Unit : III
Metro and Mega Cities: Problems and Issues, Growth trends and processes, characteristics, problems, concepts and concerns of urban sustainability, concepts and concerns of urban sustainability, issues related to diversity and unintended growth, economic, social and environmental sustainability, quality of life, inclusivity and equity, climate change, transit oriented development, participatory planning. Inner city – issues and problems, approach to development.
METRO AND MEGA CITIES�PROBLEMS AND ISSUES
Foremost to over spilling of urbanization beyond the municipal limits like Mumbai: The population of suburbs grew from 1.38 million in 1961 to 4.95 million in 1981 and 5.2 million in 1991 with a growth of 70.91% over 1971-81 as compared to only 7.1% in the island.
Western replica used. Concept of mixed land use overlooked.
Detail land use classification not proper to be more precise confusing. Ex. The residences within academic institution as group housing but by definition they are part of institutional area. Likewise surface drainage classified as public utilities whereas it is a part of water body.
Over 70% of the underprivileged and low income categories have access to 20% of land whereas 30% middle and higher income have access to 80%. Shortage for low income group results in slums The quality of human settlement created either impulsively through the landing of squatters on public and private land, road margin, railway track, greens or through planned settlements by public and private agencies display two versions of depth of poverty and heights of prosperity.
GENERALLY THE RESULT OF INTOLERABLE LIVING CONDITIONS ARE:
Urban problems spring from concentration of population. Again, the political economy of the State and the correlation of class forces are primarily responsible for the plight of not only the rural poor but also the urban poor. Slums, unemployment, crimes, delinquencies, begging, corruption, drug abuse, environmental degradation, etc. are all urban problems which are generally the result of intolerable living conditions in town and cities. In city life, anonymity increases cases of riots, communal conflicts and agitations. Social Problems and Social Change in India. Societies often face problems because of the imbalance in the forces of caste, race, gender, class, and so on. Social change is change in the patterned roles, or a change in the network of
the patterned roles, or a change in the network of social relations, or in the structures and organisation of a society. Social change is never complete or total; it is always partial. It can be minor or fundamental. Further, the change can be spontaneous or planned. Planned change is to achieve some set of collective ideals. For example, after Independence, India also had set some collective goals to achieve. Some of the important changes that we find in our society since Independence are:
PROBLEMS DUE TO SOCIAL CHANGES ARE:
Change in the increasing awareness of rights among various sections of society due to the spread of education, weakening of the caste system and religious fundamentalism (needs critical debating), weakening of traditional sources of security, occupational mobility, enactment of several social laws, and so on. Though we have achieved many of the set collective goals, many contradictions have also set into our system. For example, accessibility to the legal system has become a problem for the common masses of our country. At times the forces of fundamentalism and parochialism destroy the ethos of nationalism by practising castes, regionalism, communalism, linguist, extremism, terrorism, and so on. Many laws have been enacted but either these laws are full of loopholes or they are not properly implemented. Impartiality is preserved in the Preamble of the Constitution of India but the State enforces discrimination in more ways than one.
Housing
situation. Another problem is gap between the projected and actual population while preparing master plans Delhi is a typical example. Of the total urban population in 2001 nearly one fifth (48.8 million) lives in four mega cities. In 1991-2001 Delhi had a growth rate of 52% whereas Mumbai had a growth rate of 30% and Kolkata grew by 22%.The population of Delhi doubled in 30 years (1901-31).It increased to more than three times in next thirty years (31-51 partition) due to large influx of population after partition It almost doubled again in next ten years (51-61) Even after that Delhi’s population is showing an average increase of 50% in ten years. The Rapid growth of urban population has caught the urban planners, municipal administrators and other associated with urban development unprepared to meet the the situation. Another problem is gap between the projected and actual population while preparing master plans Delhi is a typical example.
LINKAGES BETWEEN SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT EFFICIENCY
The type of urban structure often defines the most efficient mode of transport. The type of spatial structure—i.e., the degree of mono centricity and density—has a direct impact on trip length, the feasibility of transit being the dominant mode of transport, and pollution.
CONCEPTS AND CONCERNS OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
The Concepts:
"Development" can be the evolution of living standards and the achievement of ideal conditions in the field of economic, social and cultural which bring the realization of the concepts of freedom, justice, social mobility, human development and economic, social, and cultural growth. Also the development is considered as discovering methods to achieve evolutionary movement, and it makes the phenomenon of social, economic and cultural well-balanced and harmonious, as well it provides modern conditions for social, economic mobility and social justice achievement (SOCIAL JUSTICE) provides.
The sustainable development
The concept of sustainable development refers to this undeniable fact that considerations of ecology can and should be used in economic activities. These considerations include the idea of creating a reasonable environment that the claim of development in order to improve the quality of all aspects of life is challenged by them.
THE FIELDS RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The principles of the sustainable development:
According to the definition, the foundation of sustainable development can be pointed as the following conditions and achieving the sustainable development requires paying attention to them.
The concept of the sustainable urban development:
A theory of sustainable urban development suggests:
The theory studies the city shape sustainability, sustainable pattern of settlements, the effective pattern of transportation in fuel consumption and city in the hierarchy of urban area, because accept the urban development just for the enjoyment of urbanites.
The necessary features of the sustainable city:
World Commission on Environment and Development, the following principles announces as the essential features of a sustainable city:
The sustainable City Indicators by experts
The urban sustainability criteria are different at various levels and are not measurable in the same condition. Some of the topics under the investigation of the sustainable development are directly related to cities. These issues include:
The seven functional points for the shape of appropriate city
To what extent has the city shape included the vital functions, human biological needs and abilities, and most importantly how to survive life possible?
To what extent can the city be clearly perceived, can mentally be identified?; To what extent can its residents bring it to visualize in space and time?; To what extent does the mental structure associate with the values and concepts of society, the environment adaptation to the emotional, mental abilities and the cultural structures?
To what extend does the shape and capacity of the spaces, pathways and equipment of a city match with the quantity and pattern of activities which people are involved in it for they are accustomed to it or will be involved?, The adequacy of substrates of behaviour and adaptability to future activities.
How is the ability to access other people, activities, resources, services, information and places (Including the quantity and variety of elements that can be accessed)?
To what extend is using and having access to spaces and activities and making corrections and managing them done by those who use them or in which they live?
How much does it cost to build and maintain the city in different levels (how much does it cost the vitality, relevance, meaning and so on)?
How is the way of environmental distribution of profits and losses between individuals according to certain principles such as need equality, intrinsic value, solvency, efforts, potential aid, power (how much is the share of each individual from each of the five primary factor)?
The objectives of sustainable development such as:
APPROACHES FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT OF MEGACITIES
CONCEPTS AND CONCERNS OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
Monitoring urban growth processes in a multi-scale approach
AN EXAMPLE FOR THE DESIGN OF A SPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEGACITIES AS A POWERFUL TOOL MITIGATE DISASTERS.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEO-TRADITIONAL CITY PLANNING MODEL
Issues related to diversity and unintended growth
The basic principles behind the neo-traditional movement include:
This tactical criteria of the Neo-traditional model, however, can create unintended
negative consequences. The criteria to which is refered includes:
The inflexible application of these tactical criteria enhances
opportunities for criminal activities to occur.
INNER CITY – ISSUES AND PROBLEMS, APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT
INNER CITY PROBLEM CHARACTERISTIC
The Inner city problems emerged due to the process of growing urbanization. In developed countries, inner city was developed in the 19th and the early part of the 20th century while in the developing countries the development continued up to the 1960s and in some places is continuing as empty spaces occupied with illegal settlers, which have been redeveloped or consolidated. In addition to that, the development of inner city district began on the continued the ring around form of the historic district, and predominantly characterized by service and manufacturing activities as well as concentration of high-density residential development of relatively poor people. The major activities of industrial and commercial centres were developed in the inner city and led to the development in the periphery areas in which resulting to the inner city depopulation. On consequence, it leads to the problems in the inner city district such as abandoned areas from the former industrial sites and deprived situation in the city centers. The developing countries are increasingly facing the similar problems, the heavy concentrations of traditional manufacturing and transport-related activities in the inner cities now being decentralized through planned relocation dispersed to outer area or nearby towns. This process gives impact to the socio-economic situation in the inner city area. The significant problems in developing countries are the pressure of this regeneration approaches create mono functional land use zone in the inner city (e.g. commercial areas and offices). The effect of this upgrading of physical fabrics for the best area in the inner city is the social segregations for the low-income community, increase land and property values where in some degree brings to gentrification. This action may well preserve and revitalize the existing physical fabrics but can as well destroy the existing social fabric.
Objectives
Urban Planning and Design Strategy for Regenerating Inner City
Once inner city is regenerating, a city can then begin to take its ‘inner city’ qualities to the suburbs; include the traffic calming of neighbourhoods as well as include a process of beginning to provide sub centres with ‘inner city’ characteristics and linking them with good public transport system.
City Development Plans
The development plans should be prepared and passed by the Urban Development Authority as the main guidelines for urban development called the City Development Plan. It should be aimed to encompass all aspects of urban life such as culture; economic, traffic and appearance contain analysis of existing situation and set trends and target data for the next 10 years. City Development Plans is to retain the residential quarters adjacent to the inner city area; slowing down growth rate of the city; re-orientation of its traffic; extensive investments for rapid transit and underground system. It must remain possible in future to reach the inner city on foot from adjacent residential area and thus to keep the inner city alive. The development plans focused on the importance to reconstruct the inner city area and overcome problems from traffic caused by the influx of car ownership. In order to keep the centre of old city free of wheel-traffic a ring road should be built around the periphery. After the inner city had been freed from the wheel-traffic, they established the creation of pedestrian zone. The plan of pedestrian precinct in the inner city should be taken from the competition for pedestrian zone. The plan of pedestrian malls in the inner city contributes considerably to the general improvement in appearance and value of the Old City area noted that the urban townscape of is influenced intensively by the construction developments in its inner city. The people of inner city identify themselves with this general image of their hometown and they love their city.
Compact-Urban-Green
Spatial development perspective compiled guiding principles for upgrading the city called ‘compact-urban-green’ strategy. Compact because dense development within well-packed sites saves unnecessary land take-up and uses available resources efficiently. Urban because the aim is a vital mix of homes, jobs, shops and leisure facilities. Green because an attractive arrangement of open spaces and vegetation improves the natural balance and enhances the quality of urban recreation.