived in nearly 3,700 towns and cities
spread across the length and breadth of the country. This comprises 30% of its
population, in sharp contrast to only 60 million (15%) who lived in urban areas in
1947 when the country became Independent.
During the last fifty years the population of India has grown two and half times, but
Urban India has grown by nearly five times. In numerical terms, India's urban
population is second largest in the world after China, and is higher than the total
urban population of all countries put together barring China, USA and Russia.
Brunn and Williams explained the emergence of cities as a consequence of the

increasing degree of economic specialization. In India, the economic ripples of
Industrialization and more recently the age of Technology & Information are
unabated. As a result, India is not expected to witness the kind of urban de-
densification experienced in recent times in the U.S.A. and predicted in Europe, at
least not for the foreseeable future.
Beyond economic growth, there are undeniable positive outcomes of

urbanization. While villages allow the sentiment of community to flourish, they can
also be narrow minded, ritualistic and claustrophobic. In India, urbanization has
been the greatest social equalizer, eroding the distinctions between caste and
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creed that strongly pervades rural societies. Urban women enjoy greater
economic choice and autonomy.
But urbanization has not come without its share of problems. This level of growth is
creating heaving fault lines beneath the urban surface, most of which citizens have
little control over. Community clusters are mushrooming almost overnight, with little
regard for the provision of supporting services: infrastructure, public transport, water
supply, sanitation, waste management etc.
As a young democracy, India has had little experience in managing urban issues.
Our urban political and administrative leadership is unprepared to provide
adequate governance even in the current situation, let alone in the chaotic future.
Clearly, there are wrenching discontinuities at the grassroots. At the most basic
level, there are questions about the ability of government to deliver the basic
support services to ensure a decent quality-of-life for urban residents.
There is also a need to go beyond the transactional, functional view of the city.
It is imperative that all stakeholders begin to ask more meaningful questions about
the true identity of a city, that there is collective introspection about the definition
of a great Indian city. It would be superfluous to think that there is no more to
shaping our cities than a pleasing architecture and landscape. We need to ask
fundamental questions about ownership of spaces, and why this seems to be
lacking in our urban centers. Why is it that we are not preserving our heritage
buildings? How do we go beyond the transactional nature of our cities? Is the wild
growth of slums a symptom of a deeper planning malaise? How DO we plan new
areas? What about the impact on the village markets, the Sunday shanties that
are often seen at the edge of every city? What about our own cultural identity,
which seems to be getting submerged in a sea of structural glazing?
City Planning is currently undertaken without interpreting the over-lapping impact

of socio-political-cultural-economic-legal aspects. Unlike the worker ants that are
all working towards a singular master plan, we are all working with an
understanding that is limited to our own sandboxes. This generates a physical
identity that ignores the multiplicity of needs and the equitable distribution of
services.
The pattern of these discontinuities suggests that urban design is actually a major
piece of the governance puzzle. While there has been much debate about public
governance, and the elements that make up good public governance, much of
the emphasis has been on issues like transparency and accountability. Without
taking away from the importance of these issues, there is urgent need to recognize
that the tapestry of governance is incomplete without urban design. All the issues
mentioned above are central to improving the quality of governance; many of
these issues have a breathtaking interplay that could be understood under the
umbrella of urban design.
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Consider the following example:
A village in the city’s periphery suddenly finds itself bifurcated by the construction
of a National Highway by the City Development Authority. Soon after, the
Industrial Development Board announces a new IT Corridor and acquires several
hundred acres of the village. Embedded in this decision are swirling political
interests meant to capitalize on land prices, largesse and loopholes.
In all this, the local administration or the “Gram Panchayat” has not been
consulted. They have no choice.
This act sets in motion a chain reaction. The village is now geographically divided,
making administration cumbersome. Right-to-property is invalidated and locals
are displaced. Village community identity is overwhelmed, and existing economic
activity is disheveled, with no employment opportunities or job guarantees for the
locals. In terms of design, not much science has been applied. Developers
capitalize on the new opportunity and buy up vast tracts of land. Local authorities
can be coaxed into sanctioning land use and zoning that provides maximum
monetization. Pockets of agricultural land are now juxtaposed between areas of
settlement and industry.
Predicting what will happen ten years down the road is simple: rampant land use
and zoning violations; a comprehensive failure in infrastructure delivery, waste
management, traffic patterns, public transport, drinking water supply;
disenfranchised residents.
Multiply this hundreds of thousands of times and the picture of India’s urban melee
is unveiled.
Could this story be different? I believe that there is a way to reverse gear. With the
positive confluence of many inter-related elements, with the intersection of
powerful ideas and organized actions. Imagine an alternative scenario with state
guaranteed land titles, sound and enforceable land use and zoning policies, clear
jurisdictional demarcations, citizens’ participation at the decision-making table,
ecologically sensitive planning, recognition of the needs of a variety of old and
new clients, and a GIS system that manages the spatial and demographic
information.
Making this a reality requires different stakeholders to find common spaces:

government, administrators, citizens, planners and architects, ecologists,
sociologists, lawyers, etc.
Immense work is being done on many of the issues affecting urban development,
by experts and champions both inside government and outside of it. However, the
troubling reality is that these “solutions” are being articulated and attempted in
isolation. Academia is not engaged with administration; planners are unaware of
political forces; lawmakers are out of touch with the realities of land-use.
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As a result, these energies are neither snowballing into a force of change, nor even
keeping pace with the growing problems.
We need a revolutionary way to look at urban issues. Looking at individual issues

and solutions will get us nowhere. What is required is a holistic view of the city. To
look up from the microscopes in our individual silos, and see at what is around. To
examine the unique as well as unifying role played by each stakeholder in finding a
collaborative solution.
In order for us to plan a city with an equitable and high quality-of-life delivery,
those involved in Planning must understand the complexity of their brief. They
need to take input from all of the city’s users. Their clients are the rich, the
middleclass, the slum-dwellers, industry, government, the disabled, children, senior
citizens, etc. This requires participation from citizens. Planners and architects must
understand and interpret these inputs.
This is still the tip of the funnel. What are the policies of land use, zoning, etc. that
will dictate the plans? What spatial, demographic, social, cultural, economic data
is available and needed for informed design decisions? Projections of growth are
required for future expansion. Planning for this will require a thorough
understanding of the issues pertaining to outer city area development and the
pressures that will be put on existing infrastructure. Administration is a key driver in
providing and maintaining infrastructure. How does planning help administration
deliver on its mandate? Solutions for historical preservation will require intervention
from policy makers and citizens alike.
Mapping the requirements for this kind of design process to ground reality highlights
the interplays at work.
For example, Government must change in its top-down decision making practice
in order for citizens to participate. This requires political will at the local level as well
as bureaucratic buy-in. Citizens need to be oriented to civic participation.
Mechanisms to capture citizen input in a coherent fashion will be needed. Who
will provide these? What sort of dispute resolution guidelines must be set in place?
It would be useful to have a blueprint for this complex task. What follows is a
paradigm that attempts to do that: lay out a framework that begins with the 30,000
feet view of urban design, and then peel back one layer at a time to ultimately
reach ground-level with some organized set of action steps for the different
stakeholders that influence the shape and character of our cities.
It must be stated at the outset that the elements in the paradigm are by no means
comprehensive, nor even that the inter-relationships are unquestionable. Rather,
only that the framework has some merit; that, even if we took out some factors, or
changed the relationships, we could still end up with a set of normative guidelines
that can help bring some order to the chaotic mess that characterizes urban India
today.
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2. AN URBAN DESIGN PARADIGM FOR INDIA
The end goal of this approach is to identify specific action steps that can drive the
process of change. This process requires a structured methodology, given the
number of complex, inter-related issues, and the variety of stakeholders involved.
The table below describes the sequence of steps involved in putting such a
methodology together, and the resultant action steps that could possibly emerge.
Step Item Description

1 ISSUES IN URBAN A description of each of the ISSUES that collectively
DESIGN affect Urban Design. Each ISSUE is a vast topic unto itself,
determined in turn by specific elements.
2 ELEMENTS IN EACH An overview of each ELEMENT in each ISSUE. Here, we
ISSUE, WITH begin to see the overlaps between different ISSUES, as
CONSTRAINTS IN INDIA they share common elements. A brief listing of the
specific constraints for each of these elements in India is
also provided.
3 SUCCESS FACTORS IN The constraints in India act as the roadmap to identify
EACH ELEMENT the SUCCESS FACTORS for the particular element. The
combination of these success factors help in determining
the “end-goal” state for each of the elements.
4 CLASSIFICATION OF Is there a way to classify these factors so that there can
SUCCESS FACTORS be some prioritization between them. Out of the total list
of SUCCESS FACTORS, there are some that are “CAUSAL”
factors that are catalysts; a few that are “DOMINO”
factors in that they influence a critical number of other
factors; and a third category that are “RESULTANT”
factors, which are either independent or follow from the
causal and domino factors.
5 DEPENDENCY MATRIX Each factor is either influencing other factors, or is
OF SUCCESS FACTORS influenced by a variety of other factors. These
dependencies are captured in a comprehensive matrix,
which identifies these relationships.
6 STAKEHOLDER Ultimately, solutions emerge only through the actions of
MAPPING concerned stakeholders. It is critical therefore to
recognize the role played by a variety of stakeholders on
each factor.
7 CRITICAL PATH What emerges from the above exercise is the ability to
OPTIONS FOR choose those success factors that could have the
MIGRATION maximum impact. This could be based on a variety of
rules. Examples include: the relative importance of the
success factor, the number of stakeholders involved, the
degree of difficulty, the number of dependencies etc.
While several critical path options may exist, it is possible
to evaluate in some normative manner the relative
merits/ risks posed by each option.
8 POSSIBLE ACTION Having identified a critical path of success factors to
STEPS pursue, it is possible to define the SPECIFIC ACTION STEPS
to be taken by each involved STAKEHOLDER for each
particular factor.
9 EXAMPLES Some illustrative examples of how the paradigm could
be used.
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Figure-1 below provides a snapshot of the discussion points in the first two sections.
As can be seen, the ISSUES that influence the spatial form of urban areas have
been defined by the five sides of the pentagon. As we peel the next layer, we can
see that each issue in turn has multiple ELEMENTS that are associated with it.
The figures highlight the broad nature of Urban Design: the combination of these
issues and elements coming together is what really creates the space called Urban
Design. Examining the figure also reveals some of the interdependencies, through
common elements across different issues.
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3. ISSUES AND ELEMENTS IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT
ISSUE #1: URBAN PLANNING & DESIGN:
Planning: Local Development Authorities make

important and sweeping land use decisions with
a lack of foresight in projecting the outcome of
their decisions. Decisions are not made in
consultation with urban planning experts. Those
who draw up the development plans are rarely
engaged with implementation and have no
knowledge on how to shape environments with a
high quality of community, convenience and
well-being. Revisions to Comprehensive
Development Plans are aimed at rezoning and
expansion. Issues of rural / urban impact,
connectivity, environment, economy are missing
in the analysis.
Design policy is absent while considering economic development. Hence the
marketplace dictates the form that the architecture and landscape takes. There is
no intimate engagement with the successful creation of space: how the street is
defined, a place will feel, public parks and buildings create landmarks, or the
skyline is customized.
How does a design approach dictate the success of our cities and towns? A city
has a culture and history that it’s residents must identify with. In order for planning
to be effective it must find consensus on the brief for the city at large. Could the
recent twin tower design process have explored the participatory process more
meaningfully? Instead of residents just having a “veto” power, perhaps the primary
step should have been in collectively defining the design guidelines. Some of the
ponderables on India’s urbanization are:
 Should planning be based on maximizing economic growth or should it
prioritize equitable quality-of-life opportunity and social growth? There is the
ever-increasing divide between the rich and the poor. The debate needs to
include the impact that urban planning has on this issue.
 Then there is the question of the subjugation of private interests over those of
the public at large. Our ethos as a society will dictate our choice and this has
to be examined. Criteria for designing both public spaces and private
properties must be reasonable and clearly defined. Architects ignore the
responsibility to contextualize their projects to the immediate public spaces, as
well as to the neighborhood at large.
 Designers must deliver a high level of detailing. From the relationship of the
width of the street to the heights of the buildings, right down to the grill that
comes over the drainage on the street.
 We also need mechanisms that allow Urban Design to be less reactive and
more farsighted in providing design solutions? How does it foster individuality
without compromising on delivery of quality public conveniences?
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Urban Planners, Landscapers, Designers and architects need to address all of these
aspects creatively and represent their ideas in a manner that fosters true citizen
participation and ownership.
The following are the elements related to URBAN PLANNING:
ELEMENT #1: LAND USE & ZONING POLICIES

This element has been previously discussed in the Issue of governance, as well in
Outer City Area Development.
City zoning and connectivity precedes detailing land use at the neighborhood
level. The city can be divided into smaller areas, each made up of 2 to 3 wards
and detailed planning done at the area level. This will allow an area specific
approach to the service planning, local civic centers, public spaces, transport and
economic opportunity and housing requirements and issues of connectivity. These
area plans can be integrated coherently to plan services such as educational
facilities, health care, larger civic facilities, entertainment and a comprehensive
system of connectivity and public transport.
International trends must be evaluated on an ongoing basis for appropriate
learnings. For example, in the USA, the currently popular principles of SMART
GROWTH and livable communities advocate high-density city centers.
Demographical principal Wendell Cox, has challenged the thinking behind smart
growth with his Lone Mountain Compact. Lone Mountain Compact principle states
that absent a material threat to other individuals or the community, people should
be allowed to live and work where and how they like.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works invited Wendell Cox
to testify on 15 May 2002. In his testimony, Mr. Cox reviewed the national and
international evidence demonstrating that the higher densities smart growth
requires are associated with greater traffic congestion, more air pollution, higher
consumer expenditures and lower levels of home ownership. This latter impact
occurs because smart growth rations land and development, which inevitably
raises the price of housing. The impact falls most heavily on lower income
households, which are disproportionately minority.
CONSTRAINTS IN INDIA:
 No scientific planning process
 Cookie cutter approach to development
 No attempt at ecological planning
 Land use conversions are
ELEMENT #2: GLOBAL V / S LOCAL

What exactly does the word global imply in the context of the design of a city. Is it
McDonaldism, where one feels comfort in the familiar and consistent and
predictable? This seems more dismaying than desirable. Instead, we must have
design policies that celebrate innovation and individuality that contributes the
entire city, and also pulsates to the drumbeat of an organic local culture.
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 International brands with a standard look and feel replacing the local
ethos
 Increasing demand for buildings designed using glass and steel in an
attempt to create the “modern” global city.
 Not enough brand attention to local history and culture
 Very few innovations and opportunities in local goods and products
 Fascination with western products and lifestyle
ELEMENT #3: SPATIAL IMPACT OF MACRO TRENDS

Fiber Optic networks provide freedom from the office. As the sophistication in such
communications grows, what is the impact on the urban lifestyle? With traffic
nightmares on the rise, flexibility to work out of home is becoming increasingly
attractive. The expected reduction in travel would save fossil fuels as well as
reduce pollution.
Information Technology and BPO outsourcing is creating economic opportunities
and national visibility. Travel and tourism is on the rise.
Twenty years ago, three generations lived in a joint family. This is now replaced with
single family units. Women are entering the work force in greater numbers and
require substantial care-giving support for their children. With the increasingly
affluent double-income middle class, entertainment needs are exploding. The
returning NRI is looking at housing in gated communities with like-minded
individuals. Lack of faith in government services is pushing the sustainable
independent community model in small pockets of development. Schools are
mushrooming at a pace that is still slower than the demand.
How is urban development planning for the spatial consequences of all these
macro trends?
 No formal mechanisms to recognize and react to macro trends
 Disregard for the importance of coherent planning
 Lack of co-ordination between administrative stakeholders
 Rotational bureaucracy doesn’t allow good visioning to live beyond the
tenure of the occasional enlightened officer
ELEMENT #4: ZOOMING IN V / S ZOOMING OUT

One approach to the planning process is to treat each neighborhood as a unique
entity and stitch them together with intersecting and continuing urban systems like
roads to reveal the richer tapestry of the whole (zooming out from the
neighborhood). Each neighborhood’s unique features would suggest a unique
plan, as would the nature of the community in it.
This approach is in contrast to one that would begin at the level of the city, and
have this drive the local neighborhood plans (zooming in from the city). A
Comprehensive Development Plan for a city must deliberate on the merits and
demerits of both, since it would it result in dramatically differing detailing processes,
as well as a resulting urban ethos.
CONSTRAINTS IN INDIA:Urban Planning happening more by default than by design
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ELEMENT #5: OPEN V / S ORGANIZED DESIGN
This continues on the previous point on zooming in/out. The choice of whether
design grows from the neighborhood to the city, or vice versa, will influence a
second set of considerations around HOW this design should occur. For a city-to-
neighborhood approach (zooming in), the design framework would be to have
continuity suggested through a pre-designed framework such as a gridiron or a
linear system enforced by the road network. Alternatively, for a neighbourhood-to-
city approach (zooming out), the design would be open in keeping with the
unique needs of each area.
 Urban Planning is more by default than by design
ELEMENT #6: PROCESS OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

This element is explained in greater detail in the ISSUE of COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT.
A pre-condition to a democratic planning process is to empower citizens in making
informed choices. The issue of critical importance is providing representative tools
that demystify the planning process. The intent is not to dismiss the value that the
design expert provides but to emphasize the need to make citizens true partners in
the design process.
 Unwillingness by the Administration to include citizens in the decision
making process
ISSUE #2: CORE CITY ISSUES
The problems of burgeoning slums, increasing crime,

over-burdened infrastructure, lack of adequate
public transport, are increasing along with the
growth in urban population.
There is discordance in the quality of civic amenities
between various pockets of the city. Basic services
such as water supply and sanitation are still missing
in about 30% of the city. Public spaces are
inadequate, weakly linked and difficult to access.
With the influx of new models in the market, and an increasingly affluent and eager
middle-class, the number of cars on the roads has increased dramatically. This has
placed a heavy burden on our roads and created a traffic management
nightmare. Designing our streets is again a random exercise with little thought to
traffic flow or the various modes of transportation. Public transport is primarily the
bus service and used only by the economically weaker section. There is no rapid
transit system in the city. The roads are also unfriendly to pedestrians since there are
no continuous and well-maintained sidewalks or reliable pedestrian crossings.
Improper drainage systems result in water stagnation on the roads creating
damage to the asphalting and need for frequent maintenance.
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The Town and Country Planning Department has done a weak and arbitrary job of
land use mapping and zoning laws. Our administration has done a poorer job of
enforcing these laws. No historical analysis is used as indicators of successful or
unsuccessful planning. Indeed, invariably planning is undertaken by a civil
engineer sitting at a drafting table. We are often faced with bizarre situations
where an existing temple is in a traffic island because it was not taken into account
during the planning process and there are legal constraints that prevent places of
worship from being demolished.
There is also little evidence of micro planning. Neighborhoods are not provided
with adequate, well-maintained public spaces such as parks, libraries, community
halls, or services such as local schools, healthcare facilities. Cities without
adequate opportunities for community mingling at best become cold and soul-less
and at worst become tinderboxes for communal tensions.
The following are the ELEMENTS of this ISSUE:
ELEMENT #1: ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS

Urbanization has gone beyond being mere means for economic opportunity.
While the city is an organic form, it must consistently deliver a safe and supportive
environment for all its residents at the neighbourhood level. At the citywide level,
enriching social and cultural opportunities are increasingly being sought in addition
to the economic opportunity.
Currently, there is a vacuum of information that debilitates defining priorities and

action steps. The assets owned by the City Corporation in the city of Bangalore,
were only recently collated. Similarly, it is only in recent times-thanks to a unique
experiment of public-private partnership designed by the previous Chief Minister
S.M.Krishna-that the city’s service providers have started giving a report on past
performance and future plans.
Parameters by which to measure quality-of-life –across all economic sections- in

urban areas must be drawn and applied. Performance Measurements are vital to
examine the effectiveness of public services against the tax rupees spent. This
assessment begins with the neighbourhood, moves to the ward level and finally the
city level. Just as corporate health is measured through disclosure and financial
statements, Bangalore is forging new ground with disclosure in the area of public
governance. Public Record of Operations and Finance (P.R.O.O.F.) provides a
platform where the city corporation presents its financial health every quarter to
the public.
 Lack of defined quality-of-life metrics
 No comprehensive and cohesive data collected on urban components
such as micro economic activity, validity of bye-laws, etc
 No strategic prioritizing of infrastructure requirements
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 Politics is the key driver in budget allocation
 Public policy is made in an empirical vacuum
 Utility and public transport providers do not devise long-term plans or short
term solutions
 Infrastructure provision is ad hoc and reactive with poor quality execution
ELEMENT #2: UPGRADATION PLAN

Revitalization plans for the mature or core city areas will be defined by the new
and increased demands on the city as well as by the level of deterioration of the
older neighbourhoods. Identification of needs will have to be at two levels: the
requirements for the city at large and the requirements at individual neighborhood
levels.
The infrastructure in the developed city areas is burdened by increasing demands.

Illegal constructions and rampant violations are running unchecked. Slums are
mushrooming at an alarming rate in the absence of low-cost housing options. The
situation is reminiscent of the “Dharavi’’ slum of Bombay which is spread over 175
hectares and home to one million Indians. Examining India’s urban pitfalls in other
cities will give us insights that prevent us from making the same mistakes again.
Sustainable planning and execution within realistic time frames is urgently required.
Upgradation options will need to consider re-inventing old underused spaces
where possible and building new infrastructure where essential.
A major problem facing the city of Bangalore is that current revenue collections
are inadequate to meet the infrastructure needs of the cities. Loans are being
taken to supplement existing revenue collection and will run the city into massive
debt. External financing should be tied to responsible asset creation and must be
minutely monitored for accountability. Citizen involvement would provide a
valuable monitoring tool and create ownership while giving the necessary user
inputs.
Through the Janaagraha platform, citizens in Bangalore city have proposed a
unique idea to the city corporation and the State finance department to help
increase the compliance rate of property taxes and thus increase the revenues.
The caveat is that a portion of the increased revenues must be ploughed back into
their own wards until a minimum infrastructure standard is achieved.
CONSTRAINTS IN INDIA
 Most Urban Administrations have no skills in Urban planning, neither do
they bring in private sector / subject matter experience
 Opaque and non-inclusive Planning and Implementation processes
 Efforts to ensure comprehensive participation in tax payment are
inadequate. In Bangalore, a mere 5,00,000 properties pay taxes when
there are an estimated 12,00,000 properties in the city.
 Loans are taken with disregard to debt cost to the city and it’s residents
 Lack of accountability to citizens
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ELEMENT #3: COMMUNITY ACTIVISM & OWNERSHIP
Community exists today, but like most other things, it is heterogeneous. There are
multiple communities—local, regional, and global—made possible by
telecommunications and information technology. Technology and urbanization
have revolutionized community and made it possible to communicate and meet
with people who share common interests.
An important element in the maintenance of a healthy and self-renewing mature
city area is the quality of community that is bound by geography. Urban residents
need to look beyond their personal properties and start investing in their
neighborhoods. Citizens have negligible ownership in public spaces such as parks
and playing grounds, community buildings, land use patterns in their
neighbourhoods, zoning violations or encroachment on public property, or even
the street outside their front door. Retail store owners commonly take over public
pavement space uncaring of the resultant pedestrian inconvenience and traffic
chaos. Parks are taken over for religious activities. Storm water drains are covered
up and built upon. Unless local residents show some ownership, such examples will
deteriorate their quality-of-life.
Part of the problem could be that most citizens have themselves not respected
building regulations. Currently, there is no attempt to build individual projects that
will also enhance the neighbourhood or the city. Maximizing personal interest is
the sole consideration, even at the cost of violating by-laws and zoning.
Considerations such as impinging upon the street or on the privacy of neighboring
properties are ignored. There are usually two sets of plans drawn up: one that is
presented to the authorities for procurement of building sanction, and the other for
actual construction. The simple matter of a petty bribe to the inspecting engineer,
papers over the discrepancies.
 Assumption of corruption in government agencies unless proven innocent
 Citizens fear the endless bureaucracy present in government agencies
 Beating or avoiding the “system” has become a goal in itself
 Citizens lack respect for public space. A myopic view focused on their
private properties is widespread
ELEMENT #4: QUALITY OF LOCAL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES

In 1992, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution were passed. This
effectively de-centralized government to the third tiers in the rural and urban areas
respectively.
In the urban areas, the city is divided into “wards” and each ward has a local
elected “corporator” with a five year mandate. The post provides nominal
remuneration. While each corporator has autonomy on issues regarding his/her
ward, the council of corporators decides collectively on city-wide issues.
The reservation of seats for “lower caste” and women allows manipulation by the
party in power. The wards that will have these reservations assigned are chosen by
the party in power at the very last minute and thus gives them the ability to
summarily disqualify a potentially successful candidate who does not belong to
their party.
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Interestingly, the corporator can contest in a ward that he does not reside in.
The majority of middle-class citizens are either unaware or indifferent to the

existence of an elected corporator. The primary voting constituency comes from
the slums. Here votes are bought with promises or toddy. Once the elections are
won, it is a classic game of “divide and rule” with the slum dwellers and the middle
class.
We need an enlightened citizenry in order to change the quality of our elected

representatives. If delivery is demanded and becomes the criteria for election, an
appropriate category of candidates will participate in the elections. A critical
element in bringing in a different breed of candidates is to invest the post with
community respect.
CONSTRAINTS IN INDIA
 Apathetic middleclass does not participate in ward level elections
 Corporator buys votes from the poor with empty promises or material
enticements.
 Corporator looks at the post as a means of making money.
 Instances of collusion between Elected representative and local
administration
 The Corporator elections have a rotational reservation policy. Women and
scheduled caste members are put up as fronts by vested interests to fulfill the
criteria
ELEMENT #5: PRESERVATION POLICY: HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENT

HISTORY: An important element in maintaining continuity while engaging in
renovation and renewal of the mature parts of a city is preservation policy. In
India, our cities are built on multiple villages and therefore have multiple identities
struggling for oxygen. There is no cohesive design scheme that treats the city as a
single entity. In the rush to fit into a global arena, local tradition, culture and craft is
ignored or abandoned. There is no attempt to preserve and maintain social and
cultural history.
Urban identity does not live merely in the present day or in thinking of the future.
Identity comes from continuity; we therefore need means of recording our social,
political and cultural history.
India has a history that has survived innumerable invasions and destruction through
its remarkable oral tradition. However, we must substantiate this with museums for
art and artifacts and copious documentation. These are the archives of our
historical experiences.
ENVIRONMENT: Sustainable development is a current global concern with a focus

to conserving our natural resources such as rivers, forests, water bodies and energy
sources. With major construction and building marching towards greater
urbanization, we must include protection of the ecology and environment.
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Development in India is currently harshly monetary in nature. Stringently monitored
policies that preserve and protect our environment are an urgent priority.
 Lack of orientation to the relevance of documentation and historical
preservation
 Lack of enforceable Preservation Policies
 Low funding priority for historical preservation
ISSUE #3: “OUTER URBAN” AREA DEVELOPMENT:

This issue deals with growth of the urban area, as it expands into
the surrounding rural periphery. The current approach to
development extending at the city periphery is troubling in
three key ways: the first is in the lop-sided power structure in
favor of the city; the second is the spatial and ecological
impact; The third is the economic and social impact on the
locals: whether it is acquisition of land, conversion of land, non-
provision of infrastructure or loss of livelihood and residence.
The common man is left helpless and emasculated by the
system.
In terms of design, the following factors are largely unplanned:
considerations of connectivity to the primary city and neighbouring districts,
planning transportation means, providing an identity to the new development
which fits in with that of the city, appropriate examination of the economic
activities possible and the resultant public spaces and services needed.
The following are the ELEMENTS related to the issue of OUTER URBAN AREA
DEVELOPMENT:
ELEMENT #1: ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF GROWTH NEEDS

Urban cities or towns have a comprehensive development plan chalked out by
the city Development Authority (CDA) that is revised every 10 years.
The starting point for this plan is the current population. A projection of the
anticipated population is made based on the evidence of previous growth. The
plan is then drawn up based on current population and existing land occupied, to
projected population increase and area required.
Once the CDA develops a certain area and sells it, subsequent developers profit
off of the infrastructure of that developed pocket and sell similar developments at
attractive rates. Buyers find the pricing affordable since they do not include the
18% cost of infrastructure provision. However, the lack of adequate infrastructure
causes pressure on the administration already strapped for funds. There are no
mechanisms by which an equitable levy of such infrastructure fees - or “betterment
charges” as they are technically known - can be monitored and collected in a fair
and equitable manner.
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Additionally, improper assessment of economic opportunity and lack of public
transport connectivity, results in layouts lying empty for years. Capital is thus locked.
 Lack of dissemination on economic activity mapping & growth impulse
measurement
 In measuring the provision of goods and services, technical considerations
are overwhelmed by political considerations
 The price for new development is borne by very few of the recipient
residents. The free-rider syndrome is a common problem
ELEMENT #2: INTER-JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES

This element is described previously in the section on Governance.
In Bangalore district, the core city is spread over 205 sq.km. The Bangalore
Development Authority (BDA)has jurisdiction over a radius encompassing 2025
sq.km. and has the authority to plan the Comprehensive Development Plan for this
area. Around the city are now seven smaller urban bodies called City Municipal
Councils (CMCs). They have their own political and administrative machinery.
These CMCs occupy an area of approximately 225 sq. km, or more area than the
city itself. The Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA)
has a larger radius of authority than the BDA. However, the local authority in the
CMCs is legally allowed to sanction planning and construction.
As can be seen, the multiplicity of jurisdictional authorities creates tremendous
confusion in administration, as well as during expansion and development phases.
One of the biggest drawback is the increased distance between the citizen and
government. The existing village Panchayat is replaced by the urban structure of
government.
 Multiple administrative bodies with overlapping jurisdictional authority
 Differing governing structures between rural and urban local governments
 Lack of involvement of the local community in the decision making process
 Fuzzy jurisdiction causes rampant encroachment on public property.
 Newly incorporated areas lack basic infrastructure and services due to lack
of clear accountability
ELEMENT #3: LAND USE POLICY

This element has been explained in the GOVERNANCE issue section. Specifically,
the issues that need clarity are the change in land use when these pockets are
included into a larger urban body. Related to this is the impact on the existing
local economy, social structure, culture and political engagement.
 The CDA has the power to dictate land usage without question. One
example of this unilateral power is that a person who owns land can
suddenly find it worthless since it has been declared as part of the green
belt.
 Lack of clear land titles prevents competitive pricing.
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 Cost of infrastructure and services plays second fiddle to political pressures in
defining land use.
ELEMENT #4: DEMOGRAPHICS AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

When a city encroaches on land in the periphery, it disturbs existing economic
clusters and displaces the local citizens. Absence of clear land titles and mutation
records notwithstanding, the villagers are suddenly offered a large amount of
money for their land, which is impossible to resist. However, once they are landless,
they discover that their only source of income has been surrendered to the
temptation of the quick buck.
In addition, the new developments bring in new residents into the area, with their
own demographic characteristics: young parents requiring school facilities, hospital
services, recreation facilities etc.
 No impact analysis data on existing micro enterprises
 Lack of prior preparation and adequate systems to seamlessly incorporate
additional population and infrastructure requirements
 Updating voter lists still not a frequent and accurate exercise
ELEMENT #5: SOCIO / CULTURAL / POLITICAL IMPACT

In addition to the economic and demographic impact, the existing culture and
social identity is overwhelmed by the spread of the city. The original local culture
and tradition finds itself endangered. The Village square disappears and along
with it, participation in local issues and the opportunity for community mingling.
This is replaced with urban distance and disconnect from both the democratic
processes as well as the changing face of the neighborhood. The local Panchayat
structure is replaced with a faceless, powerful, unapproachable Corporator, who
represents a much larger constituency. Voting becomes a cumbersome,
uninformed exercise. Participation by the locals in the urbanization process is
critical both from the point of view of informed decision-making on the part of the
planners, as well as for buy-in and ownership by the citizens. Land Use plans,
economic projections and a spatial presentation of what is under consideration
are all issues that must have community input. In the absence of these discussions,
inequitable decisions will lead to disenfranchised citizens. Democracy requires the
full and fair opportunity for all to participate in shaping their environment.
 Inadequate measures in preserving local cultures and social fabric of the
region
 Drop in election participation.
 The seeds of patronage get sown: favors curried with free goods
 Opaque and unaccountable nature of government fosters corruption
and denies citizen involvement
 Complete hopelessness and cynicism of citizens towards Government
 Fifty years after Independence, citizens are now the palanquin bearers to
our Government
 Pressures of the urban material life leaves little room to think beyond self
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ELEMENT #6: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Urban centers are the hydra headed consumers of available natural resources. As
urban centers expand and grow, they require more land, more water supply, more
electricity, generate greater amounts of waste and ozone depleting carbon and
often displace forests, biodiversity or the rural landscape. Our polluted lakes have
sent away storks and birds. Sparrows are now a rare sight in the city. Trees trunks
are often choked at the base with cement pavements. Cows eat out of garbage
bins. Plastics and batteries are mixed with vegetable waste and burned in villages
around the city periphery.
Urban development has ignored protecting wetlands, streams and water bodies.
Building construction too is insensitive to land contours and energy conservation.
Water is supplied to the cities at huge costs and at the expense of the needs of the
villages around the source. Freshwater is a rapidly depleting resource. In the search
for water, bore wells are being dug up in individual properties, each time at
greater depths disturbing the ground water aquifers. Global debates on water
include questions such as: Is water a commodity to be sold and paid for or a right-
to-life and therefore free? Is the supply separate from distribution with the first under
the jurisdiction of the State and the second under local jurisdiction?
Environmental assessment of plans and policies, is critical in urban development.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a technique evolved over the last 30
years, to measure proposed development impact on the environment. EIA
provides planners and developers valuable input in order to make informed
decisions that minimize environmental damage.
 Lack of policies and monitoring mechanisms
 EIA is not undertaken before development
ISSUE #4: GOVERNANCE

What characterizes the great cities of the world?
Why are some cities great to live in and others
not? One of the critical components of the
answer is the quality of governance in the city.
While governance stems from the government,
the term really defines the operating
environment of the public institution. Specifically
with respect to the urban environment,
government is required to deliver at two levels:
at the individual level it is supposed to ensure
basic
requirements of food, clothing, shelter, health and education for all. At the public
level it is the delivery of infrastructure and frameworks that allow the pursuit of
enterprise, culture, religion, and spirituality. The corporate sector, public sector,
non-governmental organizations, media, academia, etc, are stakeholders that
also contribute in this delivery.
Urbanization is increasing the complexity of these delivery mechanisms. More
intermediaries with increasing specialization are entering the delivery chain. While
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this trend potentially increases efficiency, it also effectively distances the citizen
from both the process of the specific delivery, as well as from government itself.
Measures to include citizens at the decision making table will ensure a healthy
underlying system.
The following are the ELEMENTS of this ISSUE:

ELEMENT # 1:LAND USE & ZONING POLICIES
Debating the validity of colonial hand-me-downs in the context of Indian cities
must be encouraged. Colonial Land Use regulations separated the commercial
areas from the residential neighbourhoods. There were geographic distinctions
based on the type of economic activity and on social class. These regulations are
still followed but are antithetical to the Indian way-of-life which combines work
place with the home, locates corner-shops at every residential street, requires
public transport close to the residential doorstep and houses domestic labor within
the neighborhood.
The major cities religiously draw-up their development visions every decade.
The Comprehensive Development Plans (CDP) determines Zoning for the city. This
dictates for example, where factories are allowed with minimum disturbance and
environment damage, where high-rise construction is possible due to proximity to
services, where a Central Business District allows for greatest connectivity, etc.
The CDP also defines Land Use within neighbourhoods. The success or failure of
neighbourhoods is dictated in large measure to the Land Use policies adopted.
For example, an innovative mix of usage- residential, essential public services,
social, commercial, and leisure, provides an environment of convenience;
integration of mixed income housing within the neighbourhood prevents pockets
of degeneration.
CDP revisions provide a blueprint where Land Use for the city and it’s extended
area is reworked. Unfortunately, there is no analysis of the successes and failures in
the implementation of the previous CDP. On-the-ground surveys highlight gross
violations of the CDP. The preferred patterns of Land Use refer to the socio-
economic-cultural climate of the day, and must be considered for meaningful
revisions to zoning and Land Use Regulations.
Currently CDP revisions do not include four key objectives:
o Evaluation of the previous CDP Land Use with the existing ground realities to
measure its success. This is done through a thorough analysis of Land Use
conversions and violations; building densities; population densities;
connectivity and public transportation; land prices; economic activity;
infrastructure requirements; resource availability, etc
o Evaluation the need for the city’s expansion
o Revision of the existing CDP factoring in the existing ground conditions
o Providing viable solutions for projected growth based particularly on water
supply; on protecting the environment; and on connectivity via road or rail.
At the neighbourhood level, our by-laws need to demonstrate sensitivity to the

relationship between streets, and building lines and the skyline. Wind and thermal
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movement will be facilitated with pre-planned appropriate varying of heights and
densities. Public spaces must be ample to encourage community building and
must be connected to each other enabling a healthy lifestyle with opportunities for
walking and cycling. This reduces dependencies on vehicles for short-distance
movement within neighbourhood.
Connectivity between neighbourhoods must be efficient and result in a cogent
system across the city.
Land Use conversions are currently arbitrary and not examined against the impact
on the neighbourhood or the city. The policy on building line setbacks is obscure
and variable, making monitoring against violation cumbersome. There is an urgent
need to make the policy on setbacks reasonable and consistent. It is equally
imperative that any change in land use or sanction in construction, must include
the deliberation and approval of those impacted..
 Lack of enforceable policies for land use and reasonable and standardize
building by-laws.
 Land Use Policies allow numerous conversions without sensitivity to the
impact on the Archaic neighbourhood.
 Lack of polices / enforcement protecting the environment such as wetlands,
tank-beds, lakes, drains, trees, etc.
ELEMENT # 2:ECONOMIC CLUSTERS

International trade agreements such as the WTO are impacting India’s micro
enterprises in unpredictable ways. Global trends and the opening of new markets
are making way for new opportunities. There will undoubtedly be wins and losses.
Mapping and vigilant monitoring of growing and changing economies due to
globalization is critical for planned economic survival at the local level. Decisions
will be enabled with the right information: for example, whether a new micro
enterprise should be diverted to a smaller urban town that will boost the economy
of that town and prevent an additional infrastructure burden on the larger cities.
For example, in Hubli in the state of Karnataka, the economy is primarily driven by
the production of cotton and oil seeds. A recent multi fiber agreement in the WTO
could result in Hubli cotton being less desirable than Egyptian cotton.
On the other hand, the opening of the grape market may well result in grapes from
Gulbarga (a North Karnataka city) suddenly seeing a surge in demand because
France is now importing these for their wine!
The point is that the impact of globalization is not always predictable. And these
vagaries in the primary economies will ripple down to all the secondary, supporting
economies.
This detailed mapping and measuring is an important tool in anticipating the
growth and infrastructure needs of urban centers.
 There is minimal empirical fieldwork being done at the micro-economy level
 Regional economic mapping is infrequently translated into tangible action
steps on the ground.
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 Where there is research and data, it is neither disseminated nor are proactive
measures taken.
ELEMENT # 3: LOCAL MUNICIPAL FINANCES

There are high costs to providing and maintaining infrastructure and services.
The largest source of revenues for the city is property tax. Adequate policies and
mechanisms need to be in place to ensure equitable expenditure decisions and
reasonable compliance. Bangalore provides a case in point where at a generous
estimate, only half the people are paying their taxes. If a user does not pay his
electricity or water bills, service is stopped. There is no such penalty for non-
payment of property taxes. At worst, if there is an inquiry, a defaulter pays a paltry
annual fine. Some reduce their dues by withholding information on tenancy
income or commercial use of property. In all this, political self-interest complicates
the matter of buoyant local resource mobilization.
The other issue is that of equity. Most Educational Institutions, Hospitals, Defense,
Government land, which use the city’s infrastructure and services are all exempt
from paying taxes. In Karnataka, a non-exemptive Act was passed but has failed
to obtain notification. The proposed act exempted only religious places of worship
from paying taxes. The State and Union governments, which own and operate
large clusters of land and buildings, objected to the idea of the sub-ordinate taxing
the sovereign.
Accountability and transparency is a pre-condition to making sure that every tax

rupee is spent in the area it was allocated. In the absence of proper mechanisms
that ensure this, the city’s coffer becomes a sieve. Inevitably, what gets
compromised is the delivery of infrastructure to the citizens.
Thoughtful policies for sustainable development are noticeable only by their
absence. Ideally, such policies must efficiently manage available resources, as well
as reduce the cost of services. Rainwater harvesting, gray water recycling, solar
powered electricity, etc, are examples where every citizen engages with
conservation efforts.
 Cities seem perpetually strapped for development funds
 Mechanisms for tax collection are porous, and not effective
 Few attempts are made to widen the tax net; rather, taxes are increased or
additional taxes levied
 Many “public service” institutions, public sector land & buildings and
government properties are exempt from paying property tax causing huge
losses for the exchequer
 A powerful de-centralized administration is a threat to the current political
set-up
 Very little innovation in energy and resource conservation is attempted
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ELEMENT #4: JURISDICTION
Responsibilities of governance and administrative jurisdiction are not clearly
defined, and are further complicated by the growth resulting in overlaps between
rural and urban jurisdictions.
The proximity of the village panchayat to its citizenry is approximately 1:100 as

versus the urban local government to the city dwellers which is approximately
1:50,000 in Bangalore. The impact of city growth that consumes neighboring
villages erodes that connection. In addition, there are associated policy changes
(property laws, taxation, voting lists, resource sharing, etc.), which impacts the
citizen in the newly included urban area. Often, the local governments do not
possess the experience and capacity to manage these changes.
Urban growth provides an opportunity for distributing political patronage.

Economic rationale that dictates sharing resources and costs or extending existing
infrastructure is often ignored. A case in point is the provision of water supply to the
village of Bommanahalli: it was economically logical to extend the existing
infrastructure of pipes. Politics seemed to get in the way of economics with the
result that a whole new facility, under a different jurisdiction, was sanctioned
regardless of the cost.
Another example is that of landfill sites for Solid Waste Management. These could
be strategically shared between the city corporation and the smaller municipal
councils, resulting in economically and ecologically sound solutions. Yet, politics
prevail when there are opportunities for largesse in land purchase, trucks and
infrastructure creation.
The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution decentralized political power to
the local level in both rural and urban India. This has remained in the realm of an
idea, with very little capacity on the part of the local representatives to
meaningfully exercise their role. The sophisticated Administrative system continues
to play a central role in decision-making.
Citizens do not exercise their franchise in the local elections and are largely
unaware of the role of their local council member in representing their needs.
Within the urban centers there is an abysmal lack of coordination between various
service providers and no penalties for poor management. Thus, we have situations
where the city corporation will spend tax rupees to asphalt a road and two days
later, the water supply department digs it up to lay pipes. In the unlikely scenario
where the water department relays the damaged road quickly and efficiently, the
Fiber Optic pipe laying work begins soon after. This complete lack of accountability
from the various departments results in waste and inconvenience. The taxpayers
pay three times for the same job.
In addition there is a lack of clarity on which arm of government is responsible for
what. Processes are unclear and cumbersome.
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 Draconian powers of the city development authority to take over urban
peripheral areas and define land use and conversions
 Lack of clarity in distribution of administrative responsibilities
 Economic rationale invariably plays second fiddle to Political rationale
 Increasing distance between citizen and government
 Rotational bureaucracy, with no minimum administrative tenure
ELEMENT #5: LAND RECORDS AND TITLES

“Land is crucial in the creation of wealth. Where there are fewer restrictions, there is
likely to be greater wealth creation. The relatively free market that has existed in
land development is at least part of the reason that the United States remains by
far the most affluent nation in the world larger than Fresno. And this is in per capita
terms. We need to be very careful about placing unnecessarily restrictions on land
because it is likely to mean less wealth creation in the future.” (WENDELL COX IN A
TESTIMONY TO THE US SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS)
The relevance of land titles in capital formation, especially among the
economically weaker sections, has found a high level of priority in recent times.
Land records In India are neither an indicator of possession nor title. While
accepting a document for registration, the registering authority need not concern
itself about the validity of the document. This position arises because in India
property legislation and policy relating to registration of documents were never
framed with the objective of providing a state guarantee of title to land.
Therefore, a sale deed is not proof of ownership. It is merely a record of a
transaction.
D.C.Wadhwa was appointed the Chair of the National One-man Committee on

the status of record-of-rights in land. According to him, the conversion of the
present system of presumptive titles of land into conclusive titles, guaranteed by
the State, seems the only sensible solution to this problem. This will bring the country
in the mainstream of a worldwide trend, enhance the marketability of land, reduce
the stupendous social cost of litigation and give a boost to agricultural production
and urban and industrial development.
The absurdity of the situation can be seen in the example of Government property
itself, where hotels operated by the Indian Tourism board were discovered to have
no lease documents, land titles, completion certificates or even building plans and
fire safe certificates.
As a result of land ambiguities, the Indian judicial system is mired in litigations about
ownership. In a study done on India by McKinsey in 2001, it was reported that
almost 90 percent of land parcels in India are subject to legal disputes over
ownership.
 Title to land is only incidental and springs from the presumption that the
property tax payer is the owner.
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 Delays in the recording of mutation transactions, and jurisdictional changes
over transaction management have increased the information gap
 Large scale encroachment increase the gap between records & reality
 Millions of legal cases related to mutation and measurement are pending in
the country.
 Record of registration is an insufficient proof of ownership and is not
accepted as valid collateral by financial institutions for capital creation
ELEMENT #6: SPATIAL DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Decisions require data. From the individual dwelling to road networks, services,
infrastructure, and natural features such as lakes, high quality spatial data systems
are critical to urban management. In order to map existing conditions & maintain
infrastructure and plan future expansions, reliable and efficient data is a pre-
requisite.
In the city of Bangalore, In order to make sure that the baseline data on which
everything else will be built is reliable and accurate to the required decimal
degree, physical verification will be required. This will be an exhausting, expensive
and extended task.
Multiple departments of government are giving contracts for separate Geographic
Information Systems (GIS). This is wasteful and will result in multiple and
contradicting data and continue the trend of uncoordinated work. Imagine the
cumbersome process of looking in one database for land records, another for
water, yet another for cable. Service providers are individual islands of power.
Leadership is required to create a spatial data cell with an updated, digitized and
singular point of reliable data that is used by all departments for planning,
implementation and monitoring.
 No comprehensive and cohesive survey data collected on urban
components: satellite, digital, and physical
 Lack of reliable data on micro economic activity
 Public policy is made in an empirical vacuum
 In some areas, exceptional, highly segregated raw data is indeed available
(for example, census data on demography). However, these remain in silos,
without being used as baseline information to build upon, due to a lack of
initiative and skills in analyzing and interpreting this data.
Note: Additional elements in the issue of Governance are that of Law & Order and
Social Justice. Both are critical deliverables of any Government. They will be
discussed in the next version of this paper.
ISSUE #5: COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The cycle of “US” and “THEM” is unproductive. The
“Mobius Strip” provides an apt allegory. Citizens
and Government are currently on either side of the
strip. But just give the strip a single twist and bring
the two ends together into a circle and we have a
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seamless surface. Democracy has to evolve further
and go beyond representation towards constant
engagement by the citizens.
That is the end-goal – a true partnership in nation
building.
Historically, Indians are not oriented towards civic participation. We were used to
largesse from the royalty, subservient to the British and now we are the palanquin
bearers for our government.
Mahatma Gandhi wove the Satyagraha movement into the Freedom struggle in
India, after he returned in 1915. Satyagraha is now part of our national conscience.
Post Independence, we seem to have lost the cause along with leadership.
A century on, it is time for another movement. This time, to address a different
challenge. There is no external empire to drive out, there is no freedom to wrest. In
some senses, therefore, the issues are more mundane, more day-to-day. They
don’t have the natural inspirational character of a freedom struggle. There is not
going to be a singular moment of success. Rather, many small successes, droplets
of positive stories to create a torrent of optimism.
The ELEMENTS in this ISSUE are:

ELEMENT #1: EXPERT V / S VOX POPULI
The needs of careful urbanization require experts from multiple disciplines to come
together. Balancing this is the view that the people with the greatest insight into an
area’s condition, needs and aspirations would be the local citizens themselves,
despite the existence of fault lines of opinion between communities themselves.
Ensuring careful probing and collection of data and citizen opinion, as well as
ensuring a thorough consultative process with the appropriate subject matter
experts is required, before designing a spatial solution.
 Few planners, either within the system or private practitioners who
understand and apply the breadth of the issues involved in Urban Planning
& Design
 Few subject matter experts who are sensitized to the issues of urban
design, or the importance of citizen participation
ELEMENT #2: OPPORTUNITIES & SPACES

In order to effectively include citizens in the process of public governance, we
require legitimate:
1. Processes: The process could be one of bargain consensus
2. Instruments: the ward and city budgets; performance measurements of
government services such as education, health, etc.
3. Spaces : For regular citizen participation, legitimate opportunities for
interaction with government are required at both the local level and at the
big picture level:
a. A space is already defined in the form of a “ward committee”, in the
74th Amendment to the Constitution of India, which deals with Urban
27
Decentralization. Unfortunately, the nature and delivery of these ward
committees has been left open to interpretation and will, of individual
state and local political powers. For the 74th amendment to be
effective in Bangalore city four factors are critical:
i. the current 31 ward committees need to be expanded to 100
ward committees each effectively representing one ward
ii. the no of nominees need to be expanded from the current 7-8
iii. Rather than being political appointees, committee members
need to be nominated by community members (voters of the
ward). An elegant new formula such as minimum percentage of
ward voters for nominations, could provide the flexibility for
differing ward sizes. Hence larger wards could have more citizen
nominees.
iv. the committee must have a legitimate decision-making voice in
the budgetary allocation for the ward as well as authority to
review the implementation process.
v. the committee must have regular meetings with the ward
residents to review budgetary and development-related issues
(this can be ward sabhas, as is already mandated in rural
decentralization)
b. Ward Sabhas: A Monthly Review Meeting held at the ward level
between citizens, elected representative and service providers
empowers participation locally.
c. At the city level, a Financial Review of the City Corporation with
citizens, allows a broader range of discussion on city-budget
allocations and performance analysis
The instruments would include graphic representation of the proposed plan,
economic projections, monitoring tools, etc.
 While decentralization has been detailed extremely well and genuine
attempts are being made to empower the gram sabhas, there is not
enough skill to participate. In the urban areas the reverse problem exists:
there is capacity to participate in the communities but no opportunities.
 Urban citizens are the most marginalized stakeholders, with decisions
being heavily bureaucratic in nature
ELEMENT #3: ROLE OF THE ARCHITECTS AND DEVELOPERS

The city must collectively be viewed as a single entity where cultural resources are
shared and the physical nature while reflecting the current times, allows a foothold
into the future.
The majority of citizens however, are used to thinking along self-centered lines.
Architects and builders need to restrain their clients from indulging in violations of
zoning and land use. Educating clients on the role their building and decisions
about its physical shape is going to play in the neighborhood and even the city at
large is an important part of the architect’s job.
28
This in turn, will encourage ownership amongst the citizens and increase the
sensitivity about the space occupied by the building in relation to the street, the
block, the neighborhood, the ward and finally the city.
One way to approach this is through community meetings where the citizens are
introduced to a societal approach to building neighborhoods. Creative plans that
cater to the client’s brief and are also sensitive to the context of the
neighbourhood can be effective in positively influencing the client.
The architect contributes to this approach by providing guidance in identifying
needs & design solutions to address these needs. Additionally, encouraging citizen
participation and ownership requires spatial representations that are user-friendly.
 Unfriendly and out-dated zoning regulations
 Disregard for zoning and land use laws
ELEMENT #4: PROCESS OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

The measure of good governance and administration is how effectively it responds
to Public Interest and delivers infrastructure and services. Citizens must take a
rightful place at the decision table as partners rather than customers. Legitimate
mechanisms and spaces for consensus building are of paramount importance.
Citizen participation “allowed” selectively will be mere tokenism. Especially in the
area of public infrastructure, participation is truly democratic only when it includes
all levels of planning
 Bureaucratic processes designed to wear out the most determined citizen
 Existing climate of “patronage” influencing public interest decisions
ELEMENT #5: EXISTING LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION

Although Indian tradition, culture and religion have tremendous community
participation, there is little orientation towards civic participation
Residents’ Associations interact with administrative officials reluctantly and get
required infrastructure under the auspices of patronage, thus breeding an attitude
of supplication in the citizen. A new approach and language is required to find
common ground and work collaboratively towards meaningful change.
Change seems such a consuming task that it induces inaction. Citizens need to
see that they don’t have to give up their lives in order to make a difference. At the
same time they require to believe that their involvement, however meager, will
make a difference.
 Lack of “spaces” for participation
 No available mechanism to provide a scientific and professional way to
participate.
 Confrontational approach towards government
 Lack of transparency and accountability
29
ELEMENT #6: VOLUNTARISM
Building a volunteer bank to engage in civic issues creates a common platform of
engagement. Volunteers provide the support that is required to the communities
in their participatory endeavors.
There are enough people from all walks of life who will gladly give a portion of their
time if they are convinced that it will have an impact. Professionals, school
children, youth, housewives and retired persons can all be tapped for volunteering.
Corporate social responsibility can have programs where employee time is
allocated to volunteer work and employees are publicly recognized for their
community service. A virtuous cycle of positive change can be created.
A slew of volunteer requirements are required in diverse fields such as:
communications, community mobilizing, community organizing, conflict resolution,
technical help, training and workshops, mediation with government, creating
conducive participatory environments, organizing meetings, documentation, data
entry, software programming, capacity building, assessment of local needs and
requirements, examining economic clusters, identifying heritage culture, craft and
architecture, understanding socio dynamics of a region, etc.
However, providing and sustaining the impetus to participate needs a robust

platform and appropriate mechanisms to capture and sustain the ebb and flow of
volunteer energy
The same professional attitude that is displayed in the private sector must be
exhibited in the development field.
 Professional volunteerism is an undeveloped science in India
 There are very few structured mechanisms by which volunteer energy can
be meaningfully translated into making a difference
 Development has become a competitive political field leaving disillusioned
volunteers in the wake
30
SUMMARY OF ISSUES AND ELEMENTS
TABLE 1a below is the list of elements in each of the 5 ISSUES defined above. While
there are a total of 29 ELEMENTS, it can be seen that some of these elements are
repeated across ISSUES. Indeed, this is the origin of the paradigm: that the space
of Urban Development is made up of inter-related issues, each of which is made
up of inter-related and sometimes common elements; all of which are acted upon
by a common set of stakeholders.
TABLE 1a: Elements of each Issue

ISSUE ELEMENTS
GOVERNANCE LAND USE & ZONING
ECONOMIC CLUSTERS
GOVERNMENT FINANCES
JURISDICTION ISSUES
LAND RECORDS & TITLE
SPATIAL DATA MANAGEMENT
CORE CITY REVIVAL ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS
UPGRADATION PLAN
COMMUNITY ACTIVISM & OWNERSHIP
QUALITY OF ELECTED REPS.& ADMIN
PRESERVATION POLICIES
“OUTER AREA” DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS
IMPLICATIONS OF GROWTH
JURISDICTION ISSUES
LAND USE & ZONING
SOCIO/CULTURAL/POLITICAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
URBAN PLANNING LAND USE & ZONING
GLOBAL V / S LOCAL
MACRO TRENDS
ZOOMING IN V/S OUT
OPEN V/S ORGANIZED
COLLABORATIVE PLANNING
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT EXPERT V/S VOX POPULI
OPPORTUNITIES & SPACES
ROLE OF ARCHITECTS & DEVELOPERS
COLLABORATIVE PLANNING
ORIENTATION TO CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
VOLUNTARISM
TOTAL NO. OF ELEMENTS 29
As can be seen, of the elements listed above, only 21 are UNIQUE ELEMENTS.
31
STAKEHOLDER MAPPING
In order to identify the possible critical paths, these factors need to be overlaid with
a stakeholder map. This stakeholder map identifies the appropriate stakeholders
for each factor. The chart below lists the stakeholders in the overall exercise.
GOVT: CENTER
GOVT: LOCAL ELECTED REP GOVT: STATE
GOVT: LOCAL CITY ADMIN LOCAL COMMUNITIES
MEDIA
DEVELOPERS
NGOs CORP SECTOR
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS PLANNERS & ARCHITECTS
5: ACTION STEPS AND EXAMPLE
The purpose of this paradigm is not to identify specific factors and action steps.
Rather, it is to lay out a framework within which a coherent strategy could be
articulated, to improve the overall conditions for effective urban design in India.
From a normative standpoint, what this suggests is the following: if a particular
factor is chosen as a critical path factor, then a comprehensive analysis of the
factor will yield the following outcomes:
 How many dependents does this factor have (i.e. can it be a catalyst?)
 How many dependencies does the factor have (i.e. does it require other
factors to be solved before it can see fruition). What is the degree of
dependence, as well as the difficulty in clearing the way.
 What are the other “given” parameters: cost, time, as well as political and
administrative responses.
 What is the capacity of other stakeholders to influence the outcome
 What are the constraints preventing stakeholders in being fully effective
This can lead to determining a set of action steps that can move the factor
towards success. These action steps can be defined to remove the impediments
on the parts of different stakeholders.
An illustrative example of the paradigm is provided below, to demonstrate the
32
potential to chart a strategic path, bring multiple stakeholders together into a
focused approach to goal-seeking and build consensus on these common goals.
The approach can also serve as a guidepost during the course of any intervention,
to evaluate original assumptions, record changes in conditions, and determine the
impact on the original intent.
EXAMPLE
ISSUE: GOVERNANCE
ELEMENT: LAND RECORDS AND TITLE
SUCCESS FACTOR: STATE GUARANTEED TITLE
One of the stalwarts of this issue, D.C. Wadhwa has worked tirelessly for the last
fifteen years to implement land reforms. The issue is still hanging fire.
One critical reason, analyzing the situation as per the paradigm, is that he
depended entirely on the ability of the occasional enlightened politician at the
Center to push the reforms through.
Applying the paradigm, we see that this FACTOR has the following characteristics:
NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS: 8
LIST OF DEPENDENTS:
1. Periodic Regional Economic Mapping
2. Effective Decentralization of government functions
3. Efficient Government ERP Systems
4. Land as an instrument for capital formation
5. Instruments to estimate Land demand and assess pricing
6. Accurate and periodic data collection capacity
7. Control measures to prevent land conversion and grabbing
8. Efficient pricing systems leading to lower land prices
NUMBER OF DEPENDENCIES: 1
LIST OF DEPENDENCIES:
1. Accurate and updated record of mutations
NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDERS: 7
LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS:
1. GOVERNMENT
a. CENTER
b. STATE
c. CITY
2. CITIZENS
3. SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
4. DEVELOPERS
5. MEDIA
POTENTIAL OF OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

Besides government stakeholders, the potential of six other stakeholders (citizens,
media, corporate sector, developers, NGOs, academia & research) to influence
this process is consistently positive and consistently HIGH. However, there are
33
constraints that prevent these stakeholders from engaging constructively on this
factor, and realizing their potential.
CONSTRAINTS ON STAKEHOLDERS: The list of possible constraints affecting various

stakeholders involved is the key ingredient to defining the possible action steps.
We can infer from the table below that without the proper record of the current
valid mutation, it is impossible for land titles to be ratified by the State. Hence, data
has to be gathered on the land under scrutiny. There is every likelihood that in the
process of data gathering, there will be dichotomies unearthed between the
ownership and occupation, between construction and actual boundaries,
between tax-payer and actual owner. The constraints to full engagement towards
the success factor by the above stakeholders suggest the possible ACTION STEPS.
Table 11: Possible Stakeholder Constraints

CONSTRAINT STAKEHOLDER
CORP
SUBJECT
DEVELO SECTOR/ NGO
No. ISSUE DESCRIPTION CITIZENS MATTER MEDIA
PERS FINANCL s
EXPERTS
INSTNS.
A lack of awareness of the issues
1 AWARENESS x x x
surrounding titles
2 COLLABORATION No common platform for x x x x
stakeholders to come together
Lack of a final authority that
3 LEGAL guarantees land ownership and x x
mutation records
No reliable recorded history of
4 MUTATION RECORDS x x x x
mutations
Dispute resolution on mutations,
ownership, encroachments, illegal
5 DISPUTE RESOLUTION x x x x
settlements taking humanitarian
sensitivity into account
From the table above, a possible set of action steps is towards a policy that
guarantees State titles subject to the procurement of valid mutation records. This
will require detailed investigation of ownership, actual users, recorded dimensions
and actual mutation, validity of records, etc. There are bound to be contrary
records and situations in the data or the lack of it. Once there is a legal
acceptance on both the dispute mechanism as well as on the mutation record,
there can be a pilot program directed towards a small region to test the process
and the success.
Reaching the end goal of State guaranteed titles requires the collective
collaboration of a number of stakeholders. Subject Matter Experts can be
responsible for evolving a framework for acceptable dispute resolution. Economists
and Financial Institutions to endorse the policy, Central, State governments to ratify
and enforce policy, Citizens to demand, provide and verify data, local
government to capture and streamline the data and record change in ownership
and mutations. Media is critical to bring the issue into national focus. In isolation,
any one of these groups will be ineffective. The power of collective ownership and
34
resolution to a problem is unleashed by recognizing the role played by other
stakeholders.
SUGGESTED ACTION STEPS

 Identify a small urban area to run a pilot
 Investigate and collect comprehensive land details on ownership, lease, tax
payments and mutations
 Examine all dispute scenarios and formulate acceptable resolutions for each
 Apply the appropriate resolution required to arrive at ownership and final
mutation for each land parcel
 Discuss the results with government stakeholders and subject matter experts
for further refinement
 Apply State guaranteed land titles policy to one State as a larger pilot
 Put in appropriate processes at all urban local levels
 Disseminate the results and process to the citizens through mass media
 Create national policy of State guaranteed land titles
The power of change in this one success factor will affect the many success factors
that are dependent on State guaranteed land titles.
35
6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The intent of this paper is manifold: one, to highlight the importance of Urban
Planning and Design to the process of governance; two, to recognize that there
are many complex inter-related issues that contribute to the creation of vibrant
urban centres; three, that getting to a state of sustainability will only occur when
the dependencies between these issues, elements and factors are recognized;
four, that ultimately, success comes from the actions of various stakeholders, and
therefore, we need to understand the responses of various stakeholders to different
factors; and finally, that there can be a framework within which to arrive at
informed action steps that can increase the probability of success.
At the very outset, the author has stated that the intent of this paradigm is less
about the specific issues that have been chosen, or about the precise causal
relationships that exist between many of these. While there has certainly been
some rigor attached to these aspects of the paradigm, the author would feel some
sense of satisfaction if the complex issue of urban development has moved from
30,000 feet to a plane much closer to the ground. If various stakeholders looking at
the paradigm – be it an average citizen, a policy-maker, an activist, an
administrator or a politician; identify specific critical success factors based on the
criteria suggested; understand the constraints that prevent success, and define
specific action steps out of this, then, something of value will have been delivered.
36

Sustainable Urbanization in India: A Holistic Urban Design Paradigm

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2. AN URBAN DESIGN PARADIGM FOR INDIA

3. ISSUES AND ELEMENTS IN URBAN DESIGN

4. SUCCESS FACTORS AND STAKEHOLDERS

5. ACTION STEPS AND EXAMPLE

6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The numbers are staggering: India no longer lives mainly in villages.

Brunn and Williams explained the emergence of cities as a consequence of the

Beyond economic growth, there are undeniable positive outcomes of

City Planning is currently undertaken without interpreting the over-lapping impact

Making this a reality requires different stakeholders to find common spaces:

We need a revolutionary way to look at urban issues. Looking at individual issues

Step Item Description

EXISTING LEVEL OF P’PATION

ISSUE #1: URBAN PLANNING & DESIGN:

Planning: Local Development Authorities make

The following are the elements related to URBAN PLANNING:

ELEMENT #1: LAND USE & ZONING POLICIES

ELEMENT #2: GLOBAL V / S LOCAL

ELEMENT #3: SPATIAL IMPACT OF MACRO TRENDS

ELEMENT #4: ZOOMING IN V / S ZOOMING OUT

ELEMENT #6: PROCESS OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

ISSUE #2: CORE CITY ISSUES

The problems of burgeoning slums, increasing crime,

The following are the ELEMENTS of this ISSUE:

ELEMENT #1: ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS

Currently, there is a vacuum of information that debilitates defining priorities and

Parameters by which to measure quality-of-life –across all economic sections- in

ELEMENT #2: UPGRADATION PLAN

The infrastructure in the developed city areas is burdened by increasing demands.

ELEMENT #4: QUALITY OF LOCAL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES

The majority of middle-class citizens are either unaware or indifferent to the

We need an enlightened citizenry in order to change the quality of our elected

ELEMENT #5: PRESERVATION POLICY: HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENT: Sustainable development is a current global concern with a focus

ISSUE #3: “OUTER URBAN” AREA DEVELOPMENT:

ELEMENT #1: ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF GROWTH NEEDS

ELEMENT #2: INTER-JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES

ELEMENT #3: LAND USE POLICY

ELEMENT #4: DEMOGRAPHICS AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

ELEMENT #5: SOCIO / CULTURAL / POLITICAL IMPACT

ISSUE #4: GOVERNANCE

The following are the ELEMENTS of this ISSUE:

At the neighbourhood level, our by-laws need to demonstrate sensitivity to the

ELEMENT # 2:ECONOMIC CLUSTERS

ELEMENT # 3: LOCAL MUNICIPAL FINANCES

Accountability and transparency is a pre-condition to making sure that every tax

The proximity of the village panchayat to its citizenry is approximately 1:100 as

Urban growth provides an opportunity for distributing political patronage.

ELEMENT #5: LAND RECORDS AND TITLES

D.C.Wadhwa was appointed the Chair of the National One-man Committee on

ELEMENT #6: SPATIAL DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

ISSUE #5: COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The ELEMENTS in this ISSUE are:

ELEMENT #2: OPPORTUNITIES & SPACES

ELEMENT #3: ROLE OF THE ARCHITECTS AND DEVELOPERS

ELEMENT #4: PROCESS OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

ELEMENT #5: EXISTING LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION

However, providing and sustaining the impetus to participate needs a robust

TABLE 1a: Elements of each Issue

GOVT: LOCAL ELECTED REP GOVT: STATE

GOVT: LOCAL CITY ADMIN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

NGOs CORP SECTOR