URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND GOVERNANCE : Issues, Concerns and Challenges

At the onset of the 21st century, 47 per cent of the world’s population was urban: 74 per cent in the more developed regions and 41 per cent in the less developed regions. Further, among the less developed regions, levels of urbanization in Asia and Africa were the lowest, that is, about 37 per cent. According to UN HABITAT, 2006, Asia and Africa will host the largest population in the 21st century and not only cities will continue to be the sites of extreme inequality, it is also feared that Asian cities may not be able to cope with the pace of urbanization. Keeping with the trends in the world, there is also spurt in urbanization in India, which poses serious challenges for both urban development and urban governance. Earlier, urban development did not receive much attention in India, primarily due to low rate of urbanization. In 2005, it was taken as a serious agenda by the government when Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission was launched.
Divided into three sections, the present anthology focuses on the challenges of urbanization and urban development for the ongoing and future governance. Due to unprecedented urbanization and urban growth, urban development has got a serious setback and is also depleting the quality of urban life. The challenges are manifold and in that context urban governance needs to be looked at from a fresh perspective and be given serious consideration to avoid further urban chaos and crisis. The present volume is an effort to bring together diverse perspectives on the urban governance to have comprehensive mapping of the urban issue in India.

Contents

1 Challenges of Urban Development in the Himalayas / Satish K. Sharma
2 Sinking Open Spaces in Urban India / Lalit Joshi and K.N. Bhatt
3 Quality of Life in Urban Areas / M.S. Toor, M.S. Sidhu and Kamal Vatta
4 Urban Development vis-à-vis Environment / Kaumaudhi Challa
5 The Paradox of Contemporary Urbanization / S.V. Pande and Archana Srivastava
6 Solid Waste Collection and Disposal / P.S. Vivek
7 Emerging Crisis in Urban Families / Vishav Raksha and Pooja Sharma
8 Governance in School Education / M.S. Hundal
9 Forced Migration and Urban Problems / Hema Gandotra
10 Marginalization and Inequality in Urban Punjab / Manoj Kumar Teotia
11 The Politics and Governance of Vulnerability / R.N. Sharma
12 Issues and Concerns of Urban Governance / Sudha Mohan
13 Challenges to Good Urban Governance in India / Aneesh V. Pillai
14 Right to Housing and Good Governance in India / Pawan Kumar
15 Linkages Between Social Obligation and Political Advantage / Subramaniam Chandran
16 Globalizing Cities and Challenges to Urban Local Bodies in Punjab / Bikramjit S. Sekhon
17 Redefining Strategies for Augmenting Urban Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Development / Jit Kumar Gupta