CityForm-India: Sustainable urban form in Indian cities Dr Nicola Dempsey and Dr Shibu Raman with Dr Seema Dave OISD: Cities
Contents Background information Urban forms in India Some issues for India s rapidly growing cities What has research got to do with it? CityForm-India
India s population: 1.15 billion China s population: 1.3 billion
Some facts and figures Total population: 1.15 billion Urban population: 286 million 2/3 of population live in rural areas There are 35 metropolitan cities A metropolitan city in India has at least 1 million residents Growth of metropolitan cities in India, 1981-2001 1981 1991 2001 Number of metro cities 12 23 35 Population (millions) 42 70 108 Proportion of urban population (%) 26 32 38 Refs: CIA World Factbook (2008); Ministry of Urban Development (2006)
Some facts and figures Median age is 25 years Population by age Number % of total 0-14 years 363,610,812 35 15-59 585,638,723 57 60+ 76,622,321 8 Ref: Census of India (online source: www.censusindia.gov.in/)
Some facts and figures Labour force (2003) Agriculture: 60% Industry: 12% Services: 28% Unemployment rate: 7.2% (2007) Population below poverty line: 25% (2007) Estimates taken from CIA World Factbook (2008)
Some facts and figures Census (2001): 1.9 million homeless Action Aid (2003): 78 million homeless 40 million people living in slums 1m+ live in Dharavi, Mumbai (largest slum in Asia) 360 million people living on <$1/ day Ref: Unicef (2005); Shaw and Satish (2007); Dave (2008)
Some facts and figures 3,000 registered planners (IITP) 1 per 100,000 urban residents 20,000 RTPI members (1/ 3,000 residents) e.g. for 1 per 5,000 residents, Bangalore would need 5,000 planners Approx 400 urban & regional planning graduates per yr 15% take up government planning posts Real skills shortage Refs: Ramanathan (2008) in Town & Country Planning, 77(2): 90-92
Some planning restrictions Land-use regulations Floor Space Index (FSI) Very low in India - Mumbai: 1.33; Gurgaon: <4 Dubai: 8-34; Hong Kong: 8-20; New York: 30 Planned high-density devt is currently impossible This has led to widespread urban sprawl Urban Land Ceiling Act (1976) Restricts amount of land owned w/in city limits Has been repealed in some states Rent Control Act Rents frozen since 1947 New Acts have been passed in some states Ref: Dave (2008)
A wide range of urban forms
Shimla
New Delhi
New Delhi
Old Delhi
Delhi
Mumbai
Mumbai
Some issues for India s rapidly growing cities
Edge growth Edge growth (privately financed) Shift of activity centres Gated developments/ townships Expensive enclaves
Real infrastructure problems in Gurgaon
Unplanned settlements Challenges Poverty alleviation Clustering of informal settlements Pressure on basic infrastructure
Mumbai
Transport All manner of transport methods Some more hazardous for health than others Some more sustainable than others
Transport Transport infrastructure differs widely Mass Rapid Transit Systems No public transport linking gated devts
Metro construction, Delhi
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Delhi
Translating this into research
Need to examine SUF in India Patterns of urban growth Policy implications Delivery and implementation mechanisms Urban governance Poverty and migration Infrastructure provision Relationship between urban form and sustainability Lack of existing empirical research
Exchanging the knowledge
CityForm-India Why is OBU involved? Adopt integrated approach as used by CityForm UK In-house expertise on social equity/ sustainability by OISD:SUE Strengthen this expertise within context of rapidly growing developing countries www.city-form.org
Real potential to be exploited Collaborative India-UK research could: Constitute the first holistic examination of sustainable urban form in India Form an international interdisciplinary research team Involve a combination of multidisciplinary research methods Incorporate urban form as the common link in the study of sustainability for the first time www.city-form.org
CityForm-India An important research question needs to be asked: To what extent and in what ways does urban form contribute to sustainability in rapidly growing cities in India? Built environment experts will come together in an international research exchange on sustainability and urban form Key research networking events are planned for 2008-9 and beyond www.city-form.org
Thank you!