The trappings of a city

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Realty firms on hiring spree againDLF profit crumbles 77%Realty demand up 15% in Q2‘Property rates to fall 25% in 12-15 months’

: people moving from the countryside to work in rapidly industrialising cities. This growth has slowed in recent years, but it has left the cities with intense strains on infrastructure. Roads that were not designed for cars are choked with traffic, with consequences that include increased local pollution, reduced economic efficiency, and a contribution to the global challenge of climate change. Drainage and sewage systems are also overloaded, leading to considerable fatality rates from floods and disease (especially as weather patterns change as a result of global warming).

The cities studied are seeking to use land use and transport planning to secure a more integrated and efficient form of urban development. “But all face systemic and behavioural challenges,” said Rode. He further added that rapid urban growth has overtaken the planning process, resulting in reactive and often outdated plans. “Land use and transport planning are conducted as separate exercises, leading to new development without transport, and transport infrastructure that fails to further cities’ long-term visions. Also, responsibility for land use and transport planning is fragmented between different agencies and different tiers of government,” said Rode.

“Today planning and plan implementation are getting divorced. Short term visibility is given importance over long term sustainability. There is need for continuous appraisals, greater awareness, debates amongst citizens about urban issues. We need to take bold and sustained actions — both long term as well as short term for improvement,” says Risbud.