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Problems with Indian Urbanisation

Context: From a population of 377 million in 2011, Indian cities are projected to house 870 million people by 2050, according to the UN’s projections — by far the highest among all nations. Delhi is likely to become the world’s most populous urban agglomeration by 2030, surpassing Tokyo. A major demographic transformation is taking place.

Problems

• Inadequate affordable housing has meant that almost one-sixth of the urban population lives in slums.
• The water supply is unreliable. Mountains of solid waste sit on the fringes of our cities.
• Poor drainage, congested roads, and deteriorating air quality are other challenges.

Solutions

1. First, how large and dense should our cities be?

• Large cities offer agglomeration economics but are complex to manage. Dense cities are harbingers of Infrastructure related economics but are vulnerable to spread of disease.
• A proper balance between agglomeration economies and manageability as well as density and distance will hold the key in determining the right size for our cities.
• A way around this is a kind of decentralised urbanisation where multiple cities are clustered into growth regions. These would facilitate agglomeration economies and yet be of a manageable size. The Paris region offers an excellent example.

2. The second issue concerns finances.

• Resources other than the public budget need to be tapped. Capital Markets are an obvious choice but involving them would require pricing basic services in a manner that allows a reasonable return on investments. Monetizing land assets is also an option.

3. Third, urban dwellers should be able to live, work and play safely and happily.

• The country must focus on good urban planning, instead of prioritising construction. Decisions on what to build need to emerge from a good plan, not in isolation. Planning must be dynamic enough to adjust to a city’s growth.

4.Fourth, should the planning boundary be limited to a city’s political and administrative boundary or should it encompass regional linkages?

• There are strong economic linkages between cities and their rural hinterland. There are linkages between multiple cities in a region as well as between cities and peri-Urban areas. These interdependencies should be leveraged.

5. Fifth, we cannot afford to lose sight of sustainability.

• Despite having 18 percent of the world population, India has only 2.5 percent of the world’s landmass and 4 percent of the world’s freshwater.
• Hence, global standards of land and water use may be too generous for us. Resource efficiency should be integral to urban planning.

6.Sixth, Energy-efficient buildings, sustainable building materials, clean energy, water harvesting, segregation of waste, electric mobility, public transport, walking and cycling are sustainable practices that need to be mainstreamed into urban planning.

• Building resilience to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change will also be critical.

7.Seventh, An urbanisation policy should take cognizance of future mobility patterns. Increasingly, travel patterns are getting limited to shorter distances, requiring more non-motorized transport infrastructure rather than high-speed systems better suited to longer trips.

A sound urbanisation policy will guide how the growing urban population lives, works, and plays in India’s cities of the future. Such a policy is the need of the hour and cannot be delayed.