MODULE 6

Urban renewal – The scope, need and the procedure

Tools available to implement urban design plans and
policies.
Urban renewal

Definitions
▪ A continuous process of remodeling older parts of urban
areas, including their central business areas by means of
rehabilitation and conservation as well as redevelopment.

▪ The displacement of an existing low-income population,

creating space for more profitable office, commercial and
luxury residential development or the provision of transport
facilities.
Importance of Urban Renewal

Urban Renewal is of growing importance because of:

• urban areas are becoming larger and older, so more and

more renewal of urban fabric has to take place.

• constant expansion of urban areas into agricultural

hinterland, while large quantities of urban land and
buildings are abandoned and left dilapidated.
Roots of Urban Renewal

• Term 'Urban Renewal' is American in Origin

• It emerged in the late 1940s (post-war) as an attempt to

revitalize central cities.

▪ Site clearance program remained in practice until 1960s.

• Other emerging approaches came into practice afterwards.

Background

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of

moderate to high density urban land use.
• Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in
developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the
late 1940s – under the rubric of reconstruction.
• The process has had a major impact on many urban
landscapes, and has played an important role in the history and
demographics of cities around the world.

• Urban renewal involves the relocation of businesses,

the demolition of structures, the relocation of people, and the
use of eminent domain (government purchase of property for
public purpose) as a legal instrument to take private property
for city-initiated development projects.
• Many cities link the revitalization of the central business district
and gentrification of residential neighborhoods to earlier urban renewal
programs.
• Over time, urban renewal evolved into a policy based less on destruction
and more on renovation and investment, and today is an integral part of
many local governments, often combined with small and big
business incentives.
Urban renewal

• Urban renewal, comprehensive scheme to redress a complex

of urban problems, including
i. unsanitary, deficient, or obsolete housing;
ii. inadequate transportation, sanitation, and other services
and facilities;
iii. haphazard land use;
iv. traffic congestion;
v. the sociological correlates of urban decay, such as crime.
Urban renewal

Early efforts usually focused on housing reform and sanitary

and public-health measures, followed by growing emphasis on
slum clearance and the relocation of population and industry
from congested areas to less-crowded sites, as in the garden-
city and new-towns movements in Great Britain. Late 20th-
century criticisms of urban sprawl prompted new interest in the
efficiencies of urban centralization.
Basic Concepts

• Urban Renewal programs are generally undertaken by public

authorities or by local governments.

• The emphasis is on those parts which have fallen below

current standards of public acceptability. These are commonly
to be found in
i. the residential parts of the inner city,
ii. in the central business district itself.
Basic Concepts

Indicators for residential parts of inner cities are:

• inadequate housing,
• environmental degradation,
• presence of non-conforming uses.

Indicators for central business district are:

• traffic problems,
• congestion,
• dilapidated buildings.
Policies/ Approaches

Slum Clearance
• Demolition of dilapidated dwellings located in a slum (an
area of sub-standard, overcrowded housing occupied by the
poor immigrants)

Redevelopment
• The demolition of an existing building and its replacement
by a new building

Rehabilitation
• The repair and improvement of existing structurally sound
property
Policies/ Approaches

Housing Improvement
• Improvements of dwellings by provision of essential basic
amenities

Conservation
• To retain intact or unchanged. Also meant as 'Preservation'

Environmental Improvements
• Main emphasis is to improve environmental conditions

Economic Renewal
• Improvement of economic conditions of dwellers
Urban Renewal Projects

Following Projects fall under Urban Renewal:

Redevelopment projects Economic development
strategies
• Housing loans and other financial tools
• Streetscape improvements
• Transportation enhancement
• Historic preservation projects
• Parks and open spaces
WHERE URBAN
RENEWAL IS
REQUIRED?
• Dilapidating, ageing parts of the
city, not providing the city its full
potential and becoming a health
hazard
• In built form it consists of old area
of the city, congested area around
transit points, illegal settlements
needing redevelopment
• In terms of infrastructure -measures
for efficient and smooth movement
of traffic, improvement of
transportation network, provision
/improvement of utilities.
DIMENSIONS OF
URBAN RENEWAL

• Physical renewal leads to improvement

of urban fabric;

• Social renewal leads to improvement of

community and housing;

• Cultural renewal promotes

enhancement of culture and traditions

• Economic renewal leads to new

generation of employment and revenue;

• Environmental renewal leads to

minimizing ecological imbalances in urban
environment
Paradigm Shifts: Concept of Urban Renewal in
Developed and Developing Nations.
Conceptual Framework of Urban Renewal: Indian interpretation
EVOLUTION OF URBAN RENEWAL
EVOLUTION OF URBAN RENEWAL
 URBAN RENEWAL IN INDIAN CONTEXT

Indian experience of urban renewal is fairly recent, though several cities,

particularly metropolises, have been attempting to tackle the problem of
decline and dilapidation through ad-hoc initiatives. In diverse and complex
nature of Indian society, problems are different, contexts differ, needs
change, and therefore, policies and programme to deal with each city and
town would also differ.

For example, urban renewal of

• Jaipur city would be conservation and restoration of its cultural heritage of
being a pink city
• Delhi it would be of effective use of traditional core areas
• Calcutta it would revolve around the phenomenon of basis as providing
ameliorative measures.

Basically it can be at macro level like redevelopment of inner city core or at

micro scale like traffic operation plan, conservation of old buildings and up
gradation of services, depending upon the character or issues of town or a
city
 URBAN RENEWAL IN INDIAN CONTEXT

The concept of renewal was restricted to conservation of

heritage sites in early master plan . no specific efforts
were made for development of heritage zones. Even the
present urban renewal mission is more inclined towards
provision of infrastructure rather than renewal.

The redevelopment is taking place only on the prime

locations of the cities occupied by slums without proper
social and economic interventions resulting into
displacement of slums.
 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission
JNNURM

Project of the Ministry of Urban Development to

• encourage reforms and

• fast track planned development of identified cities.

Focus is to be on
• efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery
mechanisms,
• community participation, and
• accountability of ULBs/ Parastatal agencies towards
citizens.
 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

Mission Statement: The aim is to encourage reforms and fast track

planned development of identified cities. Focus is to be on efficiency
in urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms, community
participation, and accountability of ULBs/ Parastatal agencies
towards citizens.

Objectives of the Mission

(1) The objectives of the JNNURM are to ensure that the following are
achieved in the urban sector;.
(a) Focused attention to integrated development of infrastructure
services in cities covered under the Mission;.
(b) Establishment of linkages between asset-creation and asset-
management through a slew of reforms for long-term project
sustainability;.
(c) Ensuring adequate funds to meet the deficiencies in urban
infrastructural services;.
 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission

(d) Planned development of identified cities including peri-urban areas,

outgrowths and urban corridors leading to dispersed urbanisation;

(e) Scale-up delivery of civic amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis
on universal access to the urban poor;.

(f ) Special focus on urban renewal programme for the old city areas to reduce
congestion; and

(g) Provision of basic services to the urban poor including security of tenure at
affordable prices, improved housing, water supply and sanitation, and ensuring
delivery of other existing universal services of the government for education,
health and social security.