There are several issues regarding town planning in India. The major issues include a lack of adequate housing, safe drinking water, and sanitation facilities. Many urban areas have poor infrastructure for these essential needs. Additionally, there are not enough healthcare facilities or schools, and poverty and pollution are widespread problems. Improper disposal of garbage and untreated sewage are also significant issues affecting public health in most Indian cities. Overall, rapid urbanization has outpaced planning, resulting in unorganized growth and a lack of basic amenities for much of the urban population.
2. WHAT IS TOWN PLANNING ?
“PLANNING" - scientific, aesthetic, & orderly disposition of land, resources,
facilities & services with a view to securing the physical, economic & social
efficiency, health & well-being of urban and rural communities.
• Planning – a continuous, time-oriented and cyclic process of identification
and achievement of goals – eg. Chandigarh in India.
TOWN PLANNING –method of development that contributes to the
organization, development & evolution of urban areas & their urbanizing
environs, based on economic, social, legal & aesthetic concepts & conditions in
order to promote the welfare of public & quality of environment.
GOAL OF PLANNING - to guide the development of a city or town so that it
furthers the welfare of its current and future residents by creating convenient,
equitable, healthful, efficient and attractive environments – “Sustainable
development”.
• Three key aspects of Urban / City Planning:
a) physical environment
b) social environment
c) economic environment
URBAN PLANNING ISSUES
a) Physical environment- A city's physical environment includes its location, its
climate and its proximity to sources of food and water.
b) Social environment- The social environment includes the groups to which a
city's residents belong, the neighbourhoods in which they live, the
organization of its workplaces. One of the biggest issues in most cities is the
inequitable distribution of resources.
c) Economic environment- Primary employers, such as manufacturing as well as
research and development companies, retail businesses, universities, federal
labs, local government, cultural institutions, & departments of tourism all play
strong roles in a city's economy.
3. URBAN PLANNING DISCIPLINES
Regional Planning –
It is a specific type of planning, based on a specific planning structure
(regional system), for inducing public action aimed at societal well
being. It implies that regional planning is concerned fundamentally
with the society in the context of space
Environmental Planning –
Environmental planning is a tool for environmental protection and
sustainable development of any area from environmental point of
view.
Transport Planning –
The process of analysis of travel demand in a city or region having
regard to socio-economic, land-use, and other factors and
formulation of policies, programs, plans and projects for its efficient
management.
Infrastructure –
The basic components of a human settlement that make it functional
and improve its quality of life and include network of water supply,
sewerage, drainage, electricity, communication, transportation and
facilities and services
Facility – in urban planning a premises where health-care,
educational, socio-cultural and recreational activities take place
Services - include transportation by rail, road, air, waterways,
telecommunication, police protection, fire fighting, postal etc
Utilities – basic public services like water supply, sewerage, drainage
and electricity supply.
4. ISSUES IN TOWN PLANNING
Infrastructural challenges
Housing
Housing provision for the growing urban population is be the biggest challenge
before the government.
The growing cost of houses comparison to the income of the urban middle
class, has made it impossible for majority of lower income groups and are
residing in congested accommodation and many of those are devoid of proper
ventilation, lighting, water supply, sewage system, etc.
For instance in Delhi, the current estimate is of a shortage of 5,00,000 dwelling
units the coming decades
Safe Drinking Water
The safe drinking water sources are also found to be contaminated because of
water in the cities are inadequate and in the future, the expected population
cannot be accommodated without a drastic improvement in the availability of
water.
The expenses on water treatment and reuse will grow manifold.
Sanitation
The poor sanitation condition is another gloomy feature in urban areas and
particularly in slums and unauthorized colonies of urban areas.
The drainage system in many unorganized colonies and slums are either not
existing and if existing are in a bad shape and in bits resulting in blockage of
waste water.
This unsanitary conditions lead to many sanitation related diseases such as
diahorrea and malaria.
Unsafe garbage disposal is one of the critical problem in urban areas and
garbage management always remained a major challenge.
5. Health conditions
The important indicators of human development are education and health.
The health condition of urban poor in some areas are even more adverse
compared to rural areas.
As many as 20 million children in the developing countries are dying consequent to
drinking water.
Providing health care services to the growing urban population is major challenge
before the government health care delivery system.
They have to take the help of private players as public health facilities are poor. In
case of migrants, they cannot take the benefit of government policies, so they have
to pay very high charges, which keep them in the vicious cycle of poverty.
Urban education system also is becoming elite in private institution due to limited
seats and high charged fee.
The condition of public educational institution is dismal.
Urban public transport
As high income individual are buying more private vehicle and use less public
transport.
Such huge number of vehicles in cities is causing more traffic jam, which in turn
decreases the efficiency of public transport.
Also the penetration of public transport is less, which make people use private
vehicle.
Public transport is less disabled friendly.
There is also lack of infrastructure and poor maintenance of existing public
transport infrastructure.
Poverty
Roughly a third of the urban population today lives below the poverty line.
There are glaring disparities between haves and have-nots in urban areas.
The most demanding of the urban challenges, unquestionably is the challenge
posed by poverty; the challenge of reducing exploitation, relieving misery and
creating more human condition for urban poor.
ISSUES IN TOWN PLANNING
6. ISSUES IN TOWN PLANNING
Sewerage Problems
Urban areas in India are almost invariably plagued with insufficient and
inefficient sewage facilities.
Not a single city in India is fully sewered.
Resource crunch faced by the municipalities and unauthorised growth of
the cities are two major causes of this pathetic state of affairs.
According to latest estimates, only 35-40 per cent of the urban population
has the privilege of sewage system.
Most of the cities have old sewerage lines which are not looked after
properly. Often sewerage lines break down or they are overflowing.
Most cities do not have proper arrangements for treating the sewerage
waste and it is drained into a nearly river (as in Delhi) or in sea (as in
Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai), thereby polluting the water bodies.
In most Indian cities, water pipes run in close proximity to sewer lines. Any
leakage leads to contamination of water which results in the spread of
several water borne diseases.
Trash Disposal
As Indian cities grow in number and size the problem of trash disposal is
assuming alarming proportions.
Huge quantities of garbage produced by our cities pose a serious health
problem.
Most cites do not have proper arrangements for garbage disposal.
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Image Courtesy : 2.bp.blogspot.com/_
T9uOVsPXY1w/TDBuICdLHvI//PIC145.jpg
7. Problem of Urban Pollution
With rapid pace of urbanisation, industries and transport systems grow
rather out of proportion.
These developments are primarily responsible for pollution of
environment, particularly the urban environment.
We cannot think of strong India, economically, socially and culturally,
when our cities remain squalor, quality of urban life declines and the
urban environment is damaged beyond repair.
As a matter of fact, cities comprise the backbone of economic expansion
and urbanization is being seen in a positive light as an engine of
economic growth and agent of socio-political transformation
Image Courtesy : upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/2/24/Trafficjamdelhi.jpg
Slums and Squatter Settlements
The natural sequel of unchecked, unplanned and haphazard growth of urban
areas is the growth and spread of slums and squatter settlements which
present a striking feature in the ecological structure of Indian cities, especially
of metropolitan centres.
The rapid urbanisation in conjunction with industrialisation has resulted in the
growth of slums. The proliferation of slums occurs due to many factors, such
as, the shortage of developed land for housing, the high prices of land beyond
the reach of urban poor, a large influx of rural migrants to the cities in search of
jobs etc.
Image Courtesy :
cuwhist.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/slum1.jpg
ISSUES IN TOWN PLANNING
8. ISSUES
Uneven & Chaotic development – contrasting urban scenario
Mixed Landuse – Industries springing up in residential zones
Congested Transportation Network – overflowing traffic than
expected
ROLE OF PLANNERS
• Consider – “human communities are always in the process of
changing”
• Recognize – “the complexity of communities
• Concern – about the future
AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF TOWN PLANNING
to create and
promote healthy
conditions and
environments for all
the people –
to make right use
of the land for the
right purpose by
zoning
to ensure orderly
development
to avoid
encroachment of
one zone over the
other
• To preserve
the
individualit
y of the
town
• To preserve
the
aesthetics
in the
design of
all
elements
of town or
city plan,
• social,
economic,
cultural and
recreational
amenities etc.
• Recreational
amenities – open
spaces, parks,
gardens &
playgrounds,
town halls
stadiums,
community
centers, cinema
houses, and
theatres