Designing The Post-Covid City

Context: A policy is needed to guide the planning and management of cities towards enabling India’s growth ambitions and also giving its residents a good quality of life in a sustainable manner.

Issues associated with urbanization in India

• Increasing population: According to the UN projections, Indian cities are projected to house 870 million people by 2050, by far the highest among all nations.
  • Delhi is likely to become the world’s most populous urban agglomeration by 2030.
• Challenges in urbanization: Inadequate affordable housing; unreliable water supply; mountains of solid waste; poor drainage; congested roads; and deteriorating air quality are the challenges.

Key issues that need to be addressed in urbanization

• Size of cities: There is a need for a proper balance between agglomeration economies & manageability as well as density & distance in determining the right size for future Indian cities.
  • A kind of decentralized urbanization where multiple cities are clustered into growth regions that would facilitate manageable agglomeration economies.
• Finances: There is a need to tap resources other than the public budget. Capital markets with basic pricing services are the requirement, which allows a reasonable return on investments.
  • McKinsey Global Institute indicated in 2011-12 that nearly Rs 39-60 lakh crores are to be invested in urban infrastructure in the next 30 years.
  • Government should monetize land assets and make efficient service delivery through the private sector.
• Planned development: Urban dwellers should be able to live, work and play safely and happily. The country must focus on good urban planning, which must be dynamic enough. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have been role models for the rest of the world.
• Linkages between multiple cities: India should encompass the regional linkages that tie economic linkages between cities and their rural hinterland strongly.
• Resource efficiency: India has only 2.5% of the world’s landmass and 4% of the world’s freshwater. Resource efficiency should be integral to urban planning.
• Climate change: Need to address climate change, as the large share of future carbon emissions will be in cities. It is needed to build resilience to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.
• Technological development: The technological transformation changing the nature of work rapidly. An urbanization policy should take cognizance of future mobility patterns.
  • It could change travel patterns and the need for transport infrastructure. Reducing travelling time requires more non-motorized transport infrastructure.

Conclusion: A sound urbanization policy will guide ways to grow urban population lives, works, and plays in India’s cities of the future. Such a policy is the need of the hour and cannot be delayed.