Urbanization Notes For UPSC

Urbanization

Introduction 

• Process of becoming urban—moving to cities, from agri to other pursuits & corresponding changes of behavior patterns.
• 2018 World Urbanization Prospects— India’s urban pop will rise to 52.8% in 2050. 
• Oxford Economics report—Indian cities will make up 17/20 most fastest-growing cities in world b/w 2019 & 2035

Attributes of Urbanisation

• Economic—Industrial, service sector, Trade & commerce, Gig economy
• Political—Democrartisation, HRs awareness, Social media etc
• Social—
  • S-E mobility, ↑ opp
  • ↑ Women Status— ↑ Edu, liberal, Independent  & Rights assertion (-ves—> ↓ wages, Trafficking + prostitution)
  • ↓ Caste rigidities
  • “Melting pot”, Cosmopolitanism

PROBLEMS—

• Proliferation of Slums→
  • Diseases, social tensions, Poor WASH
  • UN centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS)—Concept of “Housing Poverty”
• Overcrowding & Urban sprawl → ↑ pressure on infra & resources

Solutions—Ring towns, satellite towns, counter magnets

• Other social issues—
  • Unemployment, Child labour, Beggary
  • Lack of social security, ↑ inequalities
  • Urban Crimes—Trafficking, sexual assault, Juvenile Delinquincy
• Infra Bottlenecks
• Env issues—Energy crisis, Pollution, Climate change, UHI, Disasters
  • Water Insecurity— ADB forecast India will have a water deficit of 50% by 2030.
• Transportation Problem→ congestion
• Equity Issues: Unplanned urbanization in India has led to gentrification (as per upper and middle socio-economic class) of city centres and lower income groups are forced to live in peripheral suburbs
• Issues in Urban Governance—
  • Not Constituted MPC— were envisaged as agency for integrated plan­ning
  • Weak municipal capacities + lack of 3Fs

Steps taken

• Urban Infra + ↑ Ease of living—
  • SMART city—Dev core infra & + App of ‘Smart’ Solutions.
  • AMRUT—Transform urban living conditions through infra upgradation & provisioning of civic amenities
  • PMAY (U)— Housing for all by 2022
  • HRIDAY— Preserve & revitalize heritage cities— ↑ tourism
• Urban Transport
  • National Urban Transport Policy— To ensure safe, affordable, reliable & sustainable P.T
• Sustainable Urbanization
  • National Mission on Sustainable Habitat—↑ energy efficiency through ECBC, solid & liquid waste mgt etc
  • RURBAN—Bridge R-U divide to check Migration + de burdening urban areas 
  • Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0—Roadmap for climate-sensitive approach to urban planning  
• Governance steps—  Ease of Living Index, MPI
• Urban Livelihood
  • DAY-NULM
  • PM SVANidhi scheme for street vendors

Way Forward:

• Env way forward—
  • Climate-centric Urban planning— Green Mobility
  • ↑ green cover—Afforestation (Nagar van scheme)
  • Concept of “Sponge cities”
• Urban Planning—
  • Integrated City Planning—Based on models like TOD, scientific waste mgt
  • Sewarage Mgt—Need of Blue-green infra—”sustainable urban drainage systems“
  • Waste Mgt—Timarpur Okhla Municipal Solid Waste mgt is 1st commercial waste-to-energy facility— got carbon credits from UNFCCC
• Governance reforms—
  • Fiscal decentralization, municipal bonds
  • ↑ 3Fs in ULBs
  • Leverage data analytics
• Social Infra
  • Public Health system— Delhi model of Mohalla clinics
  • Food & nutrition, Clean drinking water
  • Rent Control
• Assured wage employment like MGNREGA
  • Himachal model—MM Shahri Ajeevika Guarantee Yojana—120 days of guaranteed wage employment
• NITI Aayog:
  • Raise funds by municipal bonds.
  • Est Waste to Energy Corp of India to spread use of Waste to Energy plants
  • Encourage vehicle-sharing systems such as Ola and Uber.
• 2nd ARC—
  • PPP for collection & disposal of garbage
  • Est Urban Transport Authorities, for coordinated planning & implementation of urban transport
• Reduce distress migration—
  • Create employment in rural areas:—MGNREGA
  • Infra facilities in rural areas: PURA & RURBAN 
• Green, Sustainable, Resilient & low-carbon infra
• Explore new concepts–
  • “24 hour city”
  • Night time economy—Promoting Entertainment activities etc for vibrant night life + increasing economic yields
  • Congestion pricing—To disincentivise Pvt vehicles

Urban Transport

Problems faced by Urban Transport

1. Inadequate Public Transport—China has 6 bus/1000 but India has 4/10000
2. Urban Vehicular Pollution
3. Urban Congestion—Overcrowding in public transport
4. Road safety- Traffic injuries & fatality
5. Equity Issues
6. Mobility for women—Safety

Govt steps for Urban Transport

1. JNNURM-To improve public transport in larger cities
2. National Urban Transport Policy, 2006–For safe, affordable, reliable & sustainable urban transport through multi-modal public transport systems.
3. Green Urban Transport Scheme, 2016–Improve non-motorised transport
4. Mass Rapid Transit/ Transport Systems (MRTS)
5. Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS)
6. National ToD Policy, 2017–To promote living close to mass urban transit corridors
7. Promotion of EVs–FAME scheme

NITI Aayog Recommendations:

• Calls for a 3C Framework (Clean, Convenient and Congestion free) for transforming mobility in India–To achieve this, it lays down action-agenda:

1. Connect Bharat– Through Safe, Adequate & Holistic Infra (SAHI) 
2. Promote Seamless Public Transport:
3. Data-driven planning & urban transport
4. Focus on multi-modal systems
5. Adoption of EVs & non-motorized transport

International Best Practices:

• Singapore:
• Mexico- Right to Mobility law
• Ahmedabad BRTS Corridor–Advanced Vehicle Tracking System, Automatic Fare Collection System.
• New models

1. Metro Neo—Mass rapid transit system providing low-cost, energy-efficient & eco-friendly urban transport solutions for tier 2 & tier 3 cities
2. Metrolite— Light Urban Rail Transit System On lines of metro rail—with lesser capacity at much less cost

Stuff

• C-40 cities Summit
• Cities shd take lead for mitigating C.C
• Kolkata awarded for green mobility. 
• Ajay Maken vs UOI—Idea of “Right to the City” was invoked—means to uphold rights of slum dwellers.

Key word 

• Chaotic urban dev
• Magnets of economic growth
• Economies of agglomeration 
• Inclusive & Sustainable urbanization
• To make Cities ‘truly smart’ & more efficient. Cities r Key for India’s transition to “New India”
• INCLUSIVE CITIES (SDG-11)—
  • Values all people & their needs equally.
  • All residents including  have a rep voice in Gov, planning
  • All have access to sustainable livelihoods, affordable basic services-WASH, electric
  • Safe and affordable housing
• Global Livability Index 2019– by EIU

Slum

• UN-Habitat identify 5 criteria of living condition  that households in slums usually lack—

1. Durable housing of a permanent nature
2. Sufficient living space
3. Easy access to safe water
4. Access to adequate sanitation
5. Security of tenure

Why is there a rise in Slum?

• Migration is not incorporated in urban policies
• Inequalities— Cities divided into centre & Fringes / Periphery
• Lack of affordable housing
• Ghettoisation—Sub culture of poverty  
• Social backwardness forces people to live in congested areas away from main areas. 

Essay

• Villages & suburbs serve cities as tributaries to river, with streams of people coming to eventually settle down & become a part of this urbanisation.
• “Urbanisation can be prevented from turning ugly not by keeping people away from cities but by taking cities to where people already live.”—This needs a holistic approach of developing urban & rural India in a mutually-symbiotic manner.
• Both in terms of physical & social infra—Healthcare, education, ICT, and employment.
• De-stress the cities & let them bring world-class infra, amenities, and ease of living to their people.
• Need for complementing public amenities for marginalised city dwellers + in rural regions with quality, affordable services leading to a reverse migration in a positive sense. 
• It is imperative that the country moves from being a “reluctant urbaniser” to one that embraces urbanisation as a transformative force that can deliver an improved quality of life for all its citizens.