SOC 2301 Notes UNIT 3

Urbanization: A Concept

In the year 1950, only about 30% of the world population lived in urban areas, which were
increased to above 50% in 2012. It was estimated that by the year 2030 more than 70% of
world people will be lived in urban areas. The term ‘urbanization’ means the increasing share
of a nation’s population living in urban areas [and thus a declining share living in rural areas].
A nation’s urban population can grow from natural increase [births minus deaths], net rural to
urban migration and reclassification [as what was previously a rural settlement becomes
classified as urban or as an urban settlement’s boundaries are expanded, bringing into its
population people who were previously classified as rural]( Satterthwaite; Gordon, and
Tacoli., 2010). According to the Census definition of India, an urban area consists of (Census
of India, 2011):

1) All Statutory Towns: All places with a Municipality, Corporation, Cantonment Board or
Notified Town Area Committee, etc. so declared by State law; and

2) Census Towns: which places and satisfy following criteria:-

- a minimum population of 5000 ;

- at least 75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and

- a density of population of at least 400 persons per sq km.

Furthermore, Population Census in India classifies urban settlement into six size classes as
per the limits indicated below ( Kundu, 2001 ):

Population Size Category

- 100,000 and more Class I

- 50,000 to 100,000 Class II
- 20,000 to 50,000 Class III
- 10,000 to 20,000 Class IV
- 5,000 to 10,000 Class V
- Less than 5,000 Class VI

Urbanization in India
The growth of urbanization in India is basically through two ways, one is through increase in
the urban population, which will be natural and the second one is through migration, which is
result of people migrating from rural to urban areas and also from small towns/cities to big
metros. However, in the 1990s, i.e. when the Indian government opened up their economy,
there seen a rise in rapid economic growth of the country. But this economic growth was
more of urban growth, which led to rapid migration of rural population to urban areas. In the
year 1951, only five cities are having population of more than one million, which increase to
53 cities in 2011 and it was estimated that by 2031, it will be 70 cities in the country with
million populations. Similarly, three cities are having more than 10 million populations in the
year 2011, and it was estimated that six cities will be having 10 million populations by 2031.

Thus, it was estimated that the total urban population by the year 2030 will be 610 million,
which will account for the 40% of the total population of the country (Mohan, 2012). The
many cities in our country, are becoming extremely crowded and if we see the 20 most
densely populated cities in the world, out of which five will be from India including, Kolkata
and Mumbai (Confederation of Indian Industry, 2010).

Issues and Challenges in Urbanization

As our country moves along on the path of urbanization, we will find new problems and
challenges emerging out of it, some of which are already felt. While urbanization process
resulted into economic growth in our society, but equally it is true that, there exist number of
problems associated with the urbanization. Some of them are discussed below: The
urbanization is also one of the reasons, for the global warming throughout the world and led
to climate change even in India, we already seeing the impact of climate change on monsoon
pattern and in near future, we will see more in other areas.

The climate change is primarily caused by the building up of greenhouse gases e.g. carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and others in the atmosphere, which led to the rise in the
temperature of the earth. The climate change is basically the result of human induced
activities such as agricultural systems, industrial activities, fossil fuel consumption, land use
pattern and many more (Sadashivam, 2010 ). Rather than, those occurring naturally in bio-
physical environments. Although, agriculture is also the villain for contributing the above
cause, but more importantly it was because of increase in the growth of vehicles in the cities
and towns, more use of fossil fuels and construction activity by clearing the green and vacant
lands for constructing buildings, roads, highways, malls etc. According to Medha Patkar a
well known social activist in India, in last 10 years more than 18 lakh hectares of agricultural
land directed to non-agricultural purpose (Patkar, 2012, August 23). The climate change will
have sufficient impact on agriculture, as already more than 55% of the country’s consumers
draw their livelihood directly from agriculture as cultivators and agricultural labourers.
Moreover, rural non-farm workers, such as rural artisans and rural service providers also
depend on the growth of farmers incomes(Singh, 2010 ). Because of climate change, there
has been a lot of desperate migration of those poor villagers to the towns and cities in search
of ways to make a living; and this will increase when the land is no longer productive or
severe drought, flood and other extreme weather conditions make it impossible to earn a
living by farming. This will have political implications too, as these climate change migrants
will put pressure on an already existing lack of infrastructure and basic amenities in urban
areas (Sadashivam, 2010a). This will also affect the food production in the country, if we see,
large number of rural people are depend upon for their living on agriculture profession and
migrating to the cities will automatically affect the food security in India.

As the population is increasing, we will see this problem more,already food inflation in our
country is increasing, and affects the lives of both rural and urban people. But, more on the
former category and even in urban areas, it will be more on the poor urban people.
Furthermore, it will be increase more, as the contribution of agriculture and its allied
activities towards the GDP in recent times is going down. Also, with the increase in urban
population, more and more agricultural land or areas need to be converted for constructing
houses, bridges, highways for urban use, which will affect agriculture production in near
future.

Over the next few decades, the population growth in urban areas will increase, because of
rural-urban migration and also, because of natural population growth in urban areas. But,the
one issue, which too becomes more pertinent is urban poverty and even in present time, it is
an important issue in urban development and governance. The urban poor occupy the lowest
rungs of the social hierarchy and deprive of basic services and amenities. They occupy the
marginal positions in the socio-cultural system of the communities (Singh, 2004). The
Government of India since, the Fifth Five Year Plan [1974- 1979] has emphasized on
removal of urban poverty and initiated various policies and programmes in this direction
( Ibid.). The most important one being SJSRY [Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana]
which was designed to provide gainful employment to the urban poor, by encouraging setting
up of self-employment ventures and provision of wage employment opportunities for families
below poverty line in urban areas (Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation,
Government of India, 2007). But, still the urban poverty remains the major problem for the
government to solve. One factor comes, in the way of urban poverty eradication was being
migration in large number of people from rural to urban areas, which results in poor living in
urban areas are more than rural areas. These people are usually stays in slums and sometimes
in road side, with temporary tent or even did not get any shelter also [especially in all big
metros], which can be seen visibly in day light and more so at night, when you take round of
the city. The policies and programmes implemented by the governments, for decrease of
urban poverty were some extent ineffective, because of lack of supervision, monitoring and
coordination on the part of the agencies of the governments. The late Prime Minister of India
Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had once said, that out of 100 paisa* only 15 paisa reaches the intended
beneficiary of various development programmes in the rural areas. This saying is also true for
the urban intended beneficiary for any development programmes.

The all India HCR [Head Count Ratio] for below poverty line has declined by 7.3% from
37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10. The rural poverty has declined from 41.8% in 2004-
05 to 33.8% in 2009-10, which was a decline of 8% during above period. In the above
mentioned same period, the urban poverty has declined from 25.7% to 20.9%, which was
decline of 4.8%. If we compare data of both rural and urban areas, it clearly shows that urban
areas are lagging, behind in the reduction of poverty rate, even though during the above
mentioned period was the most successful period for the Indian economy, which saw huge
economic growth. But this doesn’t truly translate in reduction of poverty in urban areas,
especially to the urban poor. Also, the poverty ratio among the different social groups in
urban areas is high for SC [Scheduled Caste] 34.1% and ST [Scheduled Tribe] 30.4%;
whereas for OBC [Other Backward Classes] 24.3% and for all other classes it was low as
20.9% (Press Information Bureau, 2012, March 19). It is interesting fact, which clearly
reflects with majority of population, who stays in slums and unauthorized places are SC
people and they are mostly poor.

Among religious groups in urban areas, the Muslims have highest poverty ratio 33.9%; and
the lowest religious group is Christians having 12.9% poor. In the category of poverty ratio
among different occupational categories in urban areas, it was more in case of casual
labourers which was 47.1%. Even in States like West Bengal and Punjab, which are the
prosper States in India, they have poverty ratio of 53.7% and 56.3% respectively among
casual labourers in urban areas, which was more than the national average for urban areas
( Ibid.). Also, according to the provisional results of the 68th NSSO [National Sample Survey
Organization] which was conducted in 2009-10, has come out with some important findings.
Firstly, in the category of monthly expenditure of the poorest 10 per cent of urban population
has risen by 17.2%, while that of the richest 10 per cent is up by 30.5%. In the second
category in urban India, the poorest 10 per cent spend rupees 23.4 per day on an average,
while in contrast the richest 10 per cent spend rupees 255.1per day (Sethi, 2012, August 2).
C) Rampant growing number of urban slums in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai and
Calcutta were because of poverty, many poor urban people can’t afford even a rented house,
just forget about buying a house in cities and towns. They have no choice but to live in slums,
which are developed on most unhealthy and polluted land sites, where even the basic
facilities of water,electricity, sanitation etc were absent or in some cases are not sufficient.
According to the 2001 census of India, the slum population was 42.6 million, which forms
15% of the country total urban population and 23% of population of cities and towns
reporting slums. The census also reports that 41.6% of the total slum population resides in
cities, which have over one million populations (Planning Commission, Government of India,
2011).

The projected slum population from the period 2011 to 2017 was highest for the State of
Maharashtra, which will going to increase from 18 million to 20 million; the next was the
State of Uttar Pradesh with increase from 10 million to 12 million; and whereas for the States
like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, it increased from eight million to nine million. Many of
people living in slums areas depend upon the community type toilet, and in some cases,
especially in small and medium towns people use open defection, which is less hygiene and
more prone to various diseases.

It is a great disrespect to female, who are most affected because of open defection. But, one
thing has to be noted that all poor people didn’t live in slums. According to UN-Habitat, a
slum household is a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area, who
lack one or more of the following: durable housing, sufficient living area, access to improved
water, access to sanitation and secure tenure (Arabi, 2009 ). One main problem associated
with the slums in many metros and cities are that, the governments don’t have reliable and
correct data, about how many populations are living in slums. Also, government authority
didn’t include and count those poo rurban people, who don’t reside in slums, which is a
mistake on the part of the governments and it abstain from its duty to provide the basic
services to these non- slums people, who are poor and needed some help.
For example in Delhi, according to the 2001 census an urban slum population was 1.85
million, which constitute 18.7% of Delhi’s urban population. But, if full data has taken of
unauthorized settlements, including jhuggi jhopdi clusters [Squatter settlements], slum-
designated areas [slums recognized by the government, many of which are in the walled city],
unauthorized colonies and jhuggi jhopdi resettlement colonies [Squatter resettlement
colonies], these are estimated to have a population of 9.84 million in 2011. Thus, represent
morethan half of Delhi’s total population, which is estimated to be 19 million in 2011.
Further, more than 100, 000 people are residing on under bridges, pavements and by the road
side and basically many of them are rickshaw pullers and casual workers (Agarwal, 2011).
Even, the evacuation and rehabilitation of the people living in slums areas to other areas are
complex issue.

Because of two reasons, one is political vested interest of the politicians, who use these slum
areas as their vote bank constituency, since majority of elite and middle class people don’t go
for vote during elections. Thus, these slum votes become more important for winning an
election. Second reason is even when the people are rehabilitated from the government’s side,
but slums residents don’t want to go to rehabilitation site because, their newly houses are far
away from the main city, and lacking basic facilities related to water, electricity and
transportation.

There exist many sociological implications of the concept of urbanization and the some
important one being, first because of urbanization lot of construction activity taking place in
the metropolitan cities like Delhi, Chennai etc. Furthermore, there is an increase in number of
vehicles, where one family have more than one vehicle which resulted into lack of parking
spaces and traffic jams especially in Delhi roads, which in recent time has led to lot of
quarrels and heated debate between the people and in some cases it led to minor injury and
even deaths also. The second social implication is increasing number of street children, who
either stays with their parents or lives alone in streets. There exist a number of novel
provisions in our constitution, for the child protection and development, but all these are good
in papers only not in practical life. The street children are involved in rag picking, begging,
selling small items [toys, balloons etc], shoe polishing, loading and unloading etc. The child
labor became a more prominent in big cities and towns including the capital of India. The
children are employed, because they are cheaply available and work longhours without any
complaints (Staff Reporter, 2012, August 6).The street children are the most abused and
exploitated group, other than exposed to hazardous work; they also face the problem of child
trafficking, pornography, prostitution, begging; and as a result, living a vulnerable life in
cities andtowns. In the State of Delhi, the street children who are below 18 years and
constitute 1% of total children population, which is quite large in number. Thus, the crime
rate* against childrenwas the highest at 166.9% in Delhi as per the NCRB [NationalCrime
Records Bureau] 2014, among the various States in India. The children also fall prey to
substance abuse, and they never able to get timely or adequate medical assistance (Shajan
Binda Perappadan, 2012, August 6). The street children don’t have access to education,
health and other facilities, as a result, some children automatically involved in some kind of
petty crime during childhood and when they became adult, their nature of crime will become
serious one. The third social implication can’t be ignored especially, the issue of suicide
which is especially rising every year in cities and towns. According to the NCRB in the year
2014, more than 1, 31,666 suicides has taken place in India, out of which more than half of
them in urban areas. The suicide rate* in cities was higher (12.2%) as compared to all-India
suicide rate which was (10.6%). In the year 2004, the number of suicide cases was 1,13,697.
Thus, during one decade from 2004-2014, there has been seen an increase of 15.8% in suicide
cases. The percentage share of suicides among the top States in India was 12.4% for
Maharashtra; Tamil Nadu accounts for 12.2 %; West Bengal 10.9%; and Karnataka 8.3%%
respectively. Interestingly, these are the States which comes in the top ten urbanized States in
India. Thus, the four metropolitan cities starting with Chennai (2214); Bengaluru (1906);
Delhi (1847); and Mumbai (1196) have reported highest number of suicides(National Crime
Records Bureau, 2015). The increase in suicide cases was seen from the period 1990s, when
in India Liberalization policies were started. Although, slowly economic growth of the
country increased, this has impacted the lives of the people in positive manner. However, this
also resulted into increased in stress and anxiety levels of the people, because of disparity in
incomes; the race to reach the top of the professional ladder and excess competition, which
leads to increase in suicide of the people in number of cases. Thus, the post-liberalization
atmosphere which is also a one of the reason for the increase in urbanization has led to severe
aspirational backlash, causing thousand of Indians, from students to techies and corporate
honchos to housewives, to kill themselves (Punj, 2012, August 5).

Managing India’s urban transition in 2021

Seven of every 10 Indians live in settlements designated as ‘rural.’ However, a

growing number of these settlements are exhibiting characteristics that are no longer
considered ‘rural,’ but are emerging as ‘urban.’ For instance, urbanisable areas in
various large cities are being extended by town planning departments and
development authorities to accommodate the influx of additional populations. The
spatial expansion and penetration of urban development in rural hinterlands is leading
to reduced farm lands and changing occupational patterns of villagers, seen in a shift
to non-agricultural work. Furthermore, with increasing population densities and
changing employment patterns, many rural settlements situated near cities are meeting
the ‘urban area’ criteria adopted by India’s census office, and are therefore being
classified as ‘urban.’ Another phenomenon adding to India’s urbanisation process is
the saturation of large cities, and accumulation of population and economic activities
in Tier II cities, which are becoming the new growth centres.

Population census data revealed a notable demographic tilt in favour of urban, for the
first time, in 2011. During the decade 2001-11, the growth of India’s urban population
was slightly higher than that of the rural. The National Commission on Population
(NCP ) in India predicts that in the next 15 years (i.e., by 2036), about 38.6 percent of
Indians (600 million) will live in urban areas. The UN , too, highlights that India’s
urban population size will nearly double between 2018 and 2050, from 461 to 877
million. Thus, prevailing trends and future projections indicate that India is steadily
moving along the path of urbanisation. At present, the share of India’s urban
population in total population is much less than that in other nations like Japan,
Brazil, the US, Russia, Indonesia, and China. The story is different, however, in
absolute numbers: only China has an absolute urban population larger than India. A
large population implies high demand for goods and services, and requirement of
efficient systems for urban planning, management and governance.
The spatial expansion and penetration of urban development in rural hinterlands is
leading to reduced farm lands and changing occupational patterns of villagers, seen in
a shift to non-agricultural work.
Globally, there is consensus over the promotion of urbanisation. Most national
governments, including India, consider urbanisation as an important component of
their development agenda . This is in recognition of the undeniable benefits that
urbanisation can bring to nations and societies. When people with different skills,
ideologies, social and cultural backgrounds get together and engage in productive
activities and dialogues, a creative environment is formed, and the outputs can be
extraordinarily helpful. Such a vibrant environment, which, in theory at least, offers
immense possibilities as well as opportunities to all — is witnessed in many of the
world’s cities today. Communities, regardless of their educational attainments, skills,
or income levels, are benefiting in a variety of ways. Indeed, urbanisation has
significantly aided national growth and pulled vast sections of societies from extreme
poverty.
These facts, in support of urbanisation, in no way imply that nations should be one
hundred-percent urbanised. There are large populations of people who prefer to stay
away from the kind of life offered by cities. Furthermore, there is increasing
realisation amongst urban policymakers, planners and development agencies, about
preservation as well as promotion of culture and traditional practices in rural areas
situated within urban jurisdictions. In India, there is evidence of supportive actions
taken by the administration in this regard.
When people with different skills, ideologies, social and cultural backgrounds get
together and engage in productive activities and dialogues, a creative environment is
formed, and the outputs can be extraordinarily helpful.
To be sure, there is an unwanted concomitant to urbanisation: when the government
fails to properly exploit the opportunities or manage the phenomenon, it is not only
that the full advantages are not derived — there are losses and wastages. Thus, while
people may be engaged in various income-generating activities, or pursuing creative
and recreational interests, they would still be leading a poor quality of life. For this
reason, tremendous work is underway across the world on managing the dynamic
conditions prevailing in cities, and addressing various challenging aspects of urban
life. This is not an easy task for nations, whether developed or developing, and some
are performing better than others. In more developed economies, racial and other
social problems are prevalent in urban agglomerations, as are high consumption
patterns and huge wastages. In the less developed parts of the world, poverty and
people’s access to basic needs are the most crucial issues.
Examples from different parts of the world help build further understanding of the
impacts of city-level initiatives. Berlin and Singapore offer efficient multi-modal
public transportation systems to connect various parts of the city. In the Chinese cities
of Beijing , Haikou , and Shanghai , and in Oslo and London , the rich cultures and
traditions are well-maintained. In Europe , countries are learning from previous
mistakes and reducing the number of motorised vehicles that ply their urban
roads. Durban roads display minimal congestion; people prefer to walk to
neighbouring areas. The city government of Moscow uses digital technologies for
efficient functioning of transport and health sectors. Abu Dhabi displays excellence in
urban planning and development. And Japanese cities are trying to cut down on
greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution.
While people may be engaged in various income-generating activities, or pursuing
creative and recreational interests, they would still be leading a poor quality of life.
Indian cities, too, are grappling with the challenges of urbanisation. While the
numerous policies, programmes, and reform measures are helping address various
dimensions, many problems remain. As the country enters the year 2021, there is
immense work at hand.

Foremost is for state governments to recognise that urbanisation is occurring in their

jurisdictions. As rural settlements are transforming, they begin to display
characteristics similar to those witnessed in urban areas. Ideally, such settlements
should be granted an urban status, and thereby be governed by municipal governments
that are better equipped to deal with urbanisation-related problems. However, state
governments are known to be reluctant in converting such villages to towns, as
application of urban regulations in their village — including building by-laws and
development controls, as well as taxation — will not go well with village communities
and cost them political popularity. This mindset has led to the underestimation of
urbanisation in India, as well as uncontrolled and haphazard growth of built structures,
shrinking open spaces, indiscriminate land use conversion, and deteriorating quality of
life in census towns and rural settlements near cities.
In most cities and smaller urban centres, the old areas are in dire need of attention.
An equally important requirement is to improve the conditions in old areas of urban
settlements, as well as in peri-urban areas, small and medium towns. In most cities and
smaller urban centres, the old areas are in dire need of attention. While these centres
have a vibrant economy, the built structures, infrastructure and services — roads,
street lights, footpaths, open spaces, drainage, sewerage and sanitary systems — are in
an abysmal state. During the monsoon season, for example, there are frequent
incidents of buildings that collapse due to their dilapidated condition —
unacknowledged and unaddressed for long. While the inhabitants find little choice but
to adjust to these sub-human conditions, the civic administration must initiate required
reform measures and engage with communities to improve the deplorable conditions.

A third concern pertains to the capabilities of civic agencies in the areas of

management, financing, and master plan formulation and implementation. The latter,
in particular, is key. After all, their performance in the preparation of master plans and
in discharge of duties, or the quality of governance, determines the state of affairs in
urban centres. Inadequate performance has resulted in the emergence of numerous
problems. While the agencies are interested in performing better, they are unable to do
so due to their weak managerial and financial condition, and the inadequate support
received from higher levels of government. In the case of many urban centres, it is
noted that master plans (or development plans) have not been prepared, and there is a
huge shortage of trained urban planners and development experts. The previous reform
measures for empowerment of municipalities through Constitution (Seventy-fourth)
Amendment Act, 1992, and training of municipal functionaries, have had a limited
impact.

The prevailing conditions call for applying a new set of urban reform strategies that
can help build resilience.
In 2020, the most crucial problems witnessed in India’s urban sector were the growing
informality — in the form of slums and unorganised economic activities — along with
violations of development norms, deterioration of air and water quality, depletion of
natural resources, traffic and transportation inadequacies, mismanagement of solid and
liquid waste, erratic electricity supply, waterlogging, loss of heritage and culture, lack
of rural-urban integration, growing intolerance, and violence and crime. The outbreak
of the COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified these challenges; the prevailing
conditions call for applying a new set of urban reform strategies that can help build
resilience.

In 2021, India’s imperatives include uplifting the lives of marginalised populations,

creating mechanisms for people’s participation in civic affairs, and controlling
population growth. The ongoing national and state-level initiatives, including Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) , Housing for
All , Smart Cities , Swachh Bharat and Rurban Missions , offer an opportunity to better
manage India’s urban transition. The governments at the national, state, and local
levels must make greater efforts to ensure that the benefits of urbanisation reach all
sections of society.

Are megacities the best option for the future?

As we usher in 2021, all indicators suggest that several Asian cities will sprint
towards becoming megacities — cities with populations of ten million or more. In
India, Bengaluru will undoubtedly be declared a megacity by the next Census, joining
the ranks of Mumbai and Delhi. Many other Indian cities are threatening to walk the
same path. This is not ideal. As seen in the fight against COVID-19, India faced the
most daunting challenge in its megacities. Mumbai and Delhi were mauled by the
pandemic and have been reminded that the virus has the ability to re-appear and cause
extensive damage. Megacities provide pandemics with a wholesome breeding ground .
This situation and host of other factors raise two important questions — Are
megacities the right model for urban development? Can their positives outweigh their
negatives?
Those that admire the glitz and glamour of megacities will decidedly parade the
positives — such cities to attract women and men of multi-faceted quality, and their
ability to draw international investment and wealth. These factors are undeniable and
are unmatched in scale by smaller cities.

If equity is the key concept in any modern democratic development theory, then
megacities comprehensively fail the test.
Despite these assets, megacities have a darker side that cannot be ignored. If equity is
the key concept in any modern democratic development theory, then megacities
comprehensively fail the test. The ubiquitous slums of megacities that provide shelter
to the poor are inhumanly dense and often do not have basic services, forcing a
substantial number of people to live in subhuman conditions. This is exploitation of an
extreme kind as the megacities accept the labour and services provided by the urban
poor but are unprepared to provide them with decent living conditions.

Megacities develop a huge affordability issue. While Indian cities, in general,

are twice as expensive as villages, megacities are in a league of their own in terms of
costs. The primary factor that contributes to cost is the price of land, which rises as
cities expand in size, density and activities, converting land into a highly scarce
commodity. This phenomenon tends to price out large segments of the population
from housing and small businesses. For the poor and the lower middle class, life in
misery is their fate.
The primary factor that contributes to cost is the price of land, which rises as cities
expand in size, density and activities, converting land into a highly scarce commodity.
Megacities seem unkind to the environment and public open spaces. As pollution from
multiple sources rises, and an increasing amount of construction happens to
accommodate more and more activities, open spaces are devoured, leading to a
deterioration in the quality of life. Additionally, megacities appear to show a
greater propensity to crime . Criminals like the greater access to wealth, greater
anonymity and lower probability of discovery. In the area of health, megacities
promote a fast-paced life, daily travel over long distances and odd hours of work. The
result is a stressful environment and unhealthy food habits. Lifestyle diseases such as
obesity, diabetes and hypertension and psychological disorders find a ready home in
such cities.
In essence, while megacities generate mega economy, they hurtle down the hill on
almost all benchmarks of livability. Evidently, such cities, which are inequitable,
unaffordable, un-environmental and unhealthy, cannot be sustainable. A way must be
found to reverse this trend.

Creating ‘doughnut’ cities for resilience in 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global value chains and led to the contraction
of urban economies. Cities have been hit especially hard due to substantial loss of
jobs and fall in productivity of local enterprises. The pandemic has also laid bare and
exacerbated the current crisis of urban safety, urban employment and urban access to
public infrastructure. One of the biggest global challenges in the forthcoming decade
will be to create resilient cities, balanced with sustainable economic development.
Creating circular or ‘doughnut cities’ could be the answer.
The concept of a doughnut or circular city derives from the principles of a circular
economy being applied to a territorially bound city-region. The model of circular
economies is gaining global recognition as a response to the rising challenges of
urbanisation. A circular city is self-reliant by enabling local waste-to-resource loops,
local food systems and local small-scale manufacturing infrastructure. The goal of a
circular city is to design symbiotic products with the view to optimise the cycle of
dismantling, refurbishing, recycling and reusing. The circular city model aims to not
only reduce the reliance on raw materials but also create a liveable environment with
reduced pollution and waste.

The goal of a circular city is to design symbiotic products with the view to optimise
the cycle of dismantling, refurbishing, recycling and reusing.
A circular economy works on the underlying principle of disassociating economic
growth from consumption. The model is regenerative by design and focuses on
recovering all wastes as resources for new production cycles, thereby forming a ‘close
loop.’ As compared to linear economies, a circular economy intends to reduce costs
and increase the rate of production with the help of disruptive technologies and
productive utilisation of inputs. For fast-moving consumer goods, a circular economy
can lead to a material cost-saving of about US$ 700 billion globally. Moreover, the
remanufacturing sector is also likely to create more labour-intensive employment and
high-skilled job opportunities; it is estimated that the circular economy has the
potential to create about 14 million jobs in India over the next decade.
The city of Amsterdam has adopted a Circular Strategy 2020-2025 based on
economist Kate Raworth’s idea of doughnut economic , with the aim of becoming
completely ‘circular’ by 2050. Amsterdam’s circular city model focusses on three
value chains—food and organic waste, consumer goods, and the built environment.
The city intends to reduce the consumption of primary raw materials by 50 percent. It
aims to break the linear flow of food production by bringing back the organic waste in
the production loop and reducing food waste by 50 percent. Additionally, the city
plans to provide buildings with a ‘materials passport’ to ensure that the construction
material is renewable and valuable.
 The adoption of a circular economy in Indian cities will require an enabling local
policy environment, disruptive technologies and partnerships.
According to a study by FICCI, about US$ 697 billion of India’s GDP can be secured
through the adoption of circular business models by 2030. The adoption of a circular
economy in Indian cities will require an enabling local policy environment, disruptive
technologies and partnerships. Greater awareness of sustainable products, for example,
can help shift consumer preferences, making them more receptive of resource-efficient
options. Enabling a circular economy at the community level will require a favourable
regulatory framework to ensure producers and entrepreneurs comply by rules to make
collection, recycling and reusing feasible. The Construction and Demolition Waste
Management Rules 2016 , for instance, already mandates local bodies to use about 20
percent of construction and demolition waste in municipal contracts. The transition
towards circular urban economies in India needs policy frameworks that allow the
development of skills and the inclusion of informal workers in the formal chain of
remanufacturing. This will not only foster the adoption of indigenous technologies but
also provide livelihood security. Additionally, local governments could introduce
budgetary allocations to finance and incentivise circular economy initiatives.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a crucial opportunity for cities in India to
reset, optimise resource utilisation, create sustainable jobs, reduce planned
obsolescence consumption and build resilience against external shocks. A shift
towards creating doughnut cities will also help achieve the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goal 11 of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient
and sustainable by 2030.

Cities for Women: Taking stock of gender-sensitive urban planning and

design
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several flaws in urban planning that left many
vulnerable to its ill effects. The term urban planning here refers to a wide range of
development measures such as designing inclusive infrastructure as well as collecting
disaggregated data to provide necessary amenities, skills and employment
opportunities. As we move into 2021, gender-sensitive infrastructure planning,
gender-based analysis of spaces and inclusive design must be incorporated into
policymaking through systematic data generation and gender-responsive decision-
making.
Boosting urban female labour force participation

Data shows that although overall COVID-19 cases are higher among men than women,
the number of female healthcare workers affected is far greater . This is unsurprising,
given that there are more women essential workers than men.
In India, most women partake in home-based work, are self-employed, or work in the
informal sector ; among women workers, informal workers account for 54.8 percent of
the workforce . More informal work means being more susceptible to the impacts of
COVID-19 and the rampant unemployment it has left in its wake.
The skewed employment figures reveal that urban bodies responsible for livelihood
missions must prioritise gender-balanced skilling initiatives and job opportunities by
creating a skill gap database through which growing sectors of employment can be
tied with skilling courses, and beneficiaries of the courses can be specifically targeted
to feed these sectors.

Decision-makers must ensure that gender-sensitive planning of physical factors such

as space and lighting, and social factors such as awareness and capacity building are
mandatorily included for access to and eventual work in urban spaces.

These initiatives must go hand in hand with infrastructure and public space design
projects to boost female labour force participation. Studies show that women access
public spaces more when they are in mixed-use areas and where commercial
establishments are open at all times, thus ensuring activity and density throughout.
When attempts are made to resolve the issue of providing adequate infrastructure for
women in public spaces, discussions on having enough women to warrant such
modifications arise. Decision-makers must ensure that gender-sensitive planning of
physical factors such as space and lighting, and social factors such as awareness and
capacity building are mandatorily included for access to and eventual work in urban
spaces. For instance, Mumbai’s civic body has reserved spaces in several wards to
build multipurpose houses for working women in commercial areas and near
educational institutions, which will include childcare facilities and entrepreneurial
training centres. These centres are deliberately created in areas of high visibility, such
as markets and railway stations. However, urban planning should broaden its scope by
ensuring that more places are deemed safe so that women can access more spaces.
These are progressive and required plans which, if executed in entirety, will be an
important framework that can be duplicated.
Urban management bodies must incorporate robust sex-disaggregated data

While gender-sensitive infrastructure and awareness building must be incorporated

regardless of the number of women accessing such spaces, there must be a focused
drive to collate sex-disaggregated data on the number of civic amenities available in
different areas, as well as the effect of the pandemic on job losses and employment
trends in urban areas for appropriate rehabilitation and resilience. This information
will be crucial to deploy timely and essential services to the vulnerable, and to prepare
for unemployment shocks by creating more formal workspaces. Instead of relying on
10-year census data, civic bodies can work with different departments to create real-
time data to serve the citizens better.

Women in leadership

It is essential to have voices that represent the needs of different groups to ensure that
decision-makers include gender-sensitive urban planning in their processes. Gender
audits of all government bodies, including urban local bodies and civic establishments,
must be done to guarantee representation. Gender-responsive decision-making
processes can help ensure that civic amenities are distributed effectively to all
vulnerable groups. Having balanced gender representation amongst heads of
administrative bodies that oversee such ambitious plans as opposed to filling in lower
positions in urban local bodies to fulfil an arbitrary quota is key.

Gender audits of all government bodies, including urban local bodies and civic
establishments, must be done to guarantee representation.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities)

states that cities should be made safe and sustainable by ensuring access to safe and
affordable housing, investing in safe and accessible public transport, and improving
urban planning and management in a participatory and inclusive manner.
To achieve this, city civic bodies, policy experts, urban planners and architects must
map the city’s infrastructure through the gender lens — a city’s zoning, lighting,
rental housing and the like must be made inclusive. This will require frequent
discussions and meetings between several departments, from municipal corporations
to housing, transport and skilling departments, to create cohesive plans. Gender-
sensitive planning may not save cities from the onslaught of future crises but will help
mitigate adverse and unequal impacts and build resilience for its vulnerable
populations.