ABSTRACT
India’s urbanization is paradoxical. While the country’s urban population is undoubtedly vast, at 377 million, its urbanization pattern can hardly be described as rapid. From 23.3 per cent in 1981, India’s urban population grew rather slowly to 31 per cent in 2011, which is lower than, for example, China, Indonesia, Mexico or Brazil. However, informal settlements, informal livelihoods, homelessness, insecurity, various types of pollution and declining green areas are the bane of most Indian cities. When these are combined with concerns about climate change and the regular occurrence of natural disasters, Indian towns and cities seem to be sitting on a ticking time bomb. Over several decades, the mantra of sustainability – the importance of balancing social, economic and environmental concerns – has gradually made it onto the policy agenda in India. Now, cities are becoming ever more active and innovative, perhaps because of the urgent need to address the vast range of problems they face and greater exposure to new ideas, concepts and innovative practices for dealing with them, or due to the imperative of becoming ‘world class’ while demonstrating a commitment to contemporary global concerns. India’s federal structure allows subnational governments a lot of authority in dealing with areas such as urban planning and management, environment and transport, among others, whereas the national government has a rather more prosaic role of formulating broad policy prescriptions in these areas. Quite a few states and cities have therefore elaborated a low carbon agenda over the past few years, and several have initiated projects for its implementation. With the help of a few illustrations, this chapter explores the extent and nature of this paradigm shift, which is simultaneously extremely promising and challenging for India’s urban future.
