History of Cities and Contemporary Debates

– Assignment 1

A SWOT analysis and understanding the issues of

Colombo city and decisions to solve them as the
city Mayor and as the medieval Monarch

Submitted By: - Kumar Saket

PG180469
2nd Semester
Maters in Urban Planning
A case study of Colombo city

Cities are nation’s lab for innovation, economic activities and social interaction. Cities are our collective
community and lifeblood of our democracy (Brooks Rainwater 2015). Colombo is one of such cities which truly
depicts the above picture of the city. Colombo is the commercial capital of island country Srilanka. It has city-
dwelling history since the era of King Ravana. Srilanka has a recorded history of 2500 years but Colombo’s
recorded history is from the 16th century during the Portuguese era. Throughout these all years, Colombo has
transformed into an important world class democratic and commercial city.

In this study, the SWOT analysis of Colombo is done. After analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats in the present condition of the city, the major issues related to the city are understood. This
understanding is done through the lenses of two different identities of the city. Firstly, as the city mayor and
secondly, as a medieval monarch of the city. These issues has then to be resolved through decision-making being
on the two positions separately.

SWOT analysis:-
1. Strengths:-
 Sheer peaceful environment with guaranteed security as there is no threats of terrorism
 Strategic geographic location in terms of international shipping route
 Strong regional linkages both external & internal
 100% coverage of reliable electricity
 Substantial coverage of land & mobile telecommunication
 Substantial coverage of high speed broadband connectivity
 Major economic driver of the country
 Availability of developable lands
 Colombo is a major port with an immense capacity to handle port-bounded logistics related activities
 Location of main business centres, banks and financial hub of the country
 Location of an international and domestic airports with expansion potentials
 Relatively high per capita income
 Educated labour force and talented youth
 Archaeological and cultural landscape / large number of archaeological sites to be preserved and
potential to make tourist attraction
 Location of world renowned universities & schools
 Location of world class hospitals and health institutions
 Social infrastructure is fairly well distributed according to the population distribution
 Efficient Health care network
 Educated youths and high percentage of literacy rate
 Social harmony and integration potentialities with less discrimination
 Rich natural resources of the province with large potentials for tourism attraction
 Relatively flat terrain
 Availability of fertile and cultivable landmasses
 High Density built-up area
 Five important rivers and valuable water bodies flowing through the region
 Conducive climatic conditions
 Rich Biodiversity area and connection to Sinharaja tropical rain forest( world man and biosphere site)
 Availability of extensive bio diversity and natural resources
 Location of designated ecosystems and sanctuaries
 Diversified agriculture (plantation, spices, vegetables, export crops etc.)
2. Weaknesses:-
 Lack of an appropriate land policy
 Ad-hoc land development
 Mono centric urban spatial structure
 Use airports for military purposes
 High electricity tariff in Asia
 Underutilized bandwidth of data connection
 Poor public transport system
 Increase of private vehicles on roads
 Low attention on tourism and fishing sectors
 Tourism and infrastructure development assessment not compatible
 Siting of industries in ad-hoc manner
 Rigid policies and rules
 Lack of skilled labourers/ skilled labour migration/ brain drain
 Underutilized economic infrastructure (port and airport)
 High land prices due to government institutions interventions
 Inadequate of water for development
 Abstraction of ground water
 Low-lying areas under seasonal flooding
 Lack of proper drainage system and flooding in the metro cities
 Land fragmentation
 Encroachments of the environmentally sensitive areas
 Political interference on encroachments
 Existence of polluting industries
 Polluted rivers and water bodies
 Traffic congestion during peak hours and increase in air pollution

3. Opportunities:-
 Creation of polycentric urban structure
 IT/BPO software product engineering and financial services outsourcing
 Colombo as Shipping & Naval Hub
 Construction of a city around the Airport (Airport City)
 Non-polluting value added industrial development
 Encourage migration of population into the fringes through creating job opportunities
 Export agriculture and horticulture produces
 Development of compact city development
 Development of cruise tourism, eco-tourism, cultural and leisure tourism
 Potential for export market oriented industries and value added process
 International shopping malls

4. Threats:-
 Construction of ports in neighbouring countries particularly India
 Competition with neighbouring countries in terms of businesses and finance
 No continuation of national policies
 No legally established system for national level policy preparation and institutionalization/ national
think tank system
 Poor Law enforcement
 Local professional are not appraised in development efforts
 Professionals tempted to migrate out of country
 Deliberate drive for social unrest
 Spontaneous high dense development without proper supporting infrastructure
 Lack of user-convenience within the city due to prevailing environment problems, safety issues due to
increasing crimes and road accidents and deficiencies in public facilities
 Unskilled youths
 Politically motivated development efforts
 Land speculation
As the city Mayor:-

Mayors are the leaders of the cities. They are working from the bottom-up not the top-down to make cities
better place to live. These leaders of democratic cities take the citizens of the city together to make an
opportunity-filled, socially cohesive and safe city for all, now and in the future. At the same everything is not
perfect. There are enormous challenges which cities bring together with their development. Mayors are
focussed on solving these issues through a solution based approach that supports the city and country at large
to move forward.
Major issues and decision making to resolve them:-
 Economic development – It continues to be the most important issue. Expanding economic
opportunities with labour development and income inequalities needs greater attention. The increase
in minimum wages is necessary to reduce income inequality and combat poverty. It is also important
to have income generating programs and training programs, especially for women, with an emphasis
on empowering them in practically every possible aspect. A lot of women in Colombo City find it hard
to make ends meet; we want to give them solid income generating programs.
 Physical Infrastructure – Robust road network and public transport as well as sewerage and water
systems are at the centre of well-being of the city. The need of the day is to establish permanent and
sustainable solutions that can address the garbage issue such as permanent dumping sites and
implementing projects for instance waste to energy, hazardous waste, recycling and addressing clinical
waste issues, etc. Citizen should be made aware of garbage segregation and responsible partners with
the CMC to keep the city clean.
 Health and Education – Healthy cities and quality education are the foundation of successful cities. City
hospitals to medical institutions are where people receive medical care. Concerns about universities,
school funding, and infrastructure are raised–with overall education quality the primary goal. I will place
heavy emphasis on medical facilities such as clinics, especially for the underserved settlements. Day-
cares, early childhood education and pre-schools will be top priority. Education is compulsory from
Grade 1-13, and we will support this system.
 Public Safety - Level of crime in Colombo is at moderate level as per Numbeo indicators. But it is
increasing for last three years. This downgrades city image as an international city. It also threatens the
safety of city users, residents, tourists and commuters. The public safety is always at the paramount.
Police patrolling especially at night should be increased and people should be more aware as police
alone cannot make our community safer.
 Budget – Cities are mostly dependent on higher level of government for budgetary provisions. But
Colombo being commercial capital is less dependent on grants. Broader economic growth has
translated into stronger tax base enabling government services and operations. We are looking at and
working on many projects, especially Public-Private Partnerships and World Bank and Asian
Development Bank funded projects.
 Housing – With the growing population, lower income group people tends to live in underserved
settlements. So, the affordable housing for them with proper resettlement is in priority. We can
immediately work on since the Colombo has quite a lot of underserved settlements which also need
proper housing facilities. We will be looking at new council homes for these people who are living in
harsh conditions. We can, together with the Housing Ministry and the Megapolis Ministry, carry out
joint projects to achieve this.
 Environment/Energy – Pollution and climate change are at pace which continuously pushing to take
actions. Cities are at the nexus of sustainable initiatives with issues of energy efficiency and clean
environment. So, protecting green cover and innovations in clean energy should be promoted. The
canal system of Colombo should be rejuvenated to mitigate environmental issues and flooding.
 Demographics – Colombo being a major hub of job opportunities so migration is a burning issue here.
So, we have to work to develop more inclusive communities. Investments in human capital are also
required to value to human resource.
 Governance – Corruption is the most important issue in city governance. Transparency and
accountability should be increased for good governance. Law enforcement has to be strengthened with
establishment of clear roles and responsibilities. Stakeholders’ empowerment and engagement at all
levels.
As medieval Monarch of the city:-
Monarchs of the medieval period had to face various challenges and issues during their reign. The monarch faces
issues more of security and safety of his kingdom. Also, other challenges are related to economic problems,
relation with religious heads and merchants, and hierarchy issues.
Major issues and decision making to resolve them:-
 Security - There is always a constant threat of outbreaks of war for some external king or due to some
internal factors like succession. The main threat comes from the sea as Colombo has a large sea
boundary. So, the strengthening of the sea front is of utmost importance. I have to maintain a huge
naval force and build sea security infrastructure.
 Economic - Colombo being a port city has a robust trade sea route which is well connected with other
parts of the world. So, the economic power is mainly derived from the trade and commerce. The
merchants and traders’ guild has a strong influence on the monarch. The monarch in turn has to balance
his relation with them and maintain a good relation with them to avoid any economic crisis. Hence, the
main issue is to maintain this relationship and keep them in confidence in my rule. I can make rules to
benefit the guild so that they can prosper under me and in turn support me in hard times.
 Constant Battle – There is always fight to expand the kingdom and gain more lands. These wars put
unwanted pressure on the exchequer and treasury of the kingdom. They create a time of distress and
exploitation of common people. So, in order to avoid these battles a healthy relation with the
neighbouring kingdoms to be maintained.
 Religion – The monarch is not an elected head and succeed to the throne based on succession. He has
to face constant opposition from the different religious bodies like Church in medieval Europe. So,
finding a balance between religion and state is a major issue. These religious outfits has to be respected
and a monarch has to be follow an unorthodox approach to deal with them.
 Hierarchy – In a monarchy, keeping a defined levels of hierarchy among the nobles and peasants is a
major issue. There are chances of internal revolts against the king. There is constant fear of usurpation.
So, the nobles and peasants should be treated in different ways to keep them content with the
monarchy. The privileges provided to the nobles should be put to regular checks and balances to avoid
abuse of these privileges. Also the peasants should be treated with respect as they are the producers
of food and contribute to the land taxes.

References:-

http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/55705

http://www.slembassykorea.com/eng/download/Megapolis%20Master%20Plan.pdf

http://www.uda.gov.lk/attachments/devplan_detailed/for_public_comments/Colombo_Development%20Plan
%20_vol.01.pdf

https://www.fastcompany.com/3049172/10-mayors-on-the-issues-facing-cities

https://sites.google.com/site/meredithaprilrizzo/cultural-history-journal/medievalkingsobstacles