2017 Policy Case Competition
Sustainable Cities, Urbanization of Rural Areas
General Background:
Urbanization is adapting the characteristics of a large city and a shift in population from rural to
urban areas. Urbanization is becoming a worldwide phenomenon especially amongst developing
countries such as India. Compelling characteristics of cities such as employment opportunities,
better infrastructure and standards of living, modernization are amongst a few causes of
Urbanization in India.
It has been predicted that by 2030 approximately 70 cities will have over 1 million inhabitants and
6 megacities with a population of over 10 million each. Currently, 32% of the Indian population
lives in Urban areas. But, according to the Agglomeration index, an index used to measure urban
concentration, over 50% of the population lives in areas that have urban features compared to the
actual 32%. Hence, hinting at hidden and messy urbanization in the country. The effects of
Urbanization are also extremely evident such as migration, transport facilities, educational
facilities remain positive whereas other effects such as overpopulation, increased in crime rates
and most importantly increased environmental damage are amongst the negative. As such a
rapidly growing and urbanizing economy India has to prioritize sustainable development. Smart
city planning is needed to meet the needs of the growing population.
Causes of Urbanization
A major cause of Migration from Rural to Urban areas for economic and employment
opportunities due to Industrialization. Growth of the Private sector since the 90s and expansion in
Government services have contributed to Urbanization. Furthermore, social factors such as better
standards of living and education facilities as well as rural to urban transformation where culture is
not preserved and urban ways of living are adopted have led to people seeking urban standards of
living. In addition, modernization and better technology have also attracted people to large cities
and towns. Lastly, Increased literacy rate due to spread of education in India has caused a change
in habits amongst rural people (amongst women and children specifically).
Effects of Urbanization
The positive effects of Urbanization include the improvement in transport and education facilities
and Standard of living. On the other hand, it has also led to a drastically increased cost of living in
urban areas as well as Overpopulation which has in turn led to the increase of slums and other
undocumented housing. Socially, it has caused the disintegration of Joint families due to the high
cost of living. With an increase in Urbanization an increase in Crime rates in Urban cities such as
Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi was noted. Other negative effects include, stress amongst families
due to employment opportunities for women, changing role of women and the stressful nature of
the urban life itself, disparity in the market and very importantly, significant environmental
damage due to increased vehicle movement, overcrowding, industrial waste etc.
Policies implemented to improve Urban Development
Many policies were introduced throughout the years to allow proper urban development in India.
The 74th Amendment Act of 1993 stresses the importance of urban planning, providing urban
amenities and regulating infrastructural development but is not properly implemented by the states
hence, has led to extremely messy urbanization in some areas. In 2005, the National Urban
Renewal Mission (NURM) aimed at long run sustainability, planned development of cities and all
nearby areas such as outgrowths and increasing the use of urban infrastructural services. In
addition, the National Urban Transport Policy of 2006 introduced the means for a safe,
sustainable public transport. This act also introduced transport planning in various cities to
increase efficiency and decrease travel time between cities. Such policies that were implemented
aimed at sustainable urban development in the country. Other factors such as the introduction and
encouragement of public transport systems such as metro in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Hyderabad have gone a long way in working towards this sustainable urban
development. Furthermore, The Smart city concept which was included in the 2014 budget aims at
governance through technology and the Swachh Bharat cleanliness drive introduced by Minister
Modi in 2014 in order to “clean up” India in the next few years with the help of government
employees and the population itself are both recent introductions to this long list of policies and
attempts to combat the negative effects of Urbanization.
Challenges
There are many obstacles in the way of achieving these set goals and implementing these policies.
For example, the policies mentioned above are not entirely focused on and implemented by State
government officials. No financial support is given hence, hindering the progress. Secondly, the
planning has always been centralized and is administered mostly through the Planning
commission. Due to lack of human resources to entirely implement this plan at the required scale,
the plans are not taking into consideration the people themselves and are implemented with very
narrow scope. Furthermore, revenue generation and financing these plans must be given
importance to. Taxes must be utilized and collected efficiently. Property tax is not corrected
efficiently and a system to monitor all properties that should be on the tax net is required.
Regulators to keep a check on the land and any corruption and implement affordable housing are
necessary in certain areas. Importantly, many infrastructural challenges also come in the way of
achieving these goals. These include, housing issues, improper sanitation, need for safe drinking
water, public transport and improved health conditions in rural and urban India. Another issue that
arises is that a majority of the Indian population is prone to risk from natural disasters such as
floods and earthquakes. For example, the city of Mumbai is extremely prone to Flooding every
monsoon and is a major center for Urbanization in India. This destroys any infrastructural
development progress and caused the situation to deteriorate further as any progress made is lost
and the people are worse off than before. Provision of employment at a rate that keeps up with the
rapidly increasing rate of urbanization is essential to avoiding messy urbanization as well. Other
issues such as controlling crime rates and poverty rates also are great challenges for the
Government of India. Hence, policies that combat these issues and improve implementation of any
and all policies that promote urban development are needed.
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What to Cover:
As mentioned above, the implementation of all these policies is of utmost importance. Address
your proposal to senior government officials of India:
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How would India efficiently implement policies that are already in place and combat the
negative effects of urbanization?
What should the government do to promote rural development to spread the development
evenly across areas?
What further policies can be implemented to control the population and promote constant
sustainable development?