New India- Towards a National Urbanization Policy
From the desk of Vitasta Raina
Time: Irrelevant
India's 69th Republic Day was celebrated 3 days ago on Friday. It was a sad day because instead of watching the Republic Day parade and all the fanfare it entailed, my mind was still hovering between the news of the Padmaavat Film release, and the stone pelting incident that occurred in it's aftermath.
Now I have no interest in watching this film, or gauging it's historical validity. For me, it stands as a symbol of war, one where the ancestors of the protesters where defeated by the invading army. The story of the queen in question, and all the drama around it is not very different from the story of the Greek Epic, Iliad, and the story of Helen of Troy. But who has time for mythologies, when the future citizens of the country are being brought under stone-pelting fires.
Last year during Independence day week, I saw this boy wearing a 'Just-Us' t-shirt selling flags at the Kalandi kunj bridge between Noida in Uttar-Pradesh and New Delhi in Delhi, a non-state state, which is also the Capital City of India. While this region is defined as the National Capital Region and even has a publicly funded organization, The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB), to look into the long-term strategic planning frameworks for the region, state boundaries such as the one between Noida (a densely populated suburb) and Delhi (central place, not necessarily the CBD) determine infrastructure spending and planning standards, drastically changing city liveability within meters along the same stretch of road way. This phenomenon was even more blatantly obvious during our January Road-trip from Noida to Mumbai along the DMIC.
Time: Irrelevant
India's 69th Republic Day was celebrated 3 days ago on Friday. It was a sad day because instead of watching the Republic Day parade and all the fanfare it entailed, my mind was still hovering between the news of the Padmaavat Film release, and the stone pelting incident that occurred in it's aftermath.
Now I have no interest in watching this film, or gauging it's historical validity. For me, it stands as a symbol of war, one where the ancestors of the protesters where defeated by the invading army. The story of the queen in question, and all the drama around it is not very different from the story of the Greek Epic, Iliad, and the story of Helen of Troy. But who has time for mythologies, when the future citizens of the country are being brought under stone-pelting fires.
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| Boy Selling flags at the Kalandi Kunj Bridge. Vitasta, Aug 2017 |
Last year during Independence day week, I saw this boy wearing a 'Just-Us' t-shirt selling flags at the Kalandi kunj bridge between Noida in Uttar-Pradesh and New Delhi in Delhi, a non-state state, which is also the Capital City of India. While this region is defined as the National Capital Region and even has a publicly funded organization, The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB), to look into the long-term strategic planning frameworks for the region, state boundaries such as the one between Noida (a densely populated suburb) and Delhi (central place, not necessarily the CBD) determine infrastructure spending and planning standards, drastically changing city liveability within meters along the same stretch of road way. This phenomenon was even more blatantly obvious during our January Road-trip from Noida to Mumbai along the DMIC.
The politics of administrative boundaries between states, districts, wards, and blocks stands as a barrier, an almost negative force acting on the natural barriers and forces of urbanization that is occurring in the country over and above these 'fictitious boundaries/forces'. I believe that we need to start exploring the concepts of 'City-States' and review how these can be developed and modernised in India's expanding urbanization.
The Indian Census Commission defines a Metropolitan City as one having a population of over 1 million and Mega-city as one having population over 4 million. As of 2011 there are 46 metropolitan cities in India, among which Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna, Pune and Surat are those Indian cities that have over 4 million people.
A Metropolitan Area is a region consisting of a populous urban core with a high density of employment plus surrounding territory that is socio-economically linked to the urban core by commuting. A metropolitan area is also sometimes known as a commuter belt or a labor market area. A metropolitan area combines an Agglomeration(1) (the contiguous, built-up area) with zones not necessarily urban in character, but closely bound to the center by employment or other commerce. These outlying zones may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities.
The National Capital Region (NCR) in India is the designation for the Conurbation(2) or metropolitan area which encompasses the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, which includes New Delhi, as well as urban areas surrounding it in neighboring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
As we move forward into a brave new world, we need to get out of these definitions and accept human settlements for what they are, a collection, large or small of people and all their chaotic systems. In the new world, we must rewrite our systems, and when we do that, we can replace these divisive ideas of settlement types. They will be different of course, based on their own cultural identities, but they will not be gauged through the lens of economic orders.
Rural and Urban are primarily definitions of jobs, not cities and their cultural identities.
Recently, the Lok Sabha passed the NABARD Amendment Bill, 2017. While there are several financial implications of the bill in terms of enhancement of credit to farmers, one of the areas of major development within the Amendment bill is that of inclusion of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in place of SSIs (small scale industries).
As we move towards being a largely urban oriented nation in the next fifteen years, this in my opinion is a step in the right direction. There has been a growing dichotomy over the definition of "rural" and "urban" if seen from an economic angle, as opposed to what it might be if seen from the angle of Built form (which includes architecture, building materials and technology, and city planning.) Since we look at economic functions of rural areas independent of say, 'density' and 'construction systems', vast regions of urban hinterland, which otherwise might be included in the dictionary definition of 'urban' or 'peri-urban region', and planned thus, in keeping the consequences of allowing rapid and unmonitored urban growth to occur, are being overlooked. In this scenario, the kind of infrastructure planning required, which includes the creation of Sewage treatment plants, electricity grids and transport infrastructure, and affordable and rental housing, are not created.
It is difficult to say what drives urbanisation, but economic activity is heavily linked with urban development. And cities do create large amounts of negative impacts on the environment, consuming more energy and producing more harmful outputs in terms of solid waste and industrial emissions. But, it is also true that cities or urban areas are engines of GDP growth, providing avenues of employment and income generation and creating dynamic efficiencies that lead to overall regional development. However, by delinking what is constituted as "urban economic activities" as opposed to "rural economic activities", we can start to look at rural-urban regions with a fresh perspective, particularly in city planning.
We are moving towards the introduction of a National Urbanisation Policy for the country. The coming times will test our resilience, and challenge the notions of what we have grown up to understand as our realities. The truth is that urban planning in India has been largely driven by the principles left behind by the colonial age. We, as a people, need to carve out our own philosophies and definitions of rural vs urban, not because we are a culturally diverse nation, but because the systems that are currently in place create divisions that lead to conflict.
Across the globe now, the notion of "mega-city" is failing, and the ideas of urban regions are taking shape. By dissolving the existing planning definitions of 'rural' and 'urban' or perhaps including concrete policies for managing the areas that fall in-between, with the understanding that by ignoring these regions now, we are losing what potentially can become vehicles for bringing economic and social prosperity. Thus, by the simple act of allowing certain industrial occupations that are not allowed currently in 'rural areas' or by the simple act of allowing their presence within an area that makes it lose its rural identity, we can create avenues of channelling a previous unknown current of human development, and provide perhaps more fulfilling and meaningful employment to our people.
On the other hand, by allowing certain economic activities linked to rural regions within urban areas, the same effect can be induced. From my knowledge, and my knowledge about these issues may not be complete, there are several different kinds of economic activities that are included in Rural areas such as (i) Village Small Enterprise, (ii) Small Scale Industries (iii) Handicraft & Cottage Industries. By including Food Processing Industries under MSMEs, there can be a positive structural shift that is required for the creation of a New India.
I am still learning about these intricate issues, but our current ideas of specializations in planning do not sufficiently bring out our diverse identities. Thus, we are constantly completing with each other, for funds or recognition, or subsidies. Large portions of our populations migrate every day, shifting between landscapes that causes a sense of loss. New India will be a stable nation, but stability cannot be found by reading and living upon ideas and principles left behind by a people who did not want stability in the country to begin with.
South Africa, after the apartheid has struggled with these issues of understanding their rural and urban areas. Here, in our nation, we stand at the threshold of a new fluid urbanity. Densities are changing, occupations are changing, and the aspirations of people are forcing the governing bodies of our country to re-examine the very definitions of who we are as a people.
Are we an unknown city, or an empty village, or are we both, a thriving village made of cities.
Our planning processes are marginalizing our rural identities, marginalizing our histories and our historical corridors of stories. The faster we traverse the ground around us, the easier it is to ignore the places where the train does not stop, the easier it is to forget, or ignore, pretend that the scenery is lovely, or that no man lives there, nothing happens there, and perhaps nothing ever will happen there as well.
How much of this planned and how much remains a sprawl? Are these the boundaries of political will, of market force, of migration? Are these the boundaries defined by physics, by gravitational pull, the potential energy of a grounded beast, reaching out from its farthest tentacle to touch perhaps its sorry kin, the life of behemothian loneliness?
I for one, don't know. For now, this Rajasthani Boy selling flags at the bridge is usually seen selling all manners of car accessories. If you see him, say 'Hello'.
A Metropolitan Area is a region consisting of a populous urban core with a high density of employment plus surrounding territory that is socio-economically linked to the urban core by commuting. A metropolitan area is also sometimes known as a commuter belt or a labor market area. A metropolitan area combines an Agglomeration(1) (the contiguous, built-up area) with zones not necessarily urban in character, but closely bound to the center by employment or other commerce. These outlying zones may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities.
The National Capital Region (NCR) in India is the designation for the Conurbation(2) or metropolitan area which encompasses the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, which includes New Delhi, as well as urban areas surrounding it in neighboring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
As we move forward into a brave new world, we need to get out of these definitions and accept human settlements for what they are, a collection, large or small of people and all their chaotic systems. In the new world, we must rewrite our systems, and when we do that, we can replace these divisive ideas of settlement types. They will be different of course, based on their own cultural identities, but they will not be gauged through the lens of economic orders.
Rural and Urban are primarily definitions of jobs, not cities and their cultural identities.
Recently, the Lok Sabha passed the NABARD Amendment Bill, 2017. While there are several financial implications of the bill in terms of enhancement of credit to farmers, one of the areas of major development within the Amendment bill is that of inclusion of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in place of SSIs (small scale industries).
As we move towards being a largely urban oriented nation in the next fifteen years, this in my opinion is a step in the right direction. There has been a growing dichotomy over the definition of "rural" and "urban" if seen from an economic angle, as opposed to what it might be if seen from the angle of Built form (which includes architecture, building materials and technology, and city planning.) Since we look at economic functions of rural areas independent of say, 'density' and 'construction systems', vast regions of urban hinterland, which otherwise might be included in the dictionary definition of 'urban' or 'peri-urban region', and planned thus, in keeping the consequences of allowing rapid and unmonitored urban growth to occur, are being overlooked. In this scenario, the kind of infrastructure planning required, which includes the creation of Sewage treatment plants, electricity grids and transport infrastructure, and affordable and rental housing, are not created.
It is difficult to say what drives urbanisation, but economic activity is heavily linked with urban development. And cities do create large amounts of negative impacts on the environment, consuming more energy and producing more harmful outputs in terms of solid waste and industrial emissions. But, it is also true that cities or urban areas are engines of GDP growth, providing avenues of employment and income generation and creating dynamic efficiencies that lead to overall regional development. However, by delinking what is constituted as "urban economic activities" as opposed to "rural economic activities", we can start to look at rural-urban regions with a fresh perspective, particularly in city planning.
We are moving towards the introduction of a National Urbanisation Policy for the country. The coming times will test our resilience, and challenge the notions of what we have grown up to understand as our realities. The truth is that urban planning in India has been largely driven by the principles left behind by the colonial age. We, as a people, need to carve out our own philosophies and definitions of rural vs urban, not because we are a culturally diverse nation, but because the systems that are currently in place create divisions that lead to conflict.
Across the globe now, the notion of "mega-city" is failing, and the ideas of urban regions are taking shape. By dissolving the existing planning definitions of 'rural' and 'urban' or perhaps including concrete policies for managing the areas that fall in-between, with the understanding that by ignoring these regions now, we are losing what potentially can become vehicles for bringing economic and social prosperity. Thus, by the simple act of allowing certain industrial occupations that are not allowed currently in 'rural areas' or by the simple act of allowing their presence within an area that makes it lose its rural identity, we can create avenues of channelling a previous unknown current of human development, and provide perhaps more fulfilling and meaningful employment to our people.
On the other hand, by allowing certain economic activities linked to rural regions within urban areas, the same effect can be induced. From my knowledge, and my knowledge about these issues may not be complete, there are several different kinds of economic activities that are included in Rural areas such as (i) Village Small Enterprise, (ii) Small Scale Industries (iii) Handicraft & Cottage Industries. By including Food Processing Industries under MSMEs, there can be a positive structural shift that is required for the creation of a New India.
I am still learning about these intricate issues, but our current ideas of specializations in planning do not sufficiently bring out our diverse identities. Thus, we are constantly completing with each other, for funds or recognition, or subsidies. Large portions of our populations migrate every day, shifting between landscapes that causes a sense of loss. New India will be a stable nation, but stability cannot be found by reading and living upon ideas and principles left behind by a people who did not want stability in the country to begin with.
South Africa, after the apartheid has struggled with these issues of understanding their rural and urban areas. Here, in our nation, we stand at the threshold of a new fluid urbanity. Densities are changing, occupations are changing, and the aspirations of people are forcing the governing bodies of our country to re-examine the very definitions of who we are as a people.
Are we an unknown city, or an empty village, or are we both, a thriving village made of cities.
Our planning processes are marginalizing our rural identities, marginalizing our histories and our historical corridors of stories. The faster we traverse the ground around us, the easier it is to ignore the places where the train does not stop, the easier it is to forget, or ignore, pretend that the scenery is lovely, or that no man lives there, nothing happens there, and perhaps nothing ever will happen there as well.
How much of this planned and how much remains a sprawl? Are these the boundaries of political will, of market force, of migration? Are these the boundaries defined by physics, by gravitational pull, the potential energy of a grounded beast, reaching out from its farthest tentacle to touch perhaps its sorry kin, the life of behemothian loneliness?
I for one, don't know. For now, this Rajasthani Boy selling flags at the bridge is usually seen selling all manners of car accessories. If you see him, say 'Hello'.
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Notes: (1) Agglomeration: In the study of human settlements, an Urban Agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place (usually a municipality) and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area.
(2) A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area. In most cases, a conurbation is a polycentric urban agglomeration, in which transportation has developed to link areas to create a single urban labour market or travel to work area.
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Notes: (1) Agglomeration: In the study of human settlements, an Urban Agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place (usually a municipality) and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area.
(2) A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area. In most cases, a conurbation is a polycentric urban agglomeration, in which transportation has developed to link areas to create a single urban labour market or travel to work area.
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Bombay Love.
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