1. Sustainable Urban Development Future of Indian Cities : An overview
By : Prof. K.S. Mukunda
HOD, Department of Architecture,
siddaganga Institute of Technology,
TUMKUR, Karnataka State, INDIA
06/01/2007
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on SUSTAINABILITY at Chennai
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2. Introduction
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It has been our aim to Improve the quality of
life in our cities including Ecological,Cultural,
Political, Institutional & Economic
components without leaving a burden on
future generations.
Strong healthy livable cities depend on
healthy environments,a robust economy &
ample employment generation.
The focus of this presentation is more on
sensitizing the issue on SUSTAINABILITY
considering the problems of the URBAN
POOR than on capacity building.
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3. Monitoring
team
Advisory
board
Defining category titles
Defining criteria for each
category
Experts in
science
Experts in
practice
3 to 4 rounds of
questioners
Forums
Open forums on
provisional results
Taking place on the
Internet
Rating a project contribution towards sustainable urban
International development
& awarding procedure for good solution
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5. Concept of sustainable Development
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Sustainable city is the one that is able to provide the basic needs
of population with necessary infrastructure of civic
amenities,health & medical care, housing , education,
transportation,employment & good governance to all sections of
the community without discrimination
Ecological sustainable thesis requires ETHICS OF CARE,
RESPECT & RESPONSIBILITY
The 4 components of Livability are
(a) Social well being
(b) Economic Vitality
(c) Infrastructure availability (d) Environmental quality
There must be a balance between the 4 components and it
should be monitored regularly
Sustained development refers more to a PROCESS rather than
an end point
Effective governance @ different levels with a coordinated effort
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6. Current Initiatives and Progress
Progress on developing the concepts of sustainable development has
been rapid since the early 1990s. Following is a list of major events,
programs and commissions that have been instrumental in shaping the
fundamental principles and programs of action for achieving sustainable
development.
􀂾 1992, Earth Summit: 100+ heads of state meet in Brazil for the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).
Convened to address urgent problems of environmental protection and
socio-economic development.
􀂾 1992, Agenda 21: A 300 page plan for achieving sustainable
development in the 21st century.
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7. 􀂾 1992, Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD):
Created to ensure effective follow-up and monitoring of UNCED agreements
locally, nationally, and internationally.
􀂾 1997, Earth Summit Review: Five year review of Earth Summit progress.
􀂾 2002, World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD):
Held in Johannesburg, South Africa,reaffirming commitments to Earth Summit
1992.
􀂾 2002, International Council for Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI):
Brought together 700 mayors and local government representatives from around
the world, confirming commitment of local governments around the globe towards
the process of creating a “sustainable world.”In total, these summits and
declarations have served to emphasize and define more clearly the important role
international organizations and governments must play in supporting local
governments to develop the capacities to address sustainable development.
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8. 
Scenario of Indian Urban Development in the last 50 years
Indian Independence in1947 & Rapid stride in Industrialization
Caused necessity to regulate Urban growth
In 1946 the Bhore Committee recommendations established a T &CP
department in each Province Under the Min of Health.
The partition of India created tremendous problems of refugees in the
N-W & N-E, which ultimately caused creation of new settlements of
Towns & Cities.
Town Planning Education started after 1955 & there was a terrible
shortage of Technical manpower to manage & guide Urban
development. Resulting which, India adopted Bureaucratic path of
Planning through Controls supported legislation & the “Development
Plan” became a Statutory Document & trained manpower was not
available to administer the plan
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9. 
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Policy Initiatives : Development Plan Concept
U.K. developed & adopted the concept but had limited success.
This concept rested on 3 strong pillars of support, viz.,
(a) Presence of a Local Self Government
(b) Financial Institution to support Development
(c) Presence of Organized Private Sector Development
In U.K. the population growth declined sharply thus weakening the
demand for Urban sector
India adopted the Development Plan Concept in its model plan
guidelines in 1956 under its T & CP act. The needed 3 pillars of
support did not exist.In this un-prepared climate Urban Dev rapidly
deteriorated.
Municipalities adopted an oppressive regulatory system. The
officers were from Administrative Service, the Technical service was
placed under the responsibility of the administrator, whose
commitment to the place & organization is transitory, Active
participation of people in development is totally missing.There is no
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legal framework for regulating planned growth of human settlements
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10. 
Chennai- 40% population live in slums
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Kolkata - In 1996 Operation Sunshine evicted 50,000
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pavement dwellers from city’s main streets
“Right to live includes
the right to livelihood”.
As livelihood of poor
depends directly on
where they live.
Verdict given - favoring pavement
dwellers in a public interest petition
in a Mumbai court.
Pavement dwellers in Mumbai
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11. International
Problems of water in poor localities of a town
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12. The development plan is thus viewed as an INSTRUMENT OF
OBSTRUCTION rather than facilitator of Development All later Town
planning Legislation adopted T & CP act & even after 50 years, India
needs to Discuss & Review a lot.
Population of Delhi increases by 0.4 million every year due to
migration putting a question on sustainability with the burgeoning
population leading to exploitation,Crime & lawlessness due to shrinking
job opportunities, sub human living conditions in slums creating
environmental degradation & other pollutions of air, water & land.
Cities are under pressure, Decision makers have to find solutions to
various emerging problems ranging from Housing,Drinking water
supply to sanitation & waste disposal, transportation to urban green
space preservation. At the same time they are also taking wrong &
ad hoc decisions without International
involving Experts,NGO’s,Citizens/ media.
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13. Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Housing for urban
poor- New Delhi
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14. Migrating to city ?
Poor housing
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IMPACT (Development plan)
 Cities have become focal points of
consumption of goods & services,
while draining out resources of
external regions
 Vast majority of migrants to urban
areas cannot afford a decent living
condition due to poverty. The
settlement they can afford,lack all
basic infrastructure needs to maintain
the required health & hygiene
aspects.
 Ecological Impact of major cities
extend much beyond their
geographical boundaries.
Under such circumstances
sustainable development theory is an
EVOLVING one and a highly
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Debatable issue.
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15. What This Means
on Quality of living Environment
Living environments are deteriorating & all major cities are
posing a serious threat to healthier & happier living
conditions
 The city summit of the Istanbul conference gave the call for
reversing the trend of the rapid degradation &
recommended priorities for action to re-vitalize living zones
 No control in urban fringe area developments and green
belts are vanishing & industries are penetrating and Cities
have become faceless, anonymous & monotonous and
loosing their identities & aesthetic qualities.
 The process of revitalization requires a careful inventory,
popular perception,advocacy, motivation,sound physical &
financial assessment along with professional & political
commitment as a pre-requisite.
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16. India & the world population
India urgently urgently needs
to curb population growth
􀂾 Global human population is estimated to reach between 8-10 billion by 2050.
􀂾 World population currently stands at 6 billion with 47% living in urban areas.
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􀂾 By 2030
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17. Need for appropriate policies
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in the Indian context
The concept of logical spatial order that exist in our settlement pattern
should become the crucial factor for consideration ( city vs villages)
with a scaled allocation of viable population & economic activity
distribution policy
creating cleaner Urban Environments through a viable appropriate
technologies which are affordable
Decentralized process of waste collection treatment & disposal
City building as a series of discrete areas which are independent of
each other as far as basic infrastructure is concerned as they
contribute towards lower transportation costs & material consumption
& thus will be more affordable to larger population
Adopting a strong environmental protection policy for air & water with
a very careful industrial location policy
Mapping of all required parameters for selecting future sites for
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settlement with the understanding of surrounding region.
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18. Problems of Urban communities in the indian context
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The urban poor in India is about 80 million,which is 40% of urban
population & 65% of the urban poor are women & children
Vast majority of urban poor cannot afford a decent living condition.
Over 50% of households are without latrine & drainage.
High illiteracy rate,High infant mortality rate than urban average.
High enrollment in primary education, BUT more than 50% drop out
rate particularly among Girls.
Women belong to poorest of poor. They play a minimal role in
decision making with patriarchic values reinforced through
tradition,religion & other socio-political Institutions.
Women have low rate of work force, lack of access to inst. Credit
mechanism,low self esteem,fear of society& its laws,fear of men,fear
of violence etc., thus creating a intergenerational circle of poverty &
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deprivation.
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19. Solution to problems-Urban Basic Services Program
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The National commission on Urbanization in 1988 recommended
Urban community development strategy as a key approach. It was a
UNICEF supported project targeting 500 cities & towns.
The integrated urban poverty eradication program was launched in
1994 targeting 345 class II towns.( population 0.5 to 1 m) -UBSP is the
key program component.
In 1995 the program involved 65000 women volunteers in 9000 NH
units to work as a community organization towards improvement & self
reliant development.
The organizational structure provides the framework for BOTTOM-UP
planning process.It prepares area specific plans based on an
assessment of felt/perceived needs,matched with available resource
or other govt. programs
UBSP resources are used as bridging finance for meeting Basic
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community needs to improve living conditions of urban poor.
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20. The status of urban poor & future urban development
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The govt. is determined to go ahead with the liberalization program
with the adaptation of modern technology.
The mass communication technology has penetrated & has been
responsible for raising expectations faster than the socio-political
system.
The urban poor who desires to feel satisfied has failed to understand
his relationship with individual rights & his social responsibility of public
self & thus has failed as a social being.
Increased expectations and attractions to urban regions would always
leave a dearth for affordable shelter
City which comprises of mainly 2 sectors viz, the core sector CBD &
the service sector. As the city expands horizontally the CBD becomes
larger & the periphery gets pushed. The urban poor who flock around
the CBD for livelihood gets thrown out to fringes due to increased
economic activity & this increases their financial burden & the question
of sustainability. The future should find solution for this phenomenon
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21. 
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Urban poor desires affordable housing, Home ownership would give
him a reason to work & save, but, his income level prohibits him from
achieving that status.He spends 30% of his earnings on shelter needs
and the remaining amount is insufficient for bare sustenance & the
choice left to him is to be - homeless.
If at all any subsidized housing is to be provided there should be a long
term controls on resale of such properties as these would be gobbled up
for a different economic activity by the wealthier & thus foil the very
purpose of the policy.
The problem of housing urban poor is always associated with the level
of services that should be affordable & compatible with the housing type.
The elements of basic services of electricity, water supply & minimal
sanitation, management of waste & marginal access to houses &
transport should be provided to prevent this housing to become a slum.
Some of the planning approaches are (a)Minimum construction cost
(urban poor) (b) maximum space utilization CBD (c) maximum
comfort(MIG & HIG) (d) maximum durability (public services) (e)
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22. 
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The present govt.adopted “ Support “ approach is likely to provide an
economic & affordable solution. In this individual households takes hold
of construction & maintenance while the govt.agencies provide at
subsidized rates Sites & Services to the urban poor.
The programs & Initiatives of govt. should include 1.waste reduction &
recycling, 2. Energy efficiency & renewable, 3. Transportation planning
& Traffic management. 4. Control on land use & urban formation.
5. Effective protection of environment & 6. Maintenance of high & stable
levels of growth & increased employment opportunities.
The programs of govt. should disseminate good practices on
sustainability at urban level both at political level & technical level
raising awareness & developing new skills of sustainable Urban
development
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23. Community participation programs
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24. Conclusions from the study
• Good Governance – the capacity of local governments must
be strengthened to carry out their responsibility for the
equitable provision of infrastructure and services to all urban
residents while planning for future growth; and, the capacity of
provincial, state and national authorities must be strengthened
to ensure their critical normative roles, to establish facilitating
public services.policy environments, and to rid corruption from
land markets and the provision of
• Legal System – property rights and security of tenure are
critical to sustainable approaches to upgrading. The vast
majority of the residents of urban slums live without any form
of secure tenure, often under constant threat of eviction,
vitiating their ability to access credit and constraining their
motivation to improve their homes and neighborhoods.
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25. • Financial System – coupled with security of tenure, access to
credit is key to unleashing the vast potential of the urban poor
to improve their living and working environments and
livelihoods. Micro-credit and other facilities to expand access
to credit to the poor can provide critical elements of
institutional support in creating financially self-supporting and
sustainable urban upgrading programs.
• Social Framework – community participation in the
conception, development, financing, and upgrading of
infrastructure and services is a critical element of sustainable
programs.
•Experience has shown that the most successful programs
address community priorities
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