Redefining cities

GS 2 – GOVERNANCE Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Introduction 

     Urban planning is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment including:

• air
• water
• the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas
  • transportation
  • communications
  • distribution networks.

• After COVID19, we have been forced to redefine issues so that we can make the most of what lies ahead.
• In policymaking and the consequent activities of legislative and executive responses and budgetary allocations,the fundamental step that decides the course of action.
• Statutory town,includes all places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee.
  • defined by state governments and place India’s urbanisation rate at 26.7%.
• Urban- Census adopts three criteria to define:
  • A minimum population of 5000.
  • At least 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits
  • A density of population of at least 400 persons/sq km.

India’s urbanisation rate at 31%

Total number of towns— 7933.

Together constituting a 377-mn population.

• This definition skews the policy maker’s attention and budgetary allocation.
  • not in tandem with the ground realities.
• Urban planning lost ground substantially during the 1980s and the 1990s.
• To a large extent, this was due to the spread of neoliberal ideology of market-led development paradigm.
• In India and in other developing countries, it was also due to
  • The inability of the urban planners to emerge out of their preoccupation with archaic land use control regulations.
  • adopt more strategic and participatory approaches.

Need to change the definition of Urban Areas:

• There is evidence mostly from satellite imagery that India is way more urban than the 2011 Census estimate.
• This is quite plausible because there is a large sum of money allocated for rural development.
• It is in the interest of state governments to under-represent urbanisation.
• Census’s stringent definition was first carved out in 1961 by census commissioner Asok Mitra.
  • do not reflect the realities of the 21st century.
• Many countries (China, Iran, the UK), have changed the definition of ‘urban’ from one census to another.
• India,is also not alone in facing the challenge of defining what constitutes urban.
  • Worldwide, there are a fairly large set of thresholds being used to define an urban area.
• India is one of the only four countries to use a combination of administrative, economic and density for urban definition.

New definition:

• Taking a more liberal and realistic approach in the upcoming census to define urban areas.
• Many think-tanks have highlighted this issue.
  • if we just use the population density criteria like 37 other countries,
  • with the 400 people/sq km threshold,
    • we will add around 500 mn people to the urban share of the population.
    • pegs the urbanisation rate at over 70%.
    • have a rare opportunity in Census 2021 to redefine what constitutes as urban.
  • becomes more important in the wake of Covid-19
    • considerable share of the migrant population has moved back to either smaller cities or their villages.
    • If they do not move back to cities soon enough, this will reflect in the 2021 census.
    • the urban areas will get even lower funding, limiting their ability to invest in developing urban areas.

Benefits:

• The budgetary allocation will reflect the reality and scales will balance between rural and urban areas.
• The urban areas will not be governed through rural governance structures of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
• Can avoid the trap existing cities face, devoid of basic urban infrastructure.
• Some Services can be provided in areas otherwise would continue to operate as rural areas.Such as:
  • The sewerage networks
  • fire services
  • building regulations
  • high-density housing
  • transit-oriented development
  • piped drinking water supply.
• Post-COVID-there is an urgent need to expand our investments in the urban areas
  • housing
  • transport
  • medical facilities
• Newly defined urban areas could act as a new source of revenue for funding local infrastructure development through municipal finance sources such as property tax and development rights.
  • would ease pressure on state finances.
• Will open them to new infrastructure such as 
  • railway lines
  • DISCOM services
  • highway connectivity
  • creation of higher education institutes 
    • which will together increase the connectivity and resource capability at the local level.
• Boost the local economy.
• Ease pressure on bigger cities.
• Help in cluster level development.

Conclusion 

       We showed such agility while undertaking reforms in the agriculture sector. There is no reason why we cannot do it for urbanisation.