A Ravindra's book delves into India's urbanisation challenges and future

With a few exceptions of large slums in megacities such as Mumbai, the poor continue to live on the city fringe-a colonial legacy that persists to this day

Governing Urban India: Policy and Practice

Author: A Ravindra

Publisher: Concept

Pages: 336

Price: Rs 780

  Urbanisation is the flip side of prosperity. On a 250-year scale, as economies in the West grew their per capita income, their urbanisation rates increased alongside. There is a similar journey of growth taking place in India, where its towns are becoming centres of productivity and Indian metropolitans have expanded into megacities. Examining how our cities expand and observing the trends in urbanisation are ways to learn about India’s prospects for economic growth. A Ravindra’s book, Governing Urban India, is an urban governor’s experience and perspective on doing just that. It can guide the reader to know the character of Indian urbanisation, understand what powers drive it, and where its discontents are.

 

The structural transformation of an economy is the primary method of development. It is only when individuals transition away from working on land to performing activities where they are more productive that the economy grows. These activities with higher productivity have a large spatial linkage. They occur in agglomerates of high density, where factories and trade gather with close linkages. The definition of urban geography is close to this understanding. In the Indian Census, a region is considered urban when it has a minimum population of 5,000, or a population density of 400 persons per square kilometre, or where at least 75 per cent of its male working population is engaged in non-agricultural pursuits. By this definition, 34 per cent of India lives in urban regions. A more universal methodology developed by the World Bank puts the Indian estimate of urbanisation at more than 50 per cent. This fact impacts India’s politics and prospects.

 

The book traces major forces that had an impact on Indian cities. A central one is the colonial linkage. India’s major cities were centres of British trade and institutions. These cities were governed by a ruler-subject relationship, not a principle-agent relationship. The Indian poor were mostly located on the fringe of city borders. This legacy continues throughout India today, where the city is governed by officers of state governments as municipal commissioners and the poor continue to stay on the city fringe, with a few exceptions of large slums in megacities such as Mumbai. Urban planning in India, too, has a colonial linkage. It was introduced in India as a measure to prevent epidemics and improve hygiene in Indian cities. Patrick Geddes, a popular urban planner back then, was a major critic who pointed out the follies of such an approach on people’s lives.

 

Another vital characterisation in the book is to trace the lack of importance given to urban planning under India’s central planning years between 1951 and 1985. These actions have locked India’s urban potential. It sets India on a completely different track of development when compared to the urban phenomena that lifted millions of people out of poverty and transformed economies in the West. Urban planning in India became an interesting means for designing seats of government power through capital cities such as Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar and, more recently, the upcoming Amravati.

 

Another useful idea in the book is the author’s understanding of land as a tool used in the master planning of cities. Land acquisition and land zoning are two massive forces of power and politics that lie at the heart of the Indian urban phenomena, especially in the case of cities such as Bengaluru and Gurugram. The book also points out how the character of urbanisation is different among states. Differences between a city and a town are much less visible in Kerala than in a primate city. In West Bengal, for instance, Kolkata drives the economy.

 

There are major takeaways from the book that can help to frame our urban challenge. Two of them stand out. First, migration has a smaller share in the increase in urban population. Second, local governments in India are not capable of self-governance and have fewer abilities to fundraise and execute large infrastructure and utility projects. This is a major cause for concern and the book highlights four specific consequences. One, Indian cities will soon run out of water. Two, housing takes away much more than a third of people’s incomes. Three, public transport networks are not a viable way of mobility. Four, climate disasters from heat and flooding will amplify urban problems.

 

The book does well to lay out the important context and the promise of the 74th Amendment to the Indian Constitution as a potential way to fix urban governance. This power to make a change is wielded by state governments in India. The author highlights the politics that obstruct this reform but does not focus as much on other crucial elements, like mixed-use development and building taller structures, which will significantly impact India’s cities. This book is a valuable resource for understanding Indian urbanisation through the lens of a capable administrator and examining the state’s role in this process.

 

The reviewer is an urban policy researcher. He also writes SimplyCity, a newsletter on urbanisation at simplycity.substack.com