Content area
Full Text
1. Introduction
Travelling across India invariably raises questions regarding the state of Indian cities. In spite of recent economic progress and establishment of several new towns across India, the physical and socio-economic conditions of cities have not altered much. In addition to organic cities, the newly developed towns are also showing symptoms of unplanned growth. Plans and visualisations on the drawing boards are not transmitting into reality. There is a visible gap between visualisation and realisation of urban development.
The Census of India classifies Indian cities in four categories: statutory town, census town, urban agglomeration and outgrowth (MoHA, 2012). All these cities and towns are attaining different levels of urbanisation and complexity, and impacting diversely on the overall economic and social development of the country. Most cities undergo varying degrees of urban planning efforts. Yet Indian cities showcase complete absence of systematic urban planning efforts. It is surprising that the cities are somehow operating day-to-day activities. It is also not much evident that citizen acknowledges the role of urban planning and enquire for the same. Citizen demands basic utilities like water, sanitation, power, transport, housing and amenities like open spaces, parks, plazas, entertainment and sports facilities; but is oblivion about the significance of urban planning to create a sustainable urban environment. Most Indian urban dwellers are not even aware of urban planning and its purpose in developing a functional and sustainable city. Here I refer functional city as the city where daily life of the residents feels pleasant due to the tangible actions and choices adopted by the city administration. A functional city has much strength that includes easy accessibility, adequate urban infrastructure, equality and non-discrimination, strong social cohesion and open and inclusive ways of city management (City of Helsinki, 2017).
Post-independence urban development quality in India did not advance much to coalesce either with the pace of economic growth or with the global standard. Recently, some increased infrastructural initiatives can be witnessed in Indian cities. However, the outcomes of such initiatives do not yield in constructive benefits either for the city or its citizens. These approaches, which are largely spasmodic in nature falls short of creating a functional city. It raises serious concerns on the existing urban development approaches and overall vision to achieve...