Perspective

Needed: A New
Approach to City
Planning In India
The human dimension, linked with culture and heritage is more important than
built environment, as is giving an identity to the city under the Smart Cities Mission

T
Chetan Vaidya

HE OVERALL goal for urban development in India is the creation of sustainable,

inclusive and smart urban centres. India
has to improve urban infrastructure and
governance to achieve its economic development
goals. The government has launched four urban missions: the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities, Heritage
City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) and Housing for All by 2020 (Urban). An appropriate urban planning approach should be an integral part of Indias urban strategy.
As part of the AMRUT mission, urban planning reforms will include the preparation of a city development plan using GIS, simplification of building bye
laws, establishment of urban development authorities, increase in green spaces, design of public transport and non-motorised transport (walking and cycling) and developing at least one childrens park
every year in AMRUT cities. Typical features of urban
planning will include promoting mixed land use via
an area-based approach, inclusive housing and walkable localities, developing open spaces, promoting
transit-oriented development, providing citizenfriendly governance and giving an identity to the city.
All HRIDAY mission cities will be required to prepare
a Heritage Management Plan.
The states/cities under the Housing for All Mission
have to agree to implement the following reforms:
simplify procedures and obviate the need for separate
non-agriculture permission in areas earmarked for
residential purposes in Master Plans; earmark areas
for affordable housing in Master Plans; ensure single-

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window and time-bound layout building permissions,

introduce a system of deemed building and layout
permissions for pre-approved layouts and building
plans for low income housing; amend rental laws and
provide additional Floor Space Index (FSI), transferable development rights and relaxed density norms
for slum redevelopment schemes.
The principal flaw of the master planning approach
in India is that it has not allowed for the play of market forces in determining the scale and location of
economic activity to build these elements through
flexibility in approach. In the recent past, a few cities
have attempted market-oriented innovations in their
urban planning approach. Similar attempts have
been made in Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
The Smart Cities Mission will be implemented
through an area-based approach. Under retrofitting,
deficiencies in an identified area will be addressed
through necessary interventions as in the case of the
Local Area Plan for Ahmedabads city center. Redevelopment enables reconstruction of already built-up
area that is not amenable for any interventions, to
make it smart, as in the case of Bhendi Bazar of Mumbai and West Kidwai
Nagar in New Delhi.
Area-based projects
should be part of an
overall city plan that
has land use linked to
public transport,
higher and variable,
marketable FSI, reserved land for affordable housing and
mixed land use.
Information and
communications technology (ICT) is changing urban
business, work, leisure and other activities. With
widespread usage of mobile technology and easy-tounderstand text messages, some urban local bodies
such as the Rajkot Municipal Corporation are successfully using mobile phone technology to improve
service delivery. Urban life is witnessing the use of
data in personal identification, pollution monitoring
and control, maps and transportation. Traditional urban planning is being replaced by new media and
communication. All these diverse developments in
ICT will have an impact on urban planning.
Many Indian cities have some of the worlds worst
air pollution readings, causing many health hazards
to the urban population. Public health should be an

1.2

Estimation of funds
(in $ tn) needed for
urban rejuvenation
in India over the next
20 years approx.
Rs 36,000cr per
year, according to the
London School of
Economics

important criterion for urban planning in India and

health must become an important criterion in land
use planning decisions.
Giving an identity to the city is an important feature of the Smart Cities Mission. It should be based on
the primary economic activity, such as local cuisine,
health, education, arts and crafts, culture, sports
goods, hosiery, dairy, to name a few. Planning in Cyberabad (near Hyderabad) or Gurgaon or Noida that
house IT-based firms, generally, ignore the social and
cultural structure of the population. The human dimension of cities in
terms of culture and
heritage is important.
In the proposed approach, land use
should be integrated
with public transport.
There should be
higher, variable and
marketable FSI. Moreover, land should be
reserved for affordable
housing and provide
for mixed land use. Area based re-densification, redevelopment and green projects should not constitute an isolated projects-based approach but be part
of city-level plans. Public health should be an important consideration of the urban planning approach.
Impact of ICT on urban development also needs to be
extensively researched. The human dimension, linked
with culture and heritage is more important than
built environment. As a follow up, there should be an
operational manual that acts as a useful document for
implementing urban planning in India. <

The main flaw of Indian master

planning approach is it hasnt
allowed for the play of market
forces in determining scale and
location of economic activity

The author is Director, School of Planning and

Architecture, New Delhi.
Views expressed are personal.

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