Unplanned urbanisation bane of Indian cities, says report
The Financial Express, March 13, 2009, Page 4
fe Bureau, New Delhi
Cities are witnessing rapid urbanisation and population concentration since economic activities are mostly concentrated in these areas. Migration from economically weaker areas serves as another cause of fast-emerging trend, which has multiple ripple effects.
According to the World Development Report 2009 on Reshaping Economic Geography, “The poor are gravitating to towns and cities, but more rapid poverty reduction will probably require a faster pace of urbanisation, not a slower one—and development policy makers will need to facilitate this process, not hinder it.” Since a transformation involves both the urban and the rural, strategies must include measures to improve a spectrum of settlements—secondary cities, small urban centers, towns, and villages.
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, can be seen as an example. The city has a diverse population, and this will help determine priorities for all levels of the government (central, provincial, and municipal). In rapidly urbanising areas, congestion can quickly set in and metropolitan areas may also need to address within-city divisions posed by shantytowns and slums.
The city planners of Mumbai, in the 1960s and 1970s, decided that its population should be controlled at about 7 million. Land regulations and infrastructure policies were designed accordingly. However, people migrated into the city in search of livelihood, and today, the city is more than twice the intended size, with the highest population density of any metropolitan area in the world.
It is estimated that 54% of Mumbai’s 16 million people now live in slums and another quarter in degraded apartments, lowering the permitted FSI to 1.33 in 1991.
Almost all buildings in Mumbai with an FSI exceeding 4.5, were built before 1964. Under the rules that existed until recently, new buildings, including those in the central business district, were subject to the FSI of 1.33. As a result, space consumption in Mumbai averages 4 square meters, much less than the 12 square meters in Shanghai and the more than 20 square meters in Moscow. Also, about half of its residents are huddled within 2 property taxes and inflated real estate prices for revenue.
The result is a vicious circle of supply shortages and high land prices. Mumbai slipped from the 25th place to 40th in the league table of “best cities for business” between 1995 and 1999. It remains India’s premier business city—it topped Chennai and Bangalore in investment in 2007 and was the top destination for domestic migrants. World Development Report 2009 questions how long it will keep this position unless it reforms its regulations and improves infrastructure.
Successful cities react to growing traffic congestion with spatially connective infrastructure, WDR 2009 points out. But preceding such infrastructure in all successful cities is a fluid land market and an empowered local government. In December 2005 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was launched to take care of rapid urbanisation of Indian cities.
The Financial Express, March 13, 2009, Page 4
fe Bureau, New Delhi
Cities are witnessing rapid urbanisation and population concentration since economic activities are mostly concentrated in these areas. Migration from economically weaker areas serves as another cause of fast-emerging trend, which has multiple ripple effects.
According to the World Development Report 2009 on Reshaping Economic Geography, “The poor are gravitating to towns and cities, but more rapid poverty reduction will probably require a faster pace of urbanisation, not a slower one—and development policy makers will need to facilitate this process, not hinder it.” Since a transformation involves both the urban and the rural, strategies must include measures to improve a spectrum of settlements—secondary cities, small urban centers, towns, and villages.
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, can be seen as an example. The city has a diverse population, and this will help determine priorities for all levels of the government (central, provincial, and municipal). In rapidly urbanising areas, congestion can quickly set in and metropolitan areas may also need to address within-city divisions posed by shantytowns and slums.
The city planners of Mumbai, in the 1960s and 1970s, decided that its population should be controlled at about 7 million. Land regulations and infrastructure policies were designed accordingly. However, people migrated into the city in search of livelihood, and today, the city is more than twice the intended size, with the highest population density of any metropolitan area in the world.
It is estimated that 54% of Mumbai’s 16 million people now live in slums and another quarter in degraded apartments, lowering the permitted FSI to 1.33 in 1991.
Almost all buildings in Mumbai with an FSI exceeding 4.5, were built before 1964. Under the rules that existed until recently, new buildings, including those in the central business district, were subject to the FSI of 1.33. As a result, space consumption in Mumbai averages 4 square meters, much less than the 12 square meters in Shanghai and the more than 20 square meters in Moscow. Also, about half of its residents are huddled within 2 property taxes and inflated real estate prices for revenue.
The result is a vicious circle of supply shortages and high land prices. Mumbai slipped from the 25th place to 40th in the league table of “best cities for business” between 1995 and 1999. It remains India’s premier business city—it topped Chennai and Bangalore in investment in 2007 and was the top destination for domestic migrants. World Development Report 2009 questions how long it will keep this position unless it reforms its regulations and improves infrastructure.
Successful cities react to growing traffic congestion with spatially connective infrastructure, WDR 2009 points out. But preceding such infrastructure in all successful cities is a fluid land market and an empowered local government. In December 2005 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was launched to take care of rapid urbanisation of Indian cities.
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