Re-structuring Urban Galaxies

NEWS HIGHLIGHT 

Theme : Society & Healthcare
Paper :GS-2

The fast-paced, modern lifestyle has contributed to the economic development of the country. However, the price has been paid by society and the deteriorating health care situation in the country.

Context : The fast-paced, modern lifestyle has contributed to the economic development of the country. However, the price has been paid by society and the deteriorating health care situation in the country.

Harmful Effect of Growth of Cities : 

• Organic Growth: It refers to the growth of any entity in a natural manner. For e.g., in historical evolution, it has been seen that habitations develop around the areas having sufficient resources for sustaining the population. Organic growth is a factor in sustainable development (which refers to the use of resources without compromising on the needs of future generations).
• History of Development of Cities: The early civilizations developed around sources of water and caves (which acted as a shelter for the people). Later on, forests were preferred because of their utility as a source of food and wood (for construction). In modern times, economic activity is generally considered the most crucial factor in determining the relative importance of a city.
• Limitations of Over-centralization: The growth of any entity must be limited to a specific size, beyond which it becomes very difficult to sustain. This is not only true for biological organisms like dinosaurs, but also for the cities. A city growing beyond the ‘ultimate’ size is bound to collapse due to internal pressures like congestion, inadequate housing, crime, poverty and so on.
• Quality of Life: It must be remembered that while planning a city, quality of life of the residents is the topmost consideration. By improving the infrastructure, and providing facilities and amenities in the city, the functioning of the city might improve but it might not necessarily be conducive to the quality and standard of life of the residents.
• Urban Galaxies: The interconnection between megacities and the smaller towns takes the shape of urban galaxies on the map of a country. It is composed of starlike large metropolises, contained between the dark space-like empty tracts. The suburban areas resemble the glow of the large stars.

Modern vs Traditional Way of Life : 

• Harnessing Twin Challenge: Overburdening a mega city not only degrades the quality of life of its residents, but also denudes the nearby smaller towns. On one hand, the continued expansion in cities leads to larger distances, longer commute times and a tired workforce. On the other hand, the nearby towns suffer from migration and destruction of local crafts.
• Overburdened Agglomerations: Large cities result in mass production of goods, heavily polluting industrial centers, a large transport network, bigger residential complexes with less recreational space, large banking systems with higher interest rates and overpaid, yet tired workforce, all of whom are dependent on exhaustible resources like land and water.
• Uniqueness: In contrast to the cities, towns in India have their unique character, which is closely knit with the availability of resources and is in sync with the local skills. It provides a unique, local flavor to the towns and preserves diversity of such places. It also promotes spiritual and cultural growth in a region, which is equally important to physical growth.
• Conventional Way of Life: As compared to urban life, rural people are usually dependent upon the non-motorised means of transport, which are greener and quieter. They also have an inherent respect for the environment, including the forests and wildlife. Similarly, social intermingling and dependency still exists in the rural areas, promoting cooperation.
• Economies of Scale: In urban industries, economies of scale refer to mass production and profit maximization. However, in rural areas, economies of scale are manifest in the daily, weekly and monthly haats or village markets. Such markets are beneficial for both, buyers, as well as, sellers. For buyers, such markets offer choice and opportunity to bargain, while for the sellers, they offer an increased number of buyers.
• Increased Satisfaction Levels: By conceiving multiple clusters of rural towns, provisioned with urban facilities and amenities, people get the opportunity to live near their roots. This enhances the satisfaction level of the population, and promotes cultural propagation and life enrichment.
• Shared Responsibility: Rural areas have been at the center of cooperative movements. For e.g., Amul in Gujarat, farmer cooperatives in Punjab and textile mills in Ahmedabad. Such movements have proven the potential of employment generation and wealth creation via shared responsibility in a region.

Need for Reforming Urban Planning Capacity : 

• Increasing Urbanization: India’s urban population is 11% of that of the world.
• However, in absolute numbers, the urban population in India is more than highly urbanized countries/regions like the United States, Japan, Western Europe, and South America.
• During 2011-36, urban growth will be responsible for 73% of the rise in total population in India.
• Urbanization is Central to India’s Economy: Urbanization contributes nearly 60% to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).However, there exists large, untapped economies of scale.
• India’s National Growth Targets:.
• Economic Growth Target: USD 5 trillion economy by 2024.
• Employment Target: Total workforce estimated to be 0.64 billion by 2030, of which 0.26 billion to be employed in urban areas.
• Infrastructure Targets: Creation of 11 large industrial corridors as part of the National Industrial Corridor Programme, several multimodal logistic parks, etc.
• Environmental Protection Targets: River rejuvenation, clean air in cities, etc.
• National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP): The urban sector has a significant share of 17% in the NIP.
• NIP facilitates infrastructure projects in the country with a projected investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during the period 2020-25.
• India’s Global Commitments:
• SDGs (Goal 11): Promote urban planning as one of the recommended methods for achieving sustainable development.
• UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda: It was adopted at Habitat III in 2016. It puts forth principles for the planning, construction, development, management, and improvement of urban areas.
• UN-Habitat (2020) mentions spatial sustainability, as a concept. It suggests that the spatial conditions of a city can enhance its power to generate social, economic and environmental value and well-being.
• Paris Agreement: India’s National Determined Contributions (NDCs) includes the goals to reduce the emission intensity of the country's GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level.

Road Ahead : 

• Planning of Healthy Cities: Central Sector Scheme ‘500 Healthy Cities Programme’, for a period of 5 years, wherein priority cities and towns would be selected jointly by the states and local bodies.The Programme can lead to optimum utilization of urban land as well.
• Re-engineering of Urban Governance: To bring in more institutional clarity and also multi-disciplinary expertise to solve urban challenges.The formation of an apex committee at the state level is recommended to undertake a regular review of planning legislations (including town and country planning or urban and regional development acts or other relevant acts).
• Strengthening the Role of the Private Sector: These include the adoption of fair processes for procuring technical consultancy services, strengthening project structuring and management skills in the public sector, and empanelment of private sector consultancies.
• Measures for Strengthening Human Resource and Match Demand–Supply: The constitution of a ‘National Council of Town and Country Planners’ as a statutory body of the Government of India.

FAQs : 

1. Why do we need to understand the need of over-centralization ?

ANS. The growth of any entity must be limited to a specific size, beyond which it becomes very difficult to sustain. This is not only true for biological organisms like dinosaurs, but also for the cities. A city growing beyond the ‘ultimate’ size is bound to collapse due to internal pressures like congestion, inadequate housing, crime, poverty and so on.

2. What is SDG 11?

ANS.Promote urban planning as one of the recommended methods for achieving sustainable development.