ASSIGNMENT – 1

Introduction to Urban Development

Course Code: MEDS-41
Maximum Marks: 100

1) Explain the trends of urbanization in developed and developing countries.

Describe four major issues and challenges of urbanization.
The important trends in urbanization in the developed countries are suburbanization,
urban renewal, gentrification and megalopolitan development.
a) Suburbanization: One of the most significant changes in urban form that has
happened in advanced capitalist countries in the twentieth century is the growth of
suburbs. It has taken place around the edges of major towns and cities. A suburb is an
area of residence, a neighborhood of houses rather than mixed land use type of
neighbourhood found in the city proper. Suburbanization has primarily been caused by
the migration of people into the countryside escaping from the drawbacks of urban
life .Customarily, suburbanization implies a separation between home and workplace,
perhaps the most important is relatively cheap transport, as transport connectivity
extends the distance of suburbs from the central city. Since 1945, the rate of suburban
growth in the USA has been tremendous.
b) Urban Renewal: Urban renewal is a continuous process of remodeling urban areas
by means of rehabilitation and conservation as well as redevelopment. In urban
renewal, the emphasis is given on those parts of the city which have fallen below
current standards of public acceptability. They are commonly found to be in the
residential part of the inner city and also in the central parts of the inner city, face
problems of inadequate housing, environmental deprivation, social malaise and the
presence of nonconforming uses. The central business city part faces problems of traffic
congestion and obsolescence of building and obsolesce of building and sites.
c) Gentrification: means change in the social character of neighborhood as a result of
professional higher income groups seeking residence in central city location.
Gentrification is socially important in attracting some middle to high income residents
back to central areas. Gentrification is so to say selective in nature not only in terms of
population to attract but also of the conditions under which it occur. In the USA, most of
the major cities are now experiencing varying levels of gentrification in their central
area neighborhoods. In Britain, the process has occurred in a few cities namely Bristol
and London.
d) Megapolitan Development: One of the most important facets of urbanization in the
developed countries is the growth of cities not in terms of population but in terms of
area. Here the cities expand physically and the same number of people is living in the
cities but at low densities. The examples of megapolitan type of development are
characteristics of Atlantic sea board of USA, and in Japan it has appeared naturally and
in the Netherlands it has appeared by design and planning. The United States megapolis
extends over 600 miles from Boston to Washington D.C., the Tokaido megapolis
extends from Tokyo, Yakohoma to Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto and the Ransted megapolis
comprises of three major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. This process
has also started in developing countries.
Some of the trends of urbanization in developing countries are as follows:
i) Urbanization in the developed countries is higher as compared to the developing
countries. As per UN statistics, the percentage of population residing in the urban areas
of developed countries is 79.1%, while that of less developed countries is 46.8%.
ii) The urbanization in the African region is found to be slightly higher than the Asian
region. However in both the region, urbanization is comparatively lower than those of
Europe and USA.
iii) Urbanization takes place without much industrialization and strong economic base.
Lack of industrialization led urbanization has resulted in growth of unorganized sector
which is characterized by lower wage rate and poor service condition which affect the
quality of life of urban population.
iv) Unplanned urbanization in developing countries has led to growth of urban slum
areas characterized by low quality housing, poor sanitation, access to unsafe drinking
water, etc.
v) It is not a flight of fancy, but delicately, the current pattern of urbanization in
developing countries is alarming if viewed from a historical, spatial and cross country
perspective. The unplanned urbanization greatly concerns most of the government in
these countries.
Four Major issues and challenges of urbanization are as follows:
Urbanization and Education
Although access to education is not a problem in urban areas, however, affordability is a
problem particularly for the urban poor. Urbanization has boosted higher education in
metropolis and cities. With the proliferation of cities, schools, colleges and universities
have been established. As a result, literacy rate in urban areas are comparatively higher
than that of the rural areas. However, education in the urban slum areas is still a
concern. The migration of rural population to urban and semi-urban areas has put
tremendous pressure on educational infrastructure and manpower in urban areas.
Numbers of NGOs are seen to be working in education sector in urban slum. Despite free
education, children of urban poor families are found to be engaged in income earning
activities. Education for urban poor is still a luxury, particularly as far as the quality and
higher education are concerned.
Urbanization and Pollution
Urbanization and pollution has become the most common phenomenon in mega cities.
The growing numbers of vehicles and slums have escalated the urban pollution
problems in big cities. Besides this, outdoor population caused by vehicles and factories,
 the indoor air pollution caused by the use of fuel store and fire woods, etc. by slum
population has increased the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute
respiratory infections in childhood. It is one of the most important causes of deaths
among children below five year age in India. Besides, car, factories and burning wastes
also emit dangerous gases that affect the air quality in the cities. Dangerous gases like
carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides cause respiratory diseases, has long effect on
physical environment and human health.
Urbanization and Unemployment Urbanization
Generating employment for the increasing number of urban population is a challenge
for the government. It is said that nearly 45 percent of the urban households are
engaged in unorganized sector. The urban underemployment and casual employment is
another problem which has resulted in poor quality of living among the urban poor. The
ILO has remarked that most urban unemployment in developing countries takes the
form of underemployment, in which people are obliged to undertake any available
economic activity, however, productive and unproductive, because these are no social-
safety nets and no alternatives in the form of unemployment insurance or job training in
the formal sector. In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban informal sector is estimated to
employ more than 60 percent of the urban labour force at extremely low incomes. In
Latin America and the Caribbean, 83 percent of all new jobs created between 1990-93
were in the informal sector, the bulk of these jobs are poorly remunerated, unsafe and
of low productivity. The large majority of Latin America’s urban poor work in the
informal sector.
Urbanization and Transport Issues
Transport is one the factors which influences the rate and pattern of urbanization in a
globalized world. Urban transport planning requires road layout, traffic lights and
vehicle passages. The number of vehicle plying in the cities is not in consonance with
the capacity of city road. Another aspect of transport problem is the provision of public
transport and its poor interface with the private transport. One of the exponents of
urban transport has proposed economic rationale for preferring small and less capital
intensive vehicles over large metropolitan buses. Another problem of urban transport is
the number of accidents and causalities because of rush driving. All these problems are
associated with urban transport. In fact most of governments do not have urban
transport policy.
2) Describe the concept new urbanism and just city with suitable examples.
Concept of New Urbanism
“The New Urbanism” refers to a design-oriented approach to planned urban
development. Developed primarily by architects and journalists, it is perhaps more
ideology than theory, and is supported by academics and also planning practitioners.
New urbanites have received considerable attention in the United States and, to a lesser
extent, in Great Britain. Their orientation resembles that of the early planning theorists
—Ebenezer Howard, Frederic Law Olmsted and Patrick Geddes—in their aim of using
spatial relations to create a close-knit social community that allows diverse elements to
interact. The approach is characterized by an easy elision of physical form with social
conditions; an urban design that includes a variety of building types, mixed uses,
intermingling of housing for different income groups, and a strong privileging of the
“public realm”. The basic unit of planning is the neighborhood, which is limited in
physical size, has a well-defined edge, and a focused center: “The daily needs of life are
accessible within the five minute-walk” (Kunstler 1996). The new urbanism stresses the
substance of plans rather than the method of achieving them. In practice, it has
stimulated the creation of a number of new towns and neighborhoods, of which Seaside,
in Florida, is the best known. The New Urbanism is vulnerable to the accusation that its
proponents oversell their product, promoting an unrealistic environmental
determinism that has threaded its way throughout the history of physical planning.
David Harvey (1997) praises certain aspects of the New Urbanism, its emphasis on
public space, its consideration of the relationship between work and living, and its
stance toward environmental quality.
For planning theory, the most interesting aspect of the new urbanism is that its
assurance of a better quality of life has inspired a social movement. Its utopianism
contrasts with communicative planning, which offers only a better process. The
movement, however, does not recognize that the fundamental difficulty with
modernism was its persistent habit of privileging spatial forms over social processes
(Harvey 1997). The movement is less convincing in its approach to social injustice.
Harvey fears that the new urbanism can commit the same errors as modernism--of
assuming that changing people’s physical environment will somehow take care of the
social inequalities that warped their lives. To be sure, with its emphasis on community,
it is unlikely to commit the principal sin of modernist redevelopment programs,
destroying communities in order to put people in the orderly environments that were
thought to enhance living conditions. The real problem replicates the one that defeated
Ebenezer Howard’s radical principles in the construction of garden cities. In order to
achieve investor backing for his schemes, Howard was forced to trade away his aims of
a socialist commonwealth and a city that accommodated all levels of society (Fishman,
1977). The new urbanists must also rely on private developers to build and finance
their visions; consequently they are producing only slightly less exclusive suburbs than
the ones they dislike. Although, their creations will contain greater physical diversity
than their predecessors, their social composition will not differ markedly.
Concept of Just city
Engels (1935) laid out a role for intellectual understanding in bringing about a desirable
transformation, as well as a picture of the future that only avoided the label of
utopianism through an assertion of historic inevitability, the claim that once the
working class seized power, it inevitably would create a just society. Depicting a picture
of a just city puts the planning theorist in the role of advocate, not necessarily the
advocate for a particular group, as in Davidoff’s concept of advocacy planning but as the
advocate of a program. Just City theorists fall into two categories: radical democrats and
political economists. The former differ from communicative planning theorists in that
they have a more radical concept of participation that goes beyond the involvement of
stakeholders to governance by civil society, and they accept a conflictual view of society.
 They believe that progressive social change results only from the exercise of power by
those who previously had been excluded from power. Participation is the vehicle
through which that power asserts itself. Whereas the communicative planning theorists
primarily speak to planners employed by government, calling upon them to mediate
among diverse interests, Just City theorists do not assume the neutrality or benevolence
of government (Marcuse 1986). For them the purpose of their vision is to mobilize a
public rather than to prescribe a methodology to those in office. A theory of the just city
values both participation in decision-making by relatively powerless groups and equity
of outcomes (Sandercock, 1998). The key questions asked of any policy by political
economists have been who dominates and who benefits? The “who” has typically been
defined by economic interest, but economic reductionism is not necessary to this mode
of analysis; evaluation of outcomes can also be performed with regard to groups defined
by gender, race, and sexual orientation. Nor does the stress on material equality need to
boil down to an expectation that redistribution should proceed to a point where there is
no reward to achievement.
A persuasive vision of the Just City needs to incorporate an entrepreneurial state that
not only provides welfare but also generates increased wealth; moreover, it needs to
project a future embodying a middle-class society rather than only empowering the
poor and disfranchised. Recent work on industrial districts, social markets, local
economic development, and national growth rates has pointed in a direction more
sympathetic to middle-class aspirations (Storper 1997, Sayer and Walker 1991,
Fainstein and Markusen, 1993, Bluestone and Harrison, 1997). Still, a great deal more
attention needs to be paid to identifying a formula for growth with equity (Sanyal,
1998). And such an approach has to take into account the perseverance of a capitalist
world economy and the evident success, at least for the moment, of a liberalized US
economy.
Participation in public decision-making is part of the ideal of the Just City, both because
it is a worthy goal in itself and because benevolent authoritarianism is unlikely. At the
same time, democracy presents a set of thorny problems that have never been
theoretically resolved and can only be addressed within specific situations. The almost
exclusive preoccupation with participation that has come to characterize much of left
thought since the demise of socialism in the Soviet bloc evades the problems that have
vexed democratic theory throughout its history. Within a formulation of the Just City,
democracy is not simply a procedural norm but rather has a substantive content (see
Pitkin 1967). Given the existing system of social domination, it cannot be assumed that
participation by stakeholders would be transformative in a way that would improve
most people’s situation. Consequently, deliberations within civil society are not ipso
facto morally superior to decisions taken by the state. Rather, “it is the double-edged
nature of the state, its ability to effect both regressive and progressive social change that
must be stressed” (Yiftachel, 1998).
3) Explain the process of fiscal decentralization in India.
In India, fiscal decentralisation assumed importance after 73rd and 74 th Constitutional
Amendments, which envisaged the devolution of functions, functionaries and funds to
the local self-government institutions. Before 1992, that is prior to the passing of the
 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment, several committees and commission
recommended for the fiscal decentralisation. Let us discuss in detail the
recommendations of various committees and constitutional measures undertaken for
fiscal decentralisation in India.
Committees
Various committees and commissions were constituted for suggesting measures for
establishing financial autonomy of the Panchayats and municipalities. In the light of
these suggestions, the States have made appropriate provisions in their Panchayat Raj
Acts. Let us now review the recommendations of various committees appointed from
time to time about decentralisation of finances to local self-government institutions.
i. Finance enquiry committee
In 1951, the Local Finance Enquiry Committee studied this problem and recommended
unconditional assignment of 15% of land revenue to be raised in the panchayat area and
the proceeds of surcharge levied on the transfer of immovable property to the
Panchayats. Panchayats were also to be empowered to raise their own resources by
levying certain taxes in their territories.
ii. Taxation enquiry committee
In 1954, the Taxation Enquiry Committee recommended for reserving certain taxes
such as tax on land and building, octroi, tax on non-mechanical transport, tax on
property, tax on profession, tax on advertisement other than newspapers, theatre tax,
and duty on transfer of property, etc. for
Panchayats.
iii. Santhanan Committee
The Santhanan Committee formed in 1963 strongly recommended that it was essential
for stability and growth of local institutions to have substantial and growing resources,
which were entirely within their power to exploit and to develop.
iv. Ashok Mehta committee
In 1978, the Ashok Mehta Committee recommended that besides government support,
panchayats should mobilise enough resources of their own, as no democratic institution
can continue to maintain its operational viability by depending upon external resources.
v. Singhvi Committee
In 1966, the Singhvi Committee among others, suggested pattern of compulsory and
optional levies. The State Governments shall levy and collect taxes and fees on behalf of
PRIs and shall disburse to them based on the recommendation of the Finance
Commission in each State. In order to ensure and safeguard the financial autonomy of
the PRIs, they should be freed from relying on the “Untied Funds”. But encouraged
instead to take to innovative resource mobilisation such as generation of income from
entrepreneurial activities, projected loans, public contribution, tax-sharing, tax-
assignments and matching grant incentives for tax collection.
Commissions
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment provides for devolution of functions and transfer
of functionaries and funds to the three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions. The article
243G of the Constitution states, “Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the
legislature of a state, by law, may endow the panchayats with such powers and
authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-
government. Such laws may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and
responsibilities upon panchayats at the appropriate level, subject to such conditions as
may be specified therein, with respect to:
a. The preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; and
b. The implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may
be entrusted to them including those in relation to matters listed in the Eleventh
Schedule.
Article 243A of the Constitution of India embodies the spirit of the democratic
decentralisation.
While 280 (3) (bb) of the Constitution enjoins the Central Finance Commission to
suggest measurers needed to augment the consolidated fund of a state to supplement
the resources of the panchayats and municipalities on the basis of the recommendations
made by the Finance Commission of the State.
Article 243-H of the Constitution, empowers the state legislatures to enact laws:
a. To authorise a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls and
fees;
b. To assign to a panchayat, certain taxes, duties, tolls levied and collected by the state
government;
c. To provide for making grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of
the state; and
d. To provide for the constitution of such funds for panchayats and also the withdrawal
of such money there from; as may be specified by law.
Article 243-I of the Constitution envisages for the setting up of the State Finance
Commission (SFC) once in every five years to review the financial position of the
panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as to:
i. The principles which should govern-
a) The distribution between the state and the panchayats of the net proceeds of the
taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied by the state. It may be divided between them
under this part and the allocation between the panchayats at all levels of their
respective shares of such proceeds;
b) The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned to, or
appropriated by the panchayats;
 c) The grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state
i) The measures needed to improve the financial position of the panchayats;
ii) Any other matter referred to the finance commission by the Governor in the
interests of sounds finance of the panchayats.
The 74th Constitutional Amendment also states that the State Finance Commission to
review the financial position of the urban local bodies, their revenue and capital account
requirements. It recommended devolution of taxes, charges, fees, tolls, duties, shared
revenues, inter-government transfers and grants from the state to the municipalities. It
suggested measures for the mobilisation of municipal resources.
4) What is a city region? Briefly explain various types of city regions.
City Region
Nature of City Region
A city is usually looked upon as an entity dependent on its surroundings, and less often
as an independent unit. What is not so commonly understood is the fact that the city and
the countryside are mutually interdependent and this relationship covers a wide range
of physical, social, and economic interactions. Further, the degree of interaction
between the city and its neighbouring settlements tends to decrease with distance. This
general spatial phenomenon is known as distance decay and has wide-ranging
implications. Closely related to the above is the role of the city in the socio-economic
development of the region. While a city may either retard or promote growth in its
surrounding region, in the post-colonial world, the city is often seen as a centre of
development. It is often asserted that cities are somehow or other dependent on their
surrounding regions for their existence and growth. In ancient times, a city emerged as
a result of the surplus production of food and other basic necessities of life in the area.
The city had a class of citizens, engaged in tertiary activities, who were dependent on
the countryside for food. The city, therefore, could not exist without the countryside. In
the modern world, cities still depend on the countryside to a considerable extent for the
supply of vegetables, milk and even grain. In some cities in India these items come, not
from the immediate neighbourhood, but from hundreds of miles away. The modern
industrial city also depends on the countryside for raw materials of mineral or
agricultural origin. A more realistic and certainly the most common situation is one in
which city and regions are mutually interdependent. The city depends on the region for
perishable items of food, for industrial raw materials, and as a market for its industrial
products and tertiary services. The countryside depends on the city for non-agricultural
employment, for sale of agricultural products, and for various services and goods. It is
pointless to argue about whether the city is more dependent on the countryside or vice
versa.
Structure of City Region
The city region is an area around the city over which the city exercises a dominant
influence in relation to other neighbouring cities of equal importance. This simplified
definition of the city region raises a number of conceptual problems which need further
 elaboration. To begin with one should be clear about the concepts of influence and
dominance and how these relate to the hierarchy of cities. When we talk about the city
region, we make comparisons with adjoining cities of equal importance; this necessarily
implies that there are cities and towns of lesser importance within the city region, and,
corresponding to these lower order cities, there are smaller city regions. Thus, the
structure of a city region is complex. It consists of a series of areas of influence and
areas of dominance, apart from sets of smaller city regions which nest within it. It is
pertinent at this stage to examine three basic notions in relation to the structure of the
city region: (i) the concept of area of city influence, (ii) the concept of area of city
dominance, and (iii) the concept of the city region.
i) The Concept of Area of City Influence
The areas of city influence are contiguous areas around a city from where people
commute to the city to obtain certain goods or services. A cinema hall in a city may
attract patrons from several villages around the city. The continuous area encompassing
all these villages is the area of influence of the city with respect to entertainment
through the cinema. Likewise, various institutions in the city such hospitals, colleges,
schools and so on have their corresponding areas of influence. The areas of influence for
different services and goods may cover smaller or larger areas around the city and their
shapes may also differ. Thus it is possible to visualize a large number of service areas
around a city.
ii) The Concept of Area of City Dominance
In any landscape one would expect to find a number of cities of the same or similar
importance, and the areas in between these cities are often served by more than one
city. In other words, the areas of influence of neighbouring cities tend to overlap; thus
generating a zone of competition in between .In the middle of the zone of competition
one can define a boundary which separates the areas of dominance of the competing
cities. Within this boundary, the city exercises a dominant influence—its influence there
is greater than the influence of any other city. The area of dominance of a city is an
exclusive area and is, therefore, of great significance in terms of territorial or regional
divisions. Further, the dominant area in reality is dominant not only with respect to one
or two services, but with respect to all services of equal importance. Thus, the area of
dominance is a multifunctional area, while the area of influence is essentially a uni-
functional area.
iii) The Concept of City Region
The areas of city influence and dominance are further complicated by the existence of a
hierarchy of cities and urban places which give rise to sets of areas of influence and
dominance, one within the other. The city region may be defined as the area of
dominance of a city corresponding to its hierarchical level. However, the same city also
performs functions of a lower hierarchical order. As a result, each city may have more
than one area of dominance. In fact, several areas of dominance fall within the city
region in a concentric form. Similarly, for each hierarchical level we have a set of areas
of influence representing each service or function. According to Scott et.al, city-regions
 are becoming increasingly central to modern life and all the more so because
globalization has reactivated their significance as bases of all forms of productive
activity, no matter whether in manufacturing or services, in high-technology or low
technology sectors. According to them, there are now more than 300 city regions
around the world with populations greater than one million.
Scope of City Region
In recent times the role of the city in bringing about socio-economic development in the
city region has been given due recognition. However, not all cities perform this role. In
the past, when cities were centres of alien domination, they had hardly any role in the
growth or development of the rural areas. Conflict, both socio-cultural and economic,
has been a characteristic and continuing feature of the Indian rural-urban scene from
early medieval times. The rural areas were in fact exploited by the city folk throughout
this period. Even in the post- Independence period the bigger cities have acquired a
distinct cultural identity of their own. Though the social distance between urban and
rural elite is substantial, Indian cities today play a major role in changing the social and
economic environment of villages. There is greater interaction between the city and the
village than before, and the interaction continues to increase. The city today serves as a
focal point for development in education and health and even for rural development.
The spread of banking from the cities to the rural areas was a remarkable achievement
of the 1970s. In the process, rural wealth has been mobilized for development. The role
of the cities and small towns in bringing about the Green Revolution cannot be denied.
The city is seen as a key element in regional development planning in India today.
5) Explain the objectives and importance of public private partnership. What are its
advantages and disadvantages?
Objectives of Public Private Partnership
1. Some of the objectives of PPPs are as follows:
2. Improving access to essential services
3. Improving quality of services available
4. Exchange of expertise
5. Mobilize additional resources for activities
6. Improve efficiency
7. Better management of services
8. Increasing scope and scale of services
9. Increasing community ownership of programmes
10. Ensuring optimal utilization of government investment and infrastructure
11. Cost-effectiveness and division of assignments
12. Promote co-ordination, collaboration and cooperative development
Importance of PPP
It is estimated that more than half of the world’s population today lives in the cities,
towns and other urban spaces. Current trends predict that this number will continue to
rise with urban population growth. According to the World Bank, over 90 percent of
recent urbanization has occurred in developing countries, with urban areas gaining an
estimated 70 million new residents each year. This trend is especially prevalent in
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the two poorest regions in the world, where the
urban population is expected to double by 2030. For an economy to grow in a sound
manner, it is important that the cities are well managed. For this very reason, the
pressure on the government to provide with the basic human needs of health care, clean
water and sanitation rises when the process of urbanization grows at a fast rate.
The urban areas differ in their characteristics and problems from country to country.
However one thing that is common to the urban areas across the globe is that the
finances needed for different urban development projects are too high to be provided
by the public sector alone. Taking this into consideration, many nations are exploring
the possibility of PPP for large scale investments in providing the basic infrastructure to
the urban multitude. Traditionally the role of private sector was limited to providing
skilled labour under short term contracts with the delivery of service being the sole
responsibility of the public sector. However a PPP allows a private consortium to
assume risk
Advantages of PPPs
Cost Savings
Cost savings materialize in several different forms (discussed below) but are mainly due
to the private sector’s role as a mutual partner in the project. Generally speaking, the
private partner’s fundamental drive for economic gain yields it an incentive to
continually improve its performance, thereby cutting overall project costs.
Whole of Life-Cycle
Public-private partnerships combine two or more of the project’s phases in a single
bundle for the private consortium to deliver over the long-term. This creates economies
of scale by motivating the private sector to organize its activities in a way that drives
efficiencies and maximizes returns on investments.
Output-Based Contracts
Public-private partnership projects typically adopt an output-focused contract which
links payments to performance. This specifies project results in terms of the quality
delivered, rather than how assets or services are provided. Emphasis on outputs also
encourages innovation to take place by motivating the private partner to develop new
methods and approaches for project delivery that meets requirements at lower costs.
Risk sharing
Public-private partnerships are designed so that risk is transferred between the public
and private sectors, allocating particular project risk to the partner best able to manage
that risk cost-effectively.
PPPs Deliver On-Time
With financing risk routinely transferred to the private consortium, any delays in
meeting the agreed upon timelines can lead to additional costs for the private partner as
it alone carries the debt for a longer period of time. Therefore, the private sector has a
direct financial interest in ensuring that projects and services are delivered on-time, if
not sooner.
Enhancing Public Management
By inviting the private partner in, the public authority can transfer risks and
responsibilities over the day-to-day operations of two or more phases of the urban
infrastructure project to the private consortium. This frees the public sector to focus on
other important policy issues such as regulating, performance monitoring and urban
service planning.
Improved Levels of Service
By bringing together the strengths from the public and private sectors, PPPs have the
unique ability to share a diverse range of resources, technologies, ideas and skills in a
cooperative manner that can work to improve how urban infrastructure assets and
services are delivered to the people.
Increased Availability of Infrastructure Funds
Public-private partnerships free up funding for other urban infrastructure projects in
two ways: first, through the potential cost savings inherent in the PPP approach, and
second, through access to private financing which commits the government to spread
payments for services rendered over a longer period of time. Seeing that it is the private
partner who typically absorbs the financing risk, the public authority is not obliged to
record the investment upfront as part of its bottom line surplus or deficit for that fiscal
year. This allows the transaction to remain ‘off balance sheet’, meaning the government
can borrow money for other important projects without affecting calculations of the
measure of its indebtedness.
Some Disadvantages of PPPs
Additional Costs
Public-private partnerships represent good opportunities to lower overall project costs.
However, when compared with traditional procurement, the complete PPP process
invites additional costs that, if not managed properly, can erode some of the potential
economic benefits of this model. One of these potential cost drivers is identified in the
tender process - a competitive approach to choosing a project partner unique to the PPP
procurement model. Parties bidding for a project expend considerable skills and
resources in designing and evaluating the project prior to implementation. Depending
on the number of project bidders, costs can add up as all participating bids tend to be
factored into the overall cost of the project. Second, the long-term and inclusive nature
of a PPP contract requires that each partner spend considerable time and resources on
outside experts to help anticipate and oversee all possible future contingencies. This can
be very costly, particularly for a public agency inexperienced with the private sector and
requiring additional help to protect the public interest. Last, while the private financing
element of the partnership is one of the most important incentive drivers for the private
partner, the price of financing can result in higher capital costs ranging between 1 and 3
percent. Unless cost savings generated by the private consortium outweigh the added
cost of private loan financing, a PPP project may not deliver cost savings.
Reduced Control of Public Assets
In view of the fact that the private sector absorbs a significant portion of the project
risk, important decisions over outcomes are inadvertently shared with that partner.
Accordingly, this can result in the loss of public control over important decisions
concerning a range of public issues, from how basic public goods such as housing and
clean water should be delivered and priced, through to on-site labour issues around job
pay and security.
Loss of Accountability
Partnerships are typically governed by a complex web of contracts which extend
responsibility over the provision of housing and other urban service to a wide range of
partners. If not clearly defined, contracts can overlap roles and responsibilities and blur
lines of accountability for the public taxpayer.
Mitigating Risk
The more complex the urban project and the more people involved the higher and more
varied the risk becomes. Although a carefully structured PPP manages risk through a
well-defined contractual agreement, some risk is unforeseen and therefore difficult to
mitigate. In the case of such unexpected risk (or project failure), oftentimes it is the
public authority that is left to not only pay for the failure of the risk, but also the
emerging costs.
 ASSIGNMENT – 2
Issues and Challenges in Urban Planning and Development
Course Code: MEDS – 42
Maximum Marks: 100

1) What do you understand by "urban paradox"? Illustrate the concept from the
perspective of urban crime and health problem?
Urban Paradox
Despite rapid economic growth, it is a paradox that the urbanisation rate in India
remains low at less than 30 percent compared to 40 percent in China. What are the
causes of this slow pace of urbanisation? Is it the geography, institutions, or peculiar
growth patterns? Different factors affect the pace of spatial transformations in different
ways. Countries that provide strong incentives for development of towns to be re-
classified as urban may be characterised by urbanisation above the predicted level (e.g.
Bangladesh). Whereas, geographically isolated and mountainous regions are likely to
have a lower level of urbanisation than what would be predicted, solely based on the
level of per capita income (Nepal).
Some industries and services are more prone to clustering. It contributes more to
urbanisation than industries and services which benefit relatively less from
agglomeration economies. It is found that services tend to cluster more into larger
cities, while manufacturing into smaller cities or newer towns. In India, more people
live in the largest cities than in small towns when compared to China. Nearly 6 percent
of the urban population lives in the largest cities in India, which is double in comparison
to China. This is explained by a bigger and more dynamic service sector in India. Service
industries, which are less land intensive and more skill intensive, appear to agglomerate
more in large cities like Bangalore. Whereas manufacturing industries (more land
intensive and less skill intensive) seems to thrive better in smaller towns. But other
factors like land market, property rights, and contractual institutions should also be
taken into consideration. These factors can restrain mobility and prevent households
and firms from moving into cities, which in turn can slow down the pace of
industrialisation.
Internal conflicts and violence can either accelerate or retard urbanisation. When
conflicts arise predominantly in rural areas, rural-to-urban migration rates tend to
accelerate. Internal conflicts can lead to distressed urbanisation that’s urbanisation
without growth. The prolonged civil unrest in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar
and the Philippines seems to have contributed to this type of urbanisation. Whereas
when conflicts that arise in urban areas, tend to experience under urbanisation, as they
deter private investments. Other factors such as poor infrastructure in urban areas can
also deter migration and urbanisation. Thus, these are some of the challenges facing
Indian urbanisation.

URBAN CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Crime and violence are typically more severe in urban areas and are compounded by
their rapid growth, especially in developing and transitional nations. It has been
estimated that 60 per cent of all urban dwellers in developing and transitional countries
have been crime victims, with rates of 70 per cent in parts of Latin America and Africa.
Some of the major aspects of crime and violence which have engulfed the urban areas in
general and metropolitan cities in particular are described below:
i) Fear of Crime and Violence
Cultures of fear of crime and violence are widespread in both developed and developing
countries. Public opinion surveys in many countries repeatedly show that people rank
crime among the top concerns that they have in everyday life. In Nairobi, Kenya more
than half of the citizens worry about crime all the time or very often.
ii) Robbery and Burglary
Primarily a contact crime, robbery, is often classified as both a violent crime and a
property crime in many jurisdictions. Consequently, it is more likely to be reported to
police than lesser crimes. Global robbery trends increased between 1980 and 2000,
from about 40 to over 60 incidents per 100,000 individuals.
iii) Intimate Partner Violence, Child Abuse and Street Children
Also known as domestic abuse, intimate partner violence (IPV) negatively affects many
intimate relationships and families worldwide. Due to its sensitive and personal nature,
many victims do not report crime to the authorities. Surveys in the UK show that there
were almost 500,000 official reports of domestic violence in the year 2000. In the US,
about 29 percent of women and 22 percent of men are victims of IPV during their
lifetime. Globally, women are significantly more likely than men to be victims of IPV.
iv) Corruption
Corruption is generally classified as a crime against public order. There is no universally
accepted definition of corruption; but it has been summarized as the abuse of public
power for personal gain. One of the most widely used measures of corruption is the
Corruption Perceptions Index, which calculates a score based on perceived levels of
corruption in a given country.
v) Urban Terrorism
In recent years, cities have become increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Indeed,
cities make attractive targets for terrorist attacks for several reasons. Terrorism is seen
as violent acts that are deliberately targeted at civilians and urban infrastructure.
Major terrorist incidents that have taken place in the cities of both developed and
developing countries. Serial blasts in Mumbai, terrorist attack in Delhi, bomb blast in
major cities of Pakistan, i.e. Karachi, Islamabad are a few examples. Although these acts
of terrorism are local events, they have had international repercussions that have
ricocheted across the world. It is worth stressing that in relation to everyday violence,
or common crime, the incidence of terrorist attacks is significantly small. Nonetheless,
the impacts of terrorism on cities have been enormous in recent years.
HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF LIVING IN CITIES
As outlined in the previous section, good-quality housing and living conditions, social
and economic opportunities, and access to services such as education and healthcare
contribute to the health and well-being of city dwellers. The higher levels of social
support and greater social cohesion typically found in urban areas are also linked to a
number of positive health outcomes. Good urban governance underpins the realization
of these and other determinants of health. At the same time, cities present a number of
health risks, especially when they are poorly governed or fail to sufficiently prioritize
health in all policies. Many are confronted by a triple threat: infectious diseases
exacerbated by poor living conditions; non-communicable diseases and conditions
(such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes) and conditions fuelled by tobacco use,
unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol; and injuries (including
road traffic accidents) and violence.
i) Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are a major threat in many cities due to population density,
overcrowding, lack of safe water and sanitation systems, international travel and
commerce, and poor health-care access, particularly in urban slums. In the year 2003,
the outbreak of SARS is a case in point. Other infectious conditions, such as the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, pneumonia and diarrhoeal infections, have
an ongoing presence in cities. Frequently, it is the urban poor who suffer the greatest
burden. Slums are productive breeding grounds for tuberculosis, hepatitis, dengue,
pneumonia, cholera and diarrhoeal diseases, which spread easily in highly concentrated
populations. Women are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection, stemming from a
combination of biological factors and gender inequality. Female drug users and sex
workers are particularly at risk along with the stigma, discrimination and punitive
policies only increase their vulnerability.
ii) Non Communicable Diseases
Non communicable diseases and conditions, such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes,
are a significant problem in urban centres. Most of this heightened risk can be traced to
changes in diet and physical activity as a consequence of urbanisation, as well as
exposure to air pollutants, including tobacco smoke. Urbanisation is associated with a
shift towards calorie-dense diets, characterised by high levels of fat, sugar and salt. As a
result, obesity is on the rise in cities around the world. On top of this, people in cities
tend to have physically inactive types of employment, and urban sprawl further
discourages physical activity. Other factors that inhibit regular physical activity include
overcrowding, high-volume traffic, overreliance on motorized transportation, crime and
poor air quality. Air pollution, including tobacco smoke, is a risk factor for asthma and
other respiratory diseases.
Rapid urbanisation also threatens mental health. Poor housing conditions,
overcrowding, noise pollution, unemployment, poverty and cultural dislocation can
cause or exacerbate a range of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression,
insomnia and substance abuse.
iii) Injuries and Violence
About 16 000 people die every day as a result of injuries – about 10 percent of all
deaths. The principal causes of death from injury are road traffic accidents (22%),
suicide (15%) and homicide (10%), with war accounting for another 3%. Road traffic
injuries alone are responsible for 1.3 million deaths per year globally. In many
developing countries, urbanisation and the increased number of motorized vehicles
have not been accompanied by adequate transport infrastructure, enforcement of traffic
regulations or implementation of measures to ensure improved road safety. Low and
middle income countries have higher road traffic fatality rates (20.1 and 22.1 per 100
000 population, respectively) than high-income countries (11.9 per 100 000). And,
more than 90 percent of the world’s road fatalities occur in low and middle-income
countries, which have only 48 percent of the world’s registered vehicles. For every
person who dies from violence, many more are injured and suffer a range of physical,
mental and other consequences. Child abuse, youth violence, intimate partner violence,
sexual violence and abuse of the elderly, although unlikely to result in death, are other
highly prevalent forms of violence with significant behavioural and health
consequences. Major contributors to urban violence include social exclusion, poverty,
unemployment and poor housing conditions. The fear of such violence further
contributes to the fragmentation of cities, socially, economically and politically. Youth
particularly affected by urban violence. In urban areas, people aged 15 to 24 commit the
largest number of violent acts, and are also the principal victims of violence.
iv) Work –Related and Environment Hazards
The long hours and heavy physical work to which many women are subjected which
poses serious threats to their health. In addition, they are exposed to toxic chemicals,
radiation, extreme temperatures, excessive noise, violence and sexual harassment and
rape. When they are pregnant their unborn children are also affected. Heavy work
during pregnancy can lead to premature labour, and when associated with poor
nutrition can result in low-birth-weight babies. There is evidence that exposure to toxic
fumes from working in the home environment has adverse effects, such as chronic
bronchitis.
2) Discuss the role of urban industrialization on urban development. Explain role of
FDI on urban industrialization.
Economic growth has been conceived as a process of increasing output per capita by
enhancing productivity and employment. The growth of population adds to the labor
force in a country which if employed use other resources and give rise to new output.
But addition of labor also requires additional sources for survival and if the output
generated gets exhausted for sustenance of the labor force then there will be no net
addition to output or growth. In other words growth involves a process of rising
productivity such that output produced per capita should be at least higher than the
amount required for survival of the labor force. On the other hand if the growth of
productivity is much faster than the growth of labor force there would be increasing
possibilities of unemployment. In developing countries the typical problem is the
persistence of surplus labor largely engaged in agricultural or other low productivity
activities. The surplus labor implies a situation where the marginal product of labor is
close to zero, but since people can’t survive without subsistence output produced by
others, they are shared among community members. This is precisely the reason why
the wages in the agricultural segment is determined by the average product of labor
which marginally changes over time. The challenge of growth, hence involves a process
that employs an increasing proportion of population to increasing returns activities.
This simply implies that people need to be engaged in activities where they could
increase the net addition of outputs. Agriculture is considered to be a segment where it
is relatively difficult to escape the diminishing returns tendencies, although
productivities in agriculture could be substantially increased.
Kaldor (1966, 1967) introduced the concept of dynamic economies of scale explaining
the role of manufacturing as the ‘engine of growth’. The advantages of creating higher
returns in manufacturing flow from both demand and supply sides. On the supply side
manufacturing unlike agriculture and services entails a process of ‘learning by doing’
that gives rise to a cumulative growth of productivity. On the other hand, on the demand
side the income elasticity of demand for manufacturing use to be higher than that in
agriculture but more or less similar to services. The growth of manufacturing and
growth of the economy does not imply a simple correlation but it is a causal relation and
Kaldor’s first law states that the faster the rate of growth of manufacturing the faster
would be the growth in the economy. In other words, higher the rate of growth of
manufacturing compared to the growth of GDP, the higher would be the overall growth.
This of course acknowledges the fact that manufacturing grows much faster than the
growth of GDP. The other important aspect of manufacturing is that productivity
increases much faster than that in services. As a result prices of manufacturing goods
increase slowly. The income elasticity of demand for services beyond a certain level of
income could be similar or even higher to that in manufacturing but since prices for
most services rise much faster than manufactured products the rise in the elasticity of
demand is to an extent counterbalanced by rising prices. There are studies that show
that some services show characteristics very similar to manufacturing and could be
considered as an additional engine of growth.
The relation between growth and industrialization is also important in the way the two
mutually influences each other. Growth gives rise to incomes which should be
distributed to various social classes. If we consider two broad groups for reasonable
abstraction, growth is distributed between labor and capital in terms of wages and
profits. The trajectory of growth results in various distributional patterns that influence
demand and the commodity composition of the economy. Moreover, the growth
depends on profit income less would be the impact of income on consumption demand.
This is precisely because capitalists save more in proportion to income than the
workers. On the contrary if the growth enhances the share of wages then there would
be relatively higher impact on consumption demand. The other aspect of course is
indirect. The growth of profit incomes in the economy raises the demand for luxuries
and importable that always have lower employment elasticities. In other words the
growing share of the income of the rich would entail a demand pattern that requires
higher technologies and declining use of labor force. The question basically is linking
growth with a proper distribution that would create adequate demand for industries.
Otherwise higher growth with a skewed distribution of income together with higher
dependence on imports might lead to de-industrialisation.
Finally industrial development in the modern age signifies a marked shift from artisanal
production to factories and manufactures. The growth of large industries required a
massive supply of labor force who would be working in factories and as a result people
from rural areas were drawn in to urban centers. This is precisely the reason why the
trajectory of growth of industries matches with the growth of modern urban cities. In
other words at the advent of modern industrialization growth of manufactures drove
the growth of urban centers. This involves a creation of new space that brings together
labor and capital and defines the new geography of production.
Role of FDI on urban idustrialization
Foreign Direct Investment is generally defined as a financial phenomenon that takes
place whenever a company acquires ten per cent or more of the voting stock in a
commercial entity incorporated in a foreign country (Cohen, 2007). However this
limited definition could not capture the importance of FDI in the present context of
globalization and underplays the fact that FDI is related more to ownership and control
over a firm and assert long term influence on the trajectory of growth of a business
entity. The degree of influence however does not always depend on the percentage of
voting shares that a foreign investor acquires and could be maneuvered by several ways
using the legal structure of a specific country depending on the nature of
interdependence between collaborating partners (Rao and Dhar, 2010). There are large
variations in the definition of FDI used by various countries where some define on the
basis of equity share while others relate to the power enjoyed by the foreign player. As a
result there is little uniformity in defining FDI across countries and absence of a
standard measure on this count for cross country empirical study.
In spite of the ambiguity that exists in arriving to a standard definition of FDI, one can
easily comprehend the increasing influence of FDI in the course of industrial
development in the past decades. In the past two decades FDI grew much faster than
GDP. During the period 1982 to 2004 value added of foreign subsidiaries worldwide
increased six-fold while world output only tripled during the same reference period.
Moreover FDI emerged as the largest single source of external finance although for
poorer countries foreign aid and workers’ remittances remains to be the most
important source. Sales of foreign subsidiaries were almost twice as large as world
exports of goods and services and almost one half of the size of the world GDP (Cohen,
2007). Exports by foreign subsidiaries in 2004 were about one-third of world exports
and if we include exports from headquarters, this amounts to be two-thirds of world
trade in goods. Intra-firm trade of multinational companies accounts for one-third of
international trade which clearly depicts the increasing importance of FDI and MNCs in
the world economy.
The nature and pattern of FDI has undergone changes depending on the shifting
motivations of foreign investors over time. As a brief review of such evolution we may
come across the following patterns of FDI:
a) Resource seeking strategy: This was the dominant pattern of foreign investment in
the pre-World War II and continued to be so in the neo-colonial regimes of 1950s and
1960s. The host country used to be the supplier of raw materials for the industries
located in the developed North and the decision whether to allow such outflow
primarily depended upon political dependence as well as cost-benefit analysis of the
host country. The home country could access cheap raw materials and there was little to
lose on their side since such trade did not replace any existing export or employment.
b) Market seeking strategy: This strategy emerges based on a perception that export
based marketing strategy has peaked and setting up business abroad could protect the
existing markets as well as could help in extending further. The rationale of such
strategy was based on the idea that setting up production sites abroad would reduce
transaction costs, provide better knowledge about existing and potential markets and
help pacifying the opposition of nationalist sentiments since production takes place
within the territory of the host country. Since 1960s this was the major concern for
foreign investors and FDI inflow was primarily targeted towards industrialized
countries that could provide large markets as well as supply of skilled labour.
c) Efficiency seeking strategy: In a later phase FDI was looking for host countries that
could provide inputs at a relatively lesser cost and help increase the competiveness of
existing produce. The primary concern was to get access to the large pool of cheap labor
in developing countries and even though large gaps in productivity exists it could be
mend to a large extent by extended working hours and other precarious forms of
working conditions that could hardly be allowed in developed countries.
d) Asset seeking strategy: The emergence of an economy in which the speed of
innovation largely determines the competitiveness of a firm had changed the strategies
of FDI to a large extent. Reducing input costs and getting access to markets goes to the
back seat since firms are looking for assets that are perceived to be capable of
strengthening the overall competitive position of the acquiring company. Acquisition of
strategic assets might help in understanding and improvising the existing product,
broaden its output portfolio or upgrade the technologies embedded in its products.
 The reorganization of the global production process takes plays in both horizontal and
vertical lines and sometimes it emerges as a complex network of interconnected
production arrangements. The horizontal process is shifting of a portion of jobs to host
countries abroad that used to be carried out by the parent firm itself. However, a
growing subcategory that increasingly draws our attention is the global value chains or
a more holistic concept of global production networks. The unit of investigation spreads
beyond specific industries and also specific regions. This signifies a marked change in
the sphere of industrial research in the sense, value chains include all activities, both
within and beyond the specific industry, related to the final act of profit making. The
production and distribution of profits is viewed as an ensemble of several factors in
place of linear relations between inputs and output and might include activities related
to agriculture or services mediated through a complex web of relational structures (Coe
et. al., 2008). However, splitting up of production and the spatial organization of the
chain of activities has given opportunities to less developed countries in contributing to
the global production process. This reduces the entry barrier for developing economies
because a highly skill intensive final product might have a low-skilled component and a
region endowed with low-skilled labor would get the opportunity in contributing to the
production of a high-valued product (IDR, 2009). Nevertheless, participation is not all
and the distribution of value added as well as the realized profit draws us to the issues
of power relations involved in the governance of such value chains.
3) What are the issues and challenges of urban law and order? What revitalization
measures need to be taken to improve law and order?
URBAN SPACES AND LAW AND ORDER PROBLEMS-AN OVERVIEW
Urban spaces are nodes of high population density. Diverse populations may live in
close proximity to each other, at times contributing to inter-group and cross-class
tensions. Housing and areas of commercial activity are often located near each other in
vertical spaces with limited outside access. High population density places substantial
demands on transportation corridors but also opens up the possibility of developing
mass transit systems to quickly and efficiently move populations between different
parts of the urban area.
Secondly, cities are sites of substantial commerce and economic competition that
contributes to greater economic and social opportunities as well as to crime and inter-
group tensions. High density in population creates a market for the masses such as
sporting events and cultural presentations, which are difficult to fit in within the non-
urban areas. Since there is a high demand for space in those places, urban areas often
sets aside designated public areas, such as markets or parks for leisure activities and
economic transactions.
Thirdly, urban environments contribute to different types of policing challenges. The
high level of disparity present in urban milieu creates competition and could contribute
to collective violence. Opportunities for different forms of crime dilute the class
differences. Intensive commerce and trade can also contribute to crime and enhancing
the problems in urban areas. The presence of banks and other sites for securing cash
and valuables can lead to large and small-scale robberies.
Fourthly, cities are major centres of national political life and protests can turn into
riots during difficult times. Urban areas can be contrasted to suburban and rural areas,
which have considerably less density of population and generally a lower concentration
of economic activity.
Fourthly, there are many other challenges facing the governments and police forces in
big cities. The Government functionaries and police forces in these cities are less
familiar with and have less access to the majority of the population and the urban areas
as compared to the police forces in the developed nations. The resulting provision of
informal services substantially transforms the system of governance from that which is
expected in cities.
Fifthly, the megacities pose specific challenges for governance and policing. At one level,
the local administrations often have limited knowledge about the extent of a particular
urban structure. In some cases, there are no comprehensive street maps and it becomes
cumbersome to actually draw such maps or for the city to acquire a thorough
knowledge of the urban terrain. Many of the megacities comprise a series of
municipalities and suburban areas that have grown into one large urban zone. This can
create substantial difficulties in creating solutions for the whole region since the area
will comprise several local governments, perhaps with divergent political directions and
different needs and resource levels. Despite such differences, the areas may share
related security challenges but be unable to work together to solve them.
Finally, these cities may face unconstrained growth and expansion, which would
overstretch their ability to cope with geographic, structural and geological challenges.
The result can be an accumulation of excessive waste or such a high demand for housing
or transport. In such situation, planners and police may appear to face insurmountable
obstacles in delivering security and other basic services.
Building links between police and other government institutions is critical to
developing new and innovative strategies of crime control. Such links are needed to
incorporate security concerns into wider governance efforts. They also enable police
and government officials to build effective relationships with the population in order to
better guarantee security and ensure both order and respect for the rights of citizens.
The list below includes some of the main challenges of law and order in cities:
 Order maintained by informal local structures
 Conflict over resources
 Illegal provision of basic urban services
 Informalisation of city spaces and services
 High levels of absolute deprivation
 High levels of tension between wealthy and poor
 Police are targets of terrorism and political violence
CHALLENGES OF URBAN LAW AND ORDER
One of the basic challenges facing authorities maintaining law and order does not
possess a thorough knowledge of the urban terrain. Rapid and irregular urban
expansion has created entire regions within cities that might not be mapped and that
follow complex and often disordered street patterns. Rapid construction projects can
close off previously passable streets, and create unstable buildings that may collapse
and change the layout of the area. Natural and man-made disasters, such as floods and
mudslides, can destroy entire neighbourhoods and reorganise urban space. In addition,
infrastructure may be of poor quality.
The narrowness of streets and closeness of buildings may also make it hard for police to
tactically appraise areas and may limit the ability of strategic decision makers to apply
policies effectively. Operating in such areas is especially difficult since there are usually
no accurate addresses or ways for police to access them without substantial local
cooperation. Usually, the criminals operating in them will be more familiar with the
areas and will have stronger personal relationships with individuals in the area than
will the police seeking to control criminal activity. In addition, if the government is not
effective in maintaining high-quality infrastructure, it will also generally not have an
accurate picture of criminal activities in a specific area. The density of urban space and
the variety of criminal activities that might occur in a specific area make tracking crime
difficult. In situations where governments have trouble keeping up with the structure of
neighbourhoods, they will have greater problems knowing where and at what rate
crimes occur. All of this makes developing effective crime control strategies difficult,
especially in the neighbourhoods most in need of better crime control.
Planned communities also create challenges for police. Police increasingly face
substantial challenges in managing urban space within gated communities. The
privatisation of space and the difficulty police face in gaining access to private space can
make law enforcement particularly challenging. Without direct access to certain parts of
the city, police may depend on the assistance of private security forces. Private security
guards and firms may abuse the law and crime suspects in the areas for which they have
responsibility.
The various challenges include:
 Few accurate maps available; irregular and inconsistent streets; poor quality of
infrastructure
 Reluctance to work with police and vice versa; lack of mutual trust essential for
building better public safety strategies
 Lack of data on crime in many regions
 Existence of gated communities and private protection services, which limit
access by law-enforcement entities
 Irregular transportation services (informal collective transportation services)
Urban Law and Order
  Poverty and economic and social exclusion of large portions of the population
 Rich and poor resorting to self-management of neighbourhoods in a governing
system that is ill-functioning
Revitalization measures need to be taken to improve law and order
At the heart of a secure urban space is good design that minimises the risks facing
individuals and increases the flow of citizens through the city. However, ensuring that
ongoing collective observation will help to control crime and thus reduce law and order
expenditures. The ideas underlying this new approach to urbanism have been
extensively applied in contemporary policing in North America, Europe and some parts
of Asia. In seeking to restructure communities and cities to create a greater degree of
safety; architects, landscape designers and police have developed the concept of
“defensive/ defensible space”. This strategy was pioneered by a United States-based city
planner who had noticed that in the rising urban violence of the 1960s, neighbourhoods
that had managed space in particular ways had significantly lower crime rates than
other areas. The approach suggests that individuals maintain basic order and security in
spaces towards which they feel ownership. If individuals feel disconnected from a space
they will let it fall into disrepair and crime may rise. At a certain point, however, if too
many individuals have a voice regarding what will happen with a space no one will
invest in taking care of it. This approach argues that people feel they have a right to and
responsibility for a particular place if it is shared by many. Thus, securing a space
requires that people living in the area are committed to making it safe.
Building on this underlying concept, security in a particular residential neighbourhood
could be achieved by following certain strategies in organizing the area.
First, neighbourhoods need to have some form of access control. This is often
interpreted to mean creating gated streets even if the gates are not guarded. At another
level, it simply means that a street is to be frequented by a relatively limited number of
people. A thorough street can attract additional foot traffic that may encourage crime
under some circumstances and discourage it under others. Controlling crime often
involves, therefore, a collaborative management of space that brings together local
residents and other users of that space, with city planners, elected officials and police to
develop strategies that effectively manage that space.
Second, promoting a defensive space means promoting forms of natural surveillance. In
this approach, police and planners think about how to structure space so as to ensure
that individuals can watch the space during their normal routines and thus discourage
crime.
Third, reinforcing a space can entail the use of mechanical devices to make crime less
likely and the creation of organisational structures such as community oversight boards
to organise efforts to control disorder. Space management or defensive space
approaches have also supported the planning of parks and buildings to discourage
illegal activity through such means as growing hedges in ways that minimise cover for
criminals or providing proper street lighting to promote pedestrian security.
The key is to integrate law enforcement and planning practices into an understanding of
local uses of particular spaces and to use that understanding to develop case specific
police strategies. In collaboration with communities, police should be involved in
planning, and planners should contribute to security discussions aimed at developing
environmental security programmes that work to resolve the particular challenges.
There is no straightforward recipe to solve the problems. Rather, controlling crime
through design involves the effective integration of planning, police and community
representatives in developing effective security and space policies to protect basic
rights and control crime.

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

Over time, urban design concepts such as defensive space have evolved into a more
comprehensive planning approach to using building and design to control crime, known
as crime prevention though environmental design. The approach is broad and contains
many variants but follows six basic principles that derive from earlier approaches.
Natural surveillance: Space needs to be built in such a way as to promote passive
observation. This includes creating opportunities for individuals frequenting the
neighbourhood to watch the goings-on and removing covers that can contribute to
criminal activity.
Access management and natural access control: Neighbourhoods and other urban
spaces needs to be built to control access to them and to limit the possibility of entrance
by criminals. At the most basic level, this could mean installing gates, more broadly,
however, it could mean shaping city regions so that criminals have difficulty entering
those regions or escaping from them after committing a crime.
Territorial reinforcement: This element of the approach suggests that buildings and
space need to be made safer by creating a sense of ownership. When individuals feel no
responsibility towards a place, as noted above, they are more likely to let it fall into
disarray or simply not pay attention to it. At the same time, however, a space separated
from the street by high walls can create the risk that individuals will just only take care
of themselves and not think of the broader community. Furthermore, high walls and
barriers can create additional risks by isolating public thoroughfares and keeping them
from view. To prevent this and even foster a sense of ownership of public space,
territorial reinforcement seeks to increase ownership of places by strategically using
porches, low fences and sparse hedges to demarcate property and at the same time link
it to the neighbourhood.
Physical maintenance: Police and other stakeholders seek to maintain the overall
structure of the neighbourhood, reducing litter and other sources of disorder in the
community. This will encourage area groups to maintain the quality of dwellings and
other feature that increase the safety of and respect for the area.
Target hardening: In order to increase neighbourhood security, individual residents and
business owners need to proactively secure their homes and belongings. This involves a
 comprehensive effort, for example to ensure that good locks are installed on doors and
that windows cannot be opened from the outside.
Minimising disorder and establishing well-used space: Law and order authorities and
stakeholders must reduce the level of perceived disorder in the neighbourhood and
ensure ongoing use of the space to prevent opportunities for crime.
Today of course, the concept of crime prevention through environmental design goes
well beyond the constraints of law enforcement and has been applied to the design,
planning and management of public spaces. The strategy enables State officials, police
and the managers of spaces to work together to build security into the environment
effectively.
4) Distinguish between urban informal sector and informal settlements. What are
the causes of formation of informal settlements in urban areas?
Informal Sector
The term ‘informal sector’ was first used by Hart in 1970s during his field work in urban
areas of Ghana. During his field work among the urban workers in Ghana, he came
across to a large self-employed sector, which provided means of livelihood for new
entrants to the urban labour force who fail to acquire employment in the formal sector.
Later, ILO from its country mission in Kenya (1972) widened the scope of informal
sector. The ILO report on Kenya (1972) defined informal sector by the characteristics of
the economic unit. The more concrete definition of informal sector cropped up in the
resolution concerning statistics of employment in the informal sector, adopted by the
fifteenth
International Conference of Labour Statistician in 1993. It defined informal sector as
follows:
The informal sector is regarded as a group of household enterprises or unincorporated
enterprises owned by household that includes:
1) Informal own-account enterprises, which may employ contributing family workers
and employees on an occasional basis; and
2) Enterprises of informal employers, which employ one or more employees on a
continuous basis.
As per ILO, an enterprise should be classified as informal, if it employs only a handful of
workers on low in curve, using simple equipment and works outside the framework of
laws and regulations. According to Narul Amin, the informal sector is usually defined to
include all economic enterprises and employment that are not protected or regulated by
the government laws and social security system. Kanpe Ronald Hope defines informal
sector as the subterranean sector alternatively reformed to as the informal, hidden,
underground, shadow, secondary, black, invisible or parallel economy. Now it
constitutes an important component in the economic activities and process of
development in the Third World. While Nick Devas and Carde Rakodi, opined that the
informal sector is a common shorthand term for small scale, un-enumerated, sometimes
illegal economic activity. Kulshretha defines informal sector as the sector of economy
where the labour force is self-employed with family support in income activities such as
trading and street vending that do not have formal structure and designated areas and
is characterised by small scale labour intensive operations. As per Meshram, the
informal sectors are traditionally said to include the mass of the working poor whose
productivity is much lower than in the modern informal urban sector.
The Union Ministry of Labour under the Government of India has categorized the
unorganised labour deployed in informal sector, under four groups in terms of:
a) Occupation
b) Nature of Employment
c) Specially Distressed Category
d) Service category.
i) In terms of occupation: Small and marginal formers, landless agricultural labourers,
sharecroppers, fisherman, those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labelling
and packing, construction workers, leather workers, weavers etc.
ii) In terms of nature of employment: Agricultural labourers, bonded labourers,
migrant workers, contract and casual labourers.
iii) In terms of especially distressed categories: Toddy tappers, scavengers, head
loaders, animal cart pullers, porters etc.
iv) In terms of service categories: Domestic workers, fish workers and women
barbers, vegetable and fruit vendors, newspaper vendors, etc.
Characteristics of Informal Sector
It is important to discuss features and characteristics of informal sector, which are as
follows:
i) The informal sector is characterised by excessive seasonality of employment and
preponderance of casual and contractual employment. It has a typical production
organisations and work relationships, absence of social security measures and welfare
legislations, negation of social standards and workers rights and denial of minimum
wages.
ii) The workplace is scattered and fragmented and working hours varies according to
the informal agreement between the employer and workers.
iii) There is no formal employer and employee relationship. The employer employs
workers as per his/her requirement with a formal agreement of wage rate and working
hour. There are no such written documents on employment.
iv) Workers in the informal sector are usually subject to indebtedness and bondage as
their paltry income is not sufficient to meet the requirement of livelihood.
v) The workers working in the informal sector are subject to exploitation. Their wage
rate is considerably lower compared to their counterparts working in the organized
sector. The work status is of inferior quality and inferior terms of employment, both in
remuneration and employment.
vi) The informal workers do not receive sufficient attention from the trade union.
vii) The informal sector usually includes economic enterprises and employment that are
not protected or regulated by the government laws and social security system.
In urban areas, the informal sector activities are growing because of the fact that the
government is unable to provide employment to the growing urban population.
According to National Commission on Urbanisation (1988), the urban informal sector
activities includes waste collection and recycling, shelter development in marginal and
ordinarily uninhabitable lands, cart and lorry transport, low cost catering services,
repair and maintenance services and street vending. According to Meshram in urban
areas of Delhi informal sector units are located strategically near work centres,
commercial areas, outside the boundaries of schools, college and hospitals, transport
needs and near large housing clusters.
Informal Settlement
In many cities of the developing countries, heterogeneity in land management practices
allows different patterns of development (on both public and private land) across parts
of the urban landscape. This leads to under-developed or undeveloped land parcels in
many parts of the city. These parcels of land often become home to numerous poor
residents in the form of slum and squatter settlements, with limited public services.
These settlements are often subject to natural hazards (such as flooding), as well as
negative environmental (such as illnesses from nearby sewerage sites) and transport
externalities (such as the consequences of being located next to railway tracks or roads
with polluting and dangerous traffic). The World Bank (2001) estimates conservatively
that more than300 million urban poor in developing countries live in slum and squatter
settlements, most of them being squalid, unsafe environments that create health scare
and security problems. These settlements are termed ‘slum’, ‘squatters’ and ‘informal
settlements’ and are used interchangeably.
Typology of Urban Informal Settlement
Different types of informal settlements seen in the cities are follows:
i) Slums
Slums are an urban phenomenon and they represent an imbalance between migration
into cities and economic growth within the city itself. The definition of “slum” varies
from country to country. In India, each state has its own definition of slum. The National
Definition of ‘Slum areas’ was set by the Slum Areas Improvement and Clearance Act of
1956.It defines them as places where buildings:
a) are in any respect unfit for human habitation; and
b) are by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of such
buildings, narrowness or faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light,
sanitation facilities or any combination of these factors which are detrimental to safety,
health and morals.
The Census of India defines a slum as “a compact area of at least 300 population or
about 60-70 households of poorly built, congested tenements in an unhygienic
environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking proper sanitary and
drinking water facilities.”The characteristics and politics associated with slums vary
from place to place. Slums are usually characterized by urban decay, high rates of
poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment. They are commonly seen as “breeding grounds”
for social problems such as crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, high rates of mental
illness, and suicide. In many poor countries they exhibit high rates of disease due to
unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care. However, some like
Dharavi, Mumbai, are a hive of business activity such as leather work, cottage industries,
etc.
A UN Expert Group has created an operational definition of a slum as an area that
combines to various extents the following characteristics: inadequate access to safe
water; inadequate access to sanitation and other infrastructure; poor structural quality
of housing; overcrowding; and insecure residential status.
ii) Jhuggi-Jhompri Clusters
These are the slum clusters or squatter settlements, which have come up illegally on
public or private lands all over the city to accommodate the poor migrants from the
rural areas. The numbers of such squatter settlements have consistently been on the
rise despite the efforts made to demolish and/ or resettle them. As per the last survey
made by the Slum and JJ Department of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in 1994
there were 4,80,000 household in 1080 slum clusters in the capital. The MCD has not
conducted any survey after 1994 to discourage fresh registration of new slums, but
unofficial surveys indicate that their numbers have increased nearly by double in last
six years. Unlike in Kolkata or Mumbai, Delhi does not have large slum settlements in
specified areas. Historically slum pockets in Kolkata and Mumbai have developed near
large factories and mills during the colonial period and over the years these have got
further extended and density of population has enhanced, but in Delhi these are
scattered all over the city in small settlements, usually along the railway tracks and
roads, river banks, parks, public places and other vacant lands. 75% of the slum clusters
in Delhi have 500 or less households and only 10.5% have more than 1000 households.
As per the survey conducted in 1996, 83.54% slum shelters are made of mud wall with
thatched roof, 14.40% with brick and mud wall with asbestos roof and 1.47% with brick
wall and tin roof. In addition to typical squatter settlements and encroachments,
privately owned land is illegally subdivided in many countries, indicating the
emergence of a flourishing informal land market. In cities such as Bogotá , Rio de Janeiro
and Sã o Paulo (Brazil), Mumbai (India), Cairo, and Lima, land is acquired, secured and
developed regardless of existing legal and planning frameworks.
iii) Resettlement Colonies
Resettlement colonies are those colonies developed for the settlement of slum dwellers.
Resettlement colonies in Delhi have been developed mainly on the outskirts of the city
to resettle about 2,16,000 squatter families, each provided with a plot of land measuring
18 sq meter at a highly subsidized price of Rs. 5,000 (US $ 106). These colonies suffer
from various infrastructural inadequacies like water supply, sewerage, drainage,
garbage disposal, electricity, schools, hospitals, roads etc. A survey conducted by the
Council for Social Development indicate that half of the families do not have individual
water connections or toilet facilities and have to depend on community latrines and
bath rooms which are either so inadequate or maintained so poorly that many of the
residents defecate in the open. The system of solid waste disposal is extremely
unsatisfactory and hardly 30% of the waste is collected for disposal.
The experience of rehabilitation of squatter families from the city heartlands to these
outskirt settlements has not been uniform. The proximity of some of the colonies to the
new work centres made them success stories, but most of these colonies are so far away
from the places of work that about thirty to forty percent of the squatters returned to
the slums for employment. ‘Livelihood rather than habitation’ was a priority for the
poor squatters who found it more convenient to sell their plot at a premium and come
back near their places of work in new slum settlements. In some of the resettlement
colonies fresh squatter settlements have come up on the open and public land, giving
rise to a phenomenon that has been described as ‘slums within slums’.
iv) Unauthorised Colonies and Harijan Bastis
The unauthorized colonies in Delhi are the residential pockets, which have come up
generally on private land in an unplanned manner in violation of the Master Plan and
Zonal Plan regulations. The harijan bastis are those unauthorized colonies, which are
inhabited by the low caste families. The buildings in these colonies are concrete
structures which have been constructed without approved plans and therefore the
planning norms of land use restrictions and building norms of height and front and rear
setbacks have not been followed. Besides road networks, drainage and sewage system,
parks, playgrounds, community centres and other common facilities have not been
developed in such colonies. The approach of Government towards such colonies has
been ad hoc. Over the years, a large number of such colonies have been regularized,
usually on political compulsions, on consideration of betterment levy for redevelopment
of such colonies, but either the rate of such charges or the recovery of the same have
been far too inadequate to actually implement such redevelopment plans which have
lagged far behind the pace of growth, making most of such colonies only marginally
better than many slum resettlements.
v) Legally Notified Slum Areas
The notified slums are those, which have been declared/notified as slum areas under
section 3 of the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearances) Act, 1956. Under this Act
those areas of the city where buildings are unfit for human habitation by reason of
dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design or where due to faulty
arrangements of streets, lack of ventilation, light sanitation facilities, or any
combination of these factors the living environment are detrimental to safety, health or
morals. The major proportion of such notified slums are found in the medieval walled
city in Delhi for example in Shahjahanabad and its extensions, which was originally
meant to accommodate 60,000 population, but where an estimated 2 million population
is now living. Neither the provisions of Slum Areas Act nor of the Master plan for the
walled city have been implemented since the city was overtaken by problems of a
different magnitude, which were created by the unending waves of fresh migrations nor
therefore was the old city left to fend for itself, leading to further deterioration of its
living conditions.
vi) Pavement Dwellers
It is estimated that about 70,000 people live on the pavements in busy market places in
the city where they work as wage earners. They are mostly adult male workers who
have left their families back in their villages. They cannot afford to commute from a
distance since their livelihood depends on the places where they have to work from
morning till late in the evening. They are mostly load carriers, porters, shoe-shine boys,
rag pickers and other types of odd workers. They are mostly concentrated near the
railway stations, inter-state bus terminus, wholesale markets and transport depots.
vii) Urban Villages
There are about 106 villages on the outskirts of Delhi, which have become urbanized in
a haphazard and unplanned manner. These are not notified urban areas and are outside
the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation. Therefore, these areas are devoid of the
facilities of assured potable water, surface drainage system and sanitation arrangement.
The rural character of these villages in terms of land use pattern and occupational
structure has undergone drastic changes. The real estate speculators have acquired
large tract of land in these villages, displacing their original habitants, who have either
migrated to the city or switched over to the tertiary occupations, while new settlers
have started constructions in an unplanned manner, making the future planning of
these prospective urban areas even more difficult.
CAUSEAND FORMATION OF INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
Slums are not a new phenomenon. They have been part of the history of most cities,
particularly in the early years of urbanisation and industrialisation as populations
boomed. Slums are generally the only type of settlement affordable and accessible to the
poor in cities, where competition for land and profits is intense.
Some of the reasons for the growth of informal settlements in urban areas are follows:
i) Population growth
Countries around the world are urbanising rapidly as more people migrate from rural
areas to the cities and natural population growth continues to occur. Today, more than
half the world’s population resides in urban areas. More than 90 percent of this urban
growth is taking place in the developing world.
Urban migration happens for a number of reasons as given below:
• The pushing and pulling forces of migration- Some people migrate because they are
pushed out of their place of origin by factors such as natural disasters or sustained
ecological changes. Others are pulled to a new destination by better job prospects,
education, health facilities, or freedom from restrictive social or cultural realities.
• Low incomes from agriculture- Most people in rural areas work in the agricultural
sector, which is highly dependent on weather. Also, rural land is limited, its fertility
sometimes low or declining, land holdings are small, farm debts are high, and many
households have become landless. As a result, overall rural incomes are low.
• Better job prospects- In comparison with rural areas, urban areas offer dramatically
increased job opportunities. In addition, because urban cultures are often less
constrained than those in villages, cities can also offer greater prospects of upward
social mobility.
• People know what cities can offer them- Most migrants make a deliberate choice to
stay or leave in rural areas. Improved transport, communications and links with earlier
migrants have all made rural populations much more aware of the advantages and
disadvantages of urban life, especially regarding job opportunities and housing.
• Urban migration is often a survival strategy for rural households- Sometimes, rural
households split into several groups located in different places—rural areas, small
towns, and big cities—in order to diversify their sources of income and be less
vulnerable to economic downturns.
Low incomes and limited household ability to pay for housing are part of the problem,
but increasingly it is not only the poor who live in slums and informal settlements.
Poverty is therefore not the sole cause of the growth of slums. Growing numbers of
people with relatively high incomes are resorting to housing outside the formal and
official systems. They find that slums are the only housing alternative outside the formal
market, which shows that there are shortcomings in housing markets and in policies
that hamper the delivery of affordable housing opportunities.
ii) Poverty: When the formal land delivery system does not satisfy requirements of
housing and other related infrastructure, the poor are forced into informal settlements.
These informal settlements include both irregular occupation and irregular rental
tenancy. While in the short run these informal settlements are cost-saving
arrangements for the poor, in the long run the poor suffer several blows to their already
precarious economic standing. In the first place, insecure tenure has a negative impact
on the provision of urban services, and consequently on the economic situation of the
urban poor. Governments are frequently reluctant to provide basic services in informal
settlements because they view such actions as a first step toward legal recognition of
the settlements and tenure regularization. Slum-dwellers have no choice but to rely on
informal service providers at a cost that is much higher than that which other urban
households pay, leading to distorted prices: both of land and services.
 iii) Crucially, lack of secure tenure discourages household investments and investments
in home-based activities. In short, when people are uncertain about their future in a
particular settlement, they are far less likely to invest in it. This has a detrimental effect
on poverty alleviation. It exacerbates the problem of irregular settlements since it
reduces much needed investment in the household sector, and fails to improve living
standards. From the point of view of governments, insecure tenure also has a negative
impact on the rate of tax recovery through local taxation on property and on economic
activities. In addition, without proper identification of urban services beneficiaries, cost
recovery for services and infrastructures is made difficult or impossible. Above all, the
insecurity of tenure and the associated poverty reinforces social exclusion and makes
squatters, particularly women and children, vulnerable to harassment. The flipside,
however, of this vicious cycle of poverty, is that security of tenure is one of the most
powerful tools of poverty alleviation. According to the World Bank, land, for the urban
poor, is the primary means for generating a livelihood and the main vehicle for
investing, accumulating wealth, and transferring it between generations. Land is also a
key element of household wealth. Providing poor people with access to land and
improving their ability to make effective use of the land they occupy is central to
reducing poverty and empowering poor people and communities.
iv) The lack of investment in infrastructure by local government is another obstacle to
be considered, as this restricts the supply of housing opportunities and hinders
economic activities. It is clear that drawing up city plans and putting in place sanctioned
land-use planning systems are not alone sufficient to guide urban development and
produce slum-free urban spaces. Formal land and housing delivery systems exclude
large numbers of people as the land and housing prices increase at breakneck pace and
individuals trade land and property rights regardless of legal status as a way to gain
access to a place to live and legitimise their right to the city and thus a growth of
informal settlements which are plagued by overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, poor
housing conditions and, in some cities, urban violence.
5) What is the nexus between energy and development? What measures need to be
taken for sustainable energy promotion?
ENERGY AND DEVELOPMENT: THE NEXUS
Energy and development are inter-linked. Availability of cheap and reliable energy
boosts economic growth rate and development. It is remarked that the increasing
availability of cheaper and higher quality forms of energy inputs has played a key role in
driving economic growth in industrialized and emerging economies (Ayres and Warr,
2009). Some of the link between energy and economic growth and discussed below:
i) Energy is one of the primary requirements for the economic growth. Economic
growth requires rise in productivity which can be brought about in the modernization
of the agriculture, industry and service sector. The functioning of the tractors and lift
irrigation in agriculture requires low cost and affordable energy. Similarly the
foundation of industrial development depends on energy. Functioning of shopping malls
and all service sector activities such as educational institutions, banking institutions,
hospital, etc. also depends on energy. Thus energy and development are interlinked. A
World Bank study indicates that countries with underperforming energy systems may
lose up to 1-2 percent of growth potential annually as a result of electric power outages,
over-investments in backup electricity generators, energy subsidies and losses, and
inefficient use of scarce energy resources.
ii) Energy is required for quality of life and also for the eradication of poverty. It is said
that a well-performing energy system that improves efficient access to modern forms of
energy would strengthen the opportunities for the poorest few billion people on the
planet to escape the worst impacts of poverty. The underdevelopment of rural areas in
the developing countries are lack of electricity and other energy for hitting, cooking and
lighting. It hampers the education of the children and also affects the cold chain for the
immunization of children and women. Without energy and electricity you cannot make
your city and village smart and cannot integrate impoverished households those who do
not have electricity into the mainstream. Availability of cheap energy will promote small
and tiny industries in the rural areas and would be helpful in poverty reduction.
iii) Energy is required for the social development. The key variables of social
development are education and health. Many children in the rural areas of the
developing countries are deprived of education because of lack of electricity in their
houses. Moreover, functioning of health care centres and hospitals requires electricity.
The social networking such as functioning of computers and mobile telephones also
requires the connectivity which is derived from energy. Therefore, energy is essential to
social development.
iv) Energy is linked to faster modernization. The possession of modern gadgets such as
refrigerators, air conditioners, television, etc. requires energy and those gadgets which
educate people on social change. All the developed countries of Europe, America and
Asia, those who have achieved modernization since long back had done elaborate
arrangement of ensuring energy to facilitate modernization.
v) Energy is required for the economic and social empowerment of women. In rural
areas particular women spend a lot of time in the collection of fire wood and cow dungs
to be used for the cooking purpose. The burning of cow dung cake, paddy husk and fire
wood also causing a lot of damage to women health. The availability of cooking gas and
electricity will ease out the burden on women and enable them to spend their time in
doing some self-employment business and even spend in tutoring their children.
vi) Availability of energy will enhance private sector investment in industry and service
sector. Further it will also attract foreign direct investment to the developing countries.
It is observed that the state and district which have secured supply of electricity and
other form of energy have attracted more FDI as compared to other state having poor
availability of energy.
vii) Energy is an essential need of sustainable development. Safe and clean energy
which is non-pollutant is a pre-requisite of sustainable development. The variables of
sustainable development such as education, health care, women empowerment, etc. are
influenced by energy. Thus for sustainable development nation-states need to have
sustainable energy sources. A few Millennium Development Goals affected by the
energy are:
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
viii) Availability of affordable and cheap energy would be helpful to control inflation of
food and vegetables in the developing countries. Most of the inflation pressure and
rising prices of vegetables are seen due to rise in prices of crude oil used in the tractors
in the cultivation. Food inflation can be successfully controlled in the developing
countries with the help of energy supply.
MEASURES TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEMNT
Sustainable development is an important development agenda of the 21st century and
is one of the vital paradigm shifts in development. Countries have to take appropriate
measures for the promotion of sustainable development. Therefore, the United Nations
has emphasized its institutional framework for sustainable development. In its
institutional framework for sustainable development, it has mentioned that for the
attainment of sustainable development, good governance, sound economic policies,
social democratic institutions responsible to the needs of the people, and improved
infrastructure are the basis for sustained economic growth, poverty eradication, and
employment generation.
Some suggested measures for the promotion of sustainable development follow.
1) The conservation of land, water and energy resources is fundamental for the
promotion of sustainable development. Appropriate action has to be taken for the
conservation of scanty resources. Conservation of resources by the present generation
will provide future generation with widest range of possibilities.
2) The development of technologies and approaches which will minimize the
environmental damages. Such development requires scientific knowledge and
continuous investment.
3) Political and public support is critical to implement environmental targets.
4) Increasing the scope of public participation in environmental issues and, in
particular, in planning processes.
 5) Some countries have initiated good practices which are concomitant with the
promotion of sustainable development:
a) in Brazil, the bio-fuels programme has saved the country $100 billion in external
debt-a fact that makes such fuels attractive in many countries
b) in China, the promotion of vehicles that are more efficient.
c) in South Africa, the implementation of carbon capture and storage technology brings
benefits in terms of technology transfer. The United Nations has strengthened and
integrated the three dimensions of sustainable development policies and programmes,
and to promote the full integration of sustainable development objective with social
development issues.

ASSIGNMENT – 3
Dynamics of Urban Planning and Development
Course Code: MEDS-43
Maximum Marks: 100

1) What is sustainable development? Explain various indicators of sustainable

development.
Sustainable development has become a buzzword in different forums, seminars,
workshops. It is found much in environmental and economics literature these days. The
concern for sustainable development is becoming increasingly louder with the rapidity
of economic growth. Around the globe, throughout history, most modern human
institutions have evolved in ways that are at best, oblivious, and, at worst, positively
hostile to the health of environment. Economic development, till today, is based on two
fallacious premises:
1) It considers needs of mankind alone and ignores the interdependent ecosystem
2) It treats the environment as a commodity.
Human being strives ceaselessly for riches as enslaved and obsessed by technological
advancement and by obtaining higher GNP. This obsession has sullied the environment
and is tending to ruin the carrying capacity that is, capacity of the ecosystem to support
life of Mother Earth. The land lays scarred and eroded. The waters of rivers, lakes and
oceans are contaminated with industrial waste, which is nearly unfit for either
industrial use or for human consumption. The air is filled with gaseous and particulate
pollutants that are toxic to life. Pesticides used to promote agricultural production and
public health has severely poisoned the environment. Each agent of production and
consumption regards the disposal cost of waste as zero and uses the environmental
sector as long as it permits human being to improve their own welfare. They do not
have to pay anything to anybody. The environment is still regarded as common
property, each agent acting as if the human being owns it. The reckless use continues,
without any heed to the damage inflicted, and causes degraded environmental
standards, unhealthy and detrimental to all.
“Our Common Future” marks the beginning of the sustainable development concept that
has generated all the literatures. New books on sustainable development have been
appearing with increasing rapidity since the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development popularly known as the Earth Summit held in Brazil in 1992.
Divergent economic theorists like E. F. Schumacher of Britain, environmentalists like
Barry Commoner and Lester R. Brown, population analysts like Paul Ehrlich, politicians
like Willy Brandt of Germany and Jimmy Carter of the United States, all played
significant roles in formulating ideas.
The era of modernisation has created an atmosphere of excitement of instant economic
growth. In fact, all sectors of developing countries seem to be vibrating with economic
buoyancy. There is expansion of trade, investment, market, and increase in Gross
National product (GNP) productivity, per capita income, profit, efficiency, salary, etc,
across the globe. The free trade system could more tellingly be called the free ride
system. As the producers do not have to include in their product costs all the indirect
costs they cause society. It includes pollution of the land, sea and air, ozone holes,
disappearing topsoil, exploding health costs, allergies, global warming, destruction of
species, pesticides in food, antibioticresistant bacteria, crime, unemployment, escalating
social costs, etc. Many of the most common and most damaging products on the market
would never be manufactured if they were priced at their real costs to society as a
whole. The road to success in global business today is to find a way to pass on as many
of your costs as possible to the public, preferably to another country’s public. The most
profitable companies at this time are those that are most successful at getting someone
else to pay the real costs of their doing business. Present economic process maximises
only the profits to the shareholders, while all the other stakeholders are left bearing the
costs, such as, cleaning up the environment and dealing with unemployment.
The term, sustainable development, was coined by the Brundtl and Commission, which
defines sustainable development as development that “meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Sustainable development is defined as balancing the fulfilment of human needs with the
protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the
present, but in the indefinite future. Sustainable development is a pattern of resource
use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment. The field of
sustainable development is conceptually divided into four general dimensions: social,
economic, environmental, and institutional. The first three dimensions address key
principles of sustainability, while the final dimension addresses key institutional policy
and capacity issues.
There is, now, a worldwide movement of environmentalism parallel to the more
enthusiastic global movement of economic growth. Every section of people around the
globe now expresses some amount of concern towards the deterioration of
environmental standards. The rise in economic welfare is increasingly accompanied by
a considerable decline in the quality of environment and loss of ecological stability.
Some groups of environmentalist are very pessimistic while the other group of
environmental scientists is very optimistic. But the fact remains that there is acid rain,
global warming, the greenhouse effect, erosion and sterility of soil, degradation of land,
environmental pollution and ozone layer depletion. There is widespread desertification
in one hemisphere and deforestation in another hemisphere of the globe. Deeper and
wider concern for environmental degradation springs from two major sources.
1) Rise in material production effluents and use of synthetic materials
2) Increased demand for environmental goods.
The first refers to the problems of environmental externality and the second, to
depletion of natural resources. In addition to the increased supply of economic goods,
there is also an increased demand for environmental goods. Environmental goods
signify any external environmental conditions that affect human welfare.
The following elements are connected with the human welfare
• Absence of all types of pollution
• Availability of clean water and air
• Quality of natural environment (outdoor recreation, etc)
• Quantity of natural environment( forest, wildlife)
• Availability of public utility systems
• Average space availability for inhabitants
INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Indicators of sustainable development are more in the nature of indices that reflect the
state of overall concepts or social goals such as human development, sustainable
development, the quality of life, or socioeconomic welfare. Indicators provide early
warnings about non sustainable trends of economic activity and environmental
deterioration. They are the ‘nutshell’ indicators favoured by policy makers. Sustainable
development indicators proliferated in the wake of the Rio Earth Summit’s call for
indicators of sustainable development (United Nations 1994, Agenda 21). Let us discuss
a few selected indices of sustainable development.
Important indicators of sustainable development are:
i) Gross Sustainable Development Product
ii) Environmental Kuznets Curve
iii) Social Indicators for Sustainable Development
i) Gross Sustainable Development Product
Among different aggregation methods, green accounting is a common physical or
monetary averaging. It is most commonly applied. The concept of Green GDP has been
modified as Gross Sustainable Development Product (GSDP), which is defined as the
total value of production after giving due care to social capital and natural capital of a
region over a specified period of time. It is designed to replace the Gross Development
Product (GDP) as the primary indicator of the economic performance of a nation. It
takes into account:
• The economic impact/costs of environmental degradation
• Impacts of changes in quality systems on national income and wealth
• Global concerns and their impacts on the economy and ecology and society
• The welfare, economic development, and quality of life of future generations
• Expenditures on pollution abatement and clean-ups
• The status of each resource and the stocks and productive capacities
• The depreciation or appreciation of natural assets
• The ecological processes and biological diversity
• The costs of economic growth, resources uses of present and future generations.
The measurement of GSDP shows that consumption levels can be maintained without
depleting and depreciating the quality and quantity of services for the present and
future. It indicates the solutions to the problems as well as the directions to take, such
as:
• Invest in technology, R and D
• Increase productivity and end-use efficiency
Modify social services, educational programs
• Slow down or increase economic growth
• Remediate components of major quality systems; and
• Rectify present shortcomings of income and wealth accounts.
The measurement of GSDP also gives a proper and sound signal to the public,
government and industry about the rate and direction of economic growth. It identifies
environmental, health, and social quality; it identifies sustainable and unsustainable
levels of resource and environmental uses; it measures the success or failure of
sustainable development policies and practices; and it identifies resource scarcity. The
primary goal of a sustainable local community is to meets its basic resource needs in
ways that can be continued in the future.
ii) Environmental Kuznets curve
Some forms of pollution appear first to worsen and later to improve as countries’
incomes grow. The world’s poorest and richest countries have relatively clean
environments, while middle-income countries are the most polluted. As of its
resemblance to the pattern of inequality and income described by Simon Kuznets
(1955) this pattern of pollution and income has been labelled an ‘Environmental
Kuznets Curve’ (EKC). Grossman and Krueger (1995) and the World Bank (1992) first
popularised this idea, using a simple empirical approach. Data are regressed on ambient
air and water quality in cities worldwide on a polynomial in GDP per capita and other
city and country characteristics. Then, plot the fitted values of pollution levels as a
function of GDP per capita, and demonstrate that many of the plots appear inverse U-
shaped, first rising and then falling. The peaks of these predicted pollution-income paths
vary across pollutants, but ‘in most cases they come before a country reaches a per
capita income of $8000’ in 1985 dollars (Grossman and Kruger, 1995, p. 353). In simple
terminology, the EKC shows the relationship between the environmental degradation
and the per capita income. The proponents of EKC are of the opinion that in the early
stages of economic growth, degradation and pollution increase. But beyond some level
of per capita income, the trend reverses, so that at high-income levels, economic growth
leads to environmental improvement. This implies the environmental impact indicator
is an inverted U shaped function of per capita income.
In the years since these original observations were made, researchers have examined a
wide variety of pollutants for evidence of the EKC pattern. It includes automotive lead
emissions, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, toxic waste, and indoor air
pollution. Some investigators have experimented with different econometric
approaches, including higher-order polynomials, fixed and random effects, splines,
semi- and non-parametric techniques, and different patterns of interactions and
exponents. Others have studied different groups of jurisdictions and time periods as
well as have added control variables. It includes measures of corruption, democratic
freedoms, international trade openness, and even income inequality (bringing the
subject full circle back to Kuznets’s original idea). However, some generalisations across
these approaches emerge. Roughly speaking, pollution involving local externalities
begins improving at the lowest income levels. Faecal coli form in water and indoor
household air pollution are examples. For some of these local externalities, pollution
appears to decrease steadily with economic growth and we observe no turning point at
all. This is not a rejection of the EKC; pollution must have increased at some point in
order to decline with income eventually, and there simply is no data from the earlier
period. By contrast, pollutants involving much-dispersed externalities tend to have their
turning points at the highest incomes or even no turning points at all, as pollution
appears to increase steadily with income. Carbon emissions provide one such example.
This, too, is not necessarily a rejection of the EKC; the turning points for these pollutants
may come at levels of per capita income higher than in today’s wealthiest economies.
Another general empirical result is that the turning points for individual pollutants
differ across countries. This difference shows up as instability in empirical approaches
that estimate one fixed turning point for any given pollutant. Countries that are the first
to deal with a pollutant do so at higher income levels than following countries, perhaps
because the following countries benefit from the science and engineering lessons of the
early movers. Most researchers have been careful to avoid interpreting these reduced-
form empirical correlations structurally, and to recognise that economic growth does
not automatically cause environmental improvements. All the studies omit country
characteristics correlated with income and pollution levels, the most important being
environmental regulatory stringency. The EKC pattern does not provide evidence of
market failures or efficient policies in rich or poor countries. Rather, there are multiple
underlying mechanisms, some of which have begun to be modelled theoretically. An
example of EKC of sulphumission is given below in Figure.4.

iii) Social Indicators of Sustainable development

The social indicators of sustainable development as framed by the United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in 1995 are broadly categorised as:
i) Poverty
ii) Governance
iii) Health
iv) Education
v) Demography.
 i) Poverty: Poverty is considered as one of the key indicators of sustainable
development. Nations with a high percentage of people living the poverty line can not
sustain their level of development. The sub themes as well as the core and other
indicators to be covered in the area of poverty are given in Table 1.1.
ii) Governance: Governance is the second key indicator of sustainable development.
Good governance is an essential element of sustainable development. The sub themes of
the governance in sustainable development are corruption and crime.
iii) Health: The key indicators of sustainable health care are mortality, health care
delivery, nutritional status and health status and risks.
Education: As far as education is concerned, sustainable education includes educational
levels and literacy.
v) Demography: The two vital demographic indicators of sustainable development are
population growth and the dependency ratio. The high fertility rates and higher
dependency ratios retard development. Therefore, sustainable development goals
become difficult to attain.
2) Explain key features of urban development policy of Brazil and South Africa.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT POLICY
PERSPECTIVES IN BRAZIL
Brazil is South America’s largest country, occupying nearly half the continent; and with
a population of 187 million, it is the fifth most populous country (and the fourth most
populous democracy) in the world. Brazil has urbanised rapidly over the past few
decades. According to a 2000 census, over 80 percent of the population lives in urban
areas. However, much of this urbanisation has been unequal; population has grown
around state capitals and neighbouring municipalities of larger metropolitan areas,
while other regions have experienced negative growth rates. The result has been
pockets of poverty with increased social exclusion and environmental hazards. Brazil
began as a federated republic in 1889. Throughout the twentieth century, the country
experienced periods of development where the government sought to manipulate urban
space to shape society. Post-Brasilia, from 1964 to 1985, the country was under the rule
of military leaders, and until 1990 there were no popular elections for President.
However, beginning in the late 1970s, Brazil gradually returned to democratic rule, and
in 1982, direct elections were held for state governorships. This process of re-
democratisation has actively shaped the nature of urban development policies in Brazil.
The process of re-democratisation expanded the political arena to include diverse
sections of society who demanded urban reform through active struggles. The struggle
for urban reform began in the 1960s, when progressive sectors of Brazilian society
demanded structural reforms to the legal regulation and use of public land. The main
issue was agrarian reform in the countryside. However the military coup of 1964 gave
rise to an authoritarian political system (lasting until 1984) which did not allow these
reforms to be carried out. Urban reform issues reappeared in the 1970s and 1980s
during a period of slow and gradual political openness in which social movements
slowly gained greater visibility and political weight, and were able to construct an
autonomous discourse and social practice. The movement’s demands were presented as
rights in an effort to reverse social inequalities on the basis of a new social ethic. At the
time, Brazil’s urban landscape had undergone significant changes. Marked by a high rate
of rural-urban migration between 1940 and 1991 during which time the urban
population increased from 31.2% to 75% of the country’s total population. Brazilian
cities grew without basic infrastructure. Major consequences resulted, especially the
spatial segregation of neighbourhoods which were largely neglected, lacked the basic
conditions for adequacy and developed with the complicity of the public authorities.
In 1988, the struggle for urban reform was taken up again. In the beginning, the
movement’s struggle was focused on local issues, such as demands for housing.
However, by the end of the military regime, it had begun to incorporate ideas of the
right to a more social life: the idea of the city, the city of all people, a home beyond one’s
house, a home accessed by paved roads, public services, schools, and transportation. In
1986, the National Urban Reform Movement defined the concept of urban reform as a
new social ethic which rejects the use of the city as a source of profit for a few while
conversely subjecting many to poverty. Thus, this new social ethic politicizes the debate
about the city and creates a discourse and political platform for urban social
movements, in which access to the city is the right of all its residents and not restricted
to a few, or rather, the wealthiest. The struggle brought together several organizations,
movements, professional organisations .The church too came out strongly in defence of
the social role of property which was a major contribution in a deeply religious society
like Brazil.
The culmination of these struggles was the establishment of an internal regulation in
the Constituent Assembly which permitted the use of popular initiatives to present
amendments to the Brazilian Constitution of 1988. More than 12 million signatures
were gathered for popular amendments which contained the earlier discussed reforms.
Conservative forces argued that the principles of social justice were being used as a
pretext to prevent the country’s development (development was a term long used to
disguise the issue of the inequality of urban space) and that intervening in urban policy
would give the state too large of a role. While all the proposals for reform were not
incorporated in the constitution, some important ones were. With the popular
amendment, Brazilian public rights began to guarantee not only private property and
individual interest, but also the protection of collective interest above the various uses
of individual property. Other achievements at that time were the affirmation and
establishment of effective municipal autonomy and the expansion of popular
participation in city management, both through direct institutional mechanisms like
plebiscites, referendums, popular initiatives and public consultation, as well as other
forms of direct participation such as councils, conferences, forums and public hearings.
This ensured the community’s participation in the development of Master Plans, the
main urban planning instrument for municipalities. Further they paved the way for
many other reforms such as the recognition of the right to housing as a fundamental
right in the Brazilian Constitution in 2000 and the approval of the City Statute in 2001.
The City Statute (Federal Law No. 10.257/01) is the Brazilian development law that
regulates the chapter on urban policy in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. It sets the
overall guidelines to promote urban policy that must be observed by the Union (federal
government), the states (state governments) and municipalities.
The City Statute specifically addresses:
instruments designed to ensure the fulfilment of the social function of property,
progressive taxation over time on urban property and expropriation for urban reform
purposes;
criteria for municipalities to develop and apply Management Plans;
regulatory instruments for the use of and access to urban lands occupied by low-
income people; and
democratic city management instruments; public hearings; councils; and city
conferences in national, state and municipal plans.
These reforms have set the stage for several policy innovations in cities of Brazil which
incorporate the elements of inclusivity and sustainability. The case of Curitiba where
the principle of planning for the poor first was incorporated to create a model of a clean
and green city, Porto Allegre, where participatory budgeting enabled the city to set its
priorities for the poor first, the city of Rio where a massive up gradation programme of
favelas (slums) is undertaken are all examples of these innovations that have been
made possible due to a high degree of decentralisation, popular participation and
political commitment t goals of inclusivity and sustainability. Brazil’s urbanisation story
is thus one of possibilities of how problems such as squalor, poverty and inequity can be
dealt with through determined action by both people and policy makers. It is not
without pitfalls. Thus, high proportions of external and public debt are concomitants of
the urbanization in the country. However, the country still has the potential to become
one of the largest growing economies of the world.
Case of Porto Allegre
Porto Allegre is a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and is home to about 1.3
million residents. The local government of Porto Allegre, like several other local
governments functioned as a consortium of landed and business interests till 1988. In
1988, a coalition of Left Parties led by the Worker’s Party was elected to power and held
it for consecutive terms in 1992 and 1996. The coalition government faced a challenge
similar to most Brazilian cities – that is to build a city government responsive to needs
of those who were excluded from city services .The coalition government began an
effort at participatory budgeting which has progressed to transform the nature of local
governance in the city.
The making of the municipal budget in Porto Alegre today is in effect a bottomup
process. The key innovation has been the creation of district and citywide budget
councils constituted of delegates elected in open assemblies at the neighbourhood and
district levels. Over the years, these councils have come to play an increasingly
significant role in negotiating both the broad objectives and details of the budgetary
allocations. The councils also play a role in organizing people, build skills in articulating
demands, translating them into specific proposals and advocating for them. The
introduction of participatory budgeting has considerably changed the priorities of local
government spending to prioritise needs like sanitation, housing as opposed to the
patronage interests reflected earlier. As the experiment has advanced, it has also
widened the scale of participation and advanced representation at every stage in the
programme. The municipality has expanded its range of services and a redistributive
dimension has been introduced.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT POLICY
PERSPECTIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is another nation that is urbanising very rapidly. Over 55% of its
population is urban and estimates indicate that the current rate of urbanization is about
4.9%.The largest proportion of this urban population (about 67%) is located in the four
metropolitan areas of Pretoria/Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
The country also has a number of medium sized towns in the South and the East but the
four metropolitan areas are the real engines of its economy, generating over 80% of the
GDP of South Africa. The system of apartheid which characterised the country is
expressed in almost every aspect of South African cities, in particular the larger ones.
The system of apartheid with its accompanying town planning, transport policies and
systems of governance perpetuated by economic forces resulted in cities with extremely
high proportion of inequity and exclusion Thus, there is low- density, well serviced
white neighbourhoods and there are extremely over crowded, poorly serviced black
neighbourhoods which are spatially segregated. Black townships and housing is usually
the worst in these cities and is either in the form of matchbox housing or shacks. Cities
like Durban and Elizabeth have about half their population in such shack housing which
is informal. Most of the economic opportunities are located in the well services parts of
cities. The neighbourhoods were governed by distinct authorities. Spatial segregation
thus was a marker of differential opportunities.
In 1990, when the system of apartheid ended and the country embarked on a truly
democratic path, the crucial challenge that it faced in terms of urban development was
to continue its high growth trajectory while tackling the challenge of systemic exclusion.
Several legislations were passed to materialize this vision. The South African
constitution thus enshrines an access to adequate housing as a Constitutional right. The
Local government Transition Act,1996 attempted to bridge the distinct local governance
systems while the Development Facilitation Act,1995 provides for fast tracking of land
development for urban growth while also providing for integrated planning of cities.
Like the Chinese system, local governments in South Africa are seen to be primarily
responsible for service delivery as well as local economic development while the tasks
of redistribution, etc. are entrusted to the provincial governments. This has meant that
most city governments are engaged in attracting new investment opportunities and in
improving service delivery. The country has very successfully used the organization of
events such as World Cup football (which took place in 2010) to enhance its
infrastructure and economic competitiveness.
 The downside of the South African urbanization story remains that apartheid no longer
continues in its original form but is expressed substantially enough in the access to
housing, services, and economic and other opportunities. However, the system of
‘Soweto’ where cities were considered the preserves of the rich and blacks whose access
to city was otherwise restricted were brought in mainly to serve as labour has been
broken. Migration is now free. This has brought some of the contradictions to the fore as
witnessed by the increasing occupation of public lands by poor black population and
thus an increase in informal housing. New challenges are thus being generated in South
African cities.
Case Study of Johannesburg
Johannesburg is a city of about 3.0 million populations but forms a conurbation with
nearby provinces of Pretoria and Vereeniging of about 8.0 million. In the apartheid era,
the city ,home to white South Africans had extremely visible areas of prosperity with
standards equivalent to the First World. Poverty, on the other hand, was invisible and
hidden in the Soweto. The post apartheid era has thrown up the simultaneous
challenges of commitment to redistribution and reconciling the same with need to
enhance economic investment, identify resources and counter powerful vested interests
at multiple levels.
The period 1980-2000 saw a reducing rate of economic growth for the country as a
whole. In Johannesburg, this translated into a closure of manufacturing industries,
creating high levels of unemployment especially among African youth. While the South
African constitution is committed to the autonomy of local municipal governments, the
above mentioned pressures and the resultant restructuring of governments and
challenges of service provision in under serviced areas have preoccupied the local
officials . Further while much of the poverty in South Africa continues to be rural, urban
poverty has increasingly become more visible. Post apartheid Johannesburg thus
demonstrates several of the symptoms of a transitional economy. The end of apartheid
saw a system of weak decentralisation at the local level. However by the end of 2000,
autonomy of local governments was fully established. In Johannesburg, basic service
provision to under-served areas has been considerably enhanced. The planning
frameworks for the city were also revised. Economic opportunities thus also came to be
much more spatially distributed.
Poverty in Johannesburg continues to be geographically concentrated and been unable
to fully counter the impacts of exclusion perpetuated by apartheid planning systems.
However, there is evidence to show that the situation has become much more dynamic
with many more middle class blacks and emergence of significant social differentiation
among the blacks themselves. Johannesburg thus stands as a testimony to how a
challenge of systematised exclusion can be countered while managing economic growth.
3) Critically explain state level community participation law and public disclosure
law.
Community Participation Law: State Level Reform
The Community Participation Law (CPL) is aimed at strengthening municipal
governments by:
• Institutionalizing citizen participation.
• Introducing the concept of Area Sabhas (consisting of all registered voters of a polling
booth) in urban areas.
• Involving citizens in municipal functions like setting priorities, budgeting provisions,
exerting pressure for compliance of existing regulations, etc.
JNNURM contemplates the creation of another tier of decision-making in the
municipality which is below the ward level, called the Area Sabha. All the Area Sabhas in
a ward will be linked to the ward level committee through Area Sabha representatives,
who will be representatives of the community. Thus, there will be minimum 3 tiers of
decision-making in a municipality, namely, the municipality, the ward committee, and
the Area Sabhas. In addition, states may choose to have an intermediary level for
administrative reasons, clustering multiple wards into a regional structure between the
ward and the municipality.

The CPL is a mandatory reform under the JNNURM and it refers to making appropriate
provisions in the state-level municipal statute(s) for the establishment of such a
three/four-tiered structure. The JNNURM makes it mandatory for states to either enact
a separate CPL or make appropriate amendments to their existing municipal laws.
These enactments will need to ensure clear definition of functions, duties and powers of
each of these tiers, and provide for appropriate devolution of funds, functions and
functionaries to these levels. The figure above (Fig 1.1) illustrates the proposed
structure. Citizen participation is essential for making democratic processes effective
and for strengthening them. It provides a platform to citizens to influence
policy/program development and implementation. While various platforms and
systems for citizen’s participation have developed organically, there is a need to
institutionalize them to make them effective and sustainable. The CPL aims to
institutionalize such community participation platforms/systems. If implemented in
true spirit, it will have the following advantages:
• It will help deepen democracy, facilitate efficiency and sustained socioeconomic
growth, and promote pro-poor initiatives.
• It will help in improving urban governance and service delivery.
• It will promote transparency and accountability in governance.
• It will improve the quality of decision making, as these would be based on knowledge
of local realities and requirements.
• It has significance for regional planning structures like the District Planning
Committee and the Metropolitan Planning Committee both of which require citizen
participation in planning from the grassroots.
• Citizens will have a say in determining how information is shared, policies are set,
resources are used and plans/programs are implemented.
Public Disclosure Law: State Level Reforms
The goal of public disclosure is to institute transparency and accountability in the
functioning of municipalities through publication of information pertaining to various
facets of municipal governance, namely: personnel, particulars of administrative
structure, and finances and operations. The JNNURM envisages the enactment of a
Public Disclosure Law (PDL) to ensure release of quarterly performance information to
all stakeholders.
The core objectives of the Public Disclosure Law are:
• To provide appropriate financial and operational information on various municipal
services to citizens and other stakeholders.
• To promote efficiency and consistency in the delivery of public goods and services by
the municipality.
• To enable comparison over time (of a particular ULB) and space (between ULBs) by
disseminating information in a structured, regular and standardized manner.
The JNNURM reform toolkit clearly states that “JNNURM requires that municipalities
and parastatal agencies will have to publish information about the municipality and its
functioning on a periodic basis. Such information includes, but is not limited, to
statutorily audit quarterly statements of performance covering operating and financial
parameters and service levels for various services being rendered by the municipality.”
The enactment of the Public Disclosure Law refers to making appropriate provisions in
the state-level municipal statute(s) and/or other state-level statutes to ensure that
these disclosures are mandatory.
Rationale for the reform
Public disclosure is essential for accountability within as well as outside the municipal
system for the following reasons:
First, this criterion builds a channel between the local, state and the union levels of
India’s federal government structure for effective communication through voluntary
disclosure of information. This aids the audit of finances and operational performance
of ULBs. It also helps create an environment of healthy competition between different
ULBs in the delivery of quality of life to their citizens.
Second, by making information accessible to the citizenry, it plays a lead role in enabling
them to effectively use the participatory platforms to influence municipal policies. This
reform can also be seen as supplementing another key reform criterion of JNNURM,
namely, enactment of the Community Participation Law by helping it achieve informed
participation. Thus, public disclosure makes ULBs more accountable not only within the
federal structure but also to the citizen.
Third, the PDL also allows ULBs to be accountable to a variety of other stakeholders
with which it must increasingly interact including lenders, credit rating agencies,
donors, private contractors and so on. The creation of a robust platform for the
disclosure of municipal finances will facilitate easier evaluation of municipalities in
accessing funding from lenders and capital markets, as well as reduce the cost of
borrowing over time. This is especially important given that ULBs may need to access
market-based financing for at least some portion of their capital investment
requirements.
Some of the advantages of a law on Public Disclosure are:
• A PDL will make it mandatory for municipalities to publish information suo motu.
• A well drafted PDL will provide clear guidelines to the ULBs/parastatals on the areas
and manner of disclosure and hence prevent inconsistencies and conflicts.
• It will enhance transparency and accountability in government processes and in the
process check corruption.
• It will help citizens to play an effective role in their local governance through informed
participation, thus strengthening citizen-state partnership.
• Access to information will enhance the ability of citizens to exercise a whole range of
other rights. In this sense, public disclosure supplements the Right to Information (RTI)
Act, 2005, by making available regular information on ULB activities suo motu as
follows:
• This will ease the load on the Information Department by reducing the number of RTI
requests on such matters.
 • This will ensure the periodicity of suo motu disclosure.
• The reform also provides for the structuring of large volumes of information in an
easily comprehensible format.
• Disclosure of information will bring critical issues to the fore and exert pressure on all
stakeholders to resolve them. In other words, such a law will enable an informed and
sound analysis of urban challenges, thereby, assisting in identifying and implementing
sustainable solutions.
4) What are various sources of municipal revenue? Describe various mechanisms to
improve municipal revenue.
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT: SOURCES OF REVENUE
In India, finance is the basic problem of urban governments. Adequate finances
constitute the life-blood of the whole system of local government. Without sufficient
finances, urban governments become mere subordinate units of state government and
fail to cater to the civic needs of the community. Their income is derived from local
taxation, enterprises, or the wealth of the citizens, located wiithin the limits of 1
municipal body. Direct taxation is common in municipal fiscal administration. In
addition, they impose special levies, commonly termed as "betterment levies" charged
for improvements on property made by them. Besides, they receive assistance from
state and central governments for discharging their obligatory duties. International
agencies through state governments also provide financial assistance for projects of
urban development, such as, water supply, housing, roads etc.
Some of the important sources of revenues of the urban local bodies in India are as
follows:
i) Tax Revenue:
Urban local bodies levy a few taxes in their area such as octroi, property tax, profession
tax, entertainment tax, advertisement tax, animal tax, market tax, water tax, pilgrim tax,
toll on new bridges, etc. Nowa- days most of the states have abolished octroi tax, which
was a major source of revenue for the urban local bodies. Besides, the urban local
bodies also get a percentage of tax revenue from stamp duty, electricity tax and motor
vehicle tax imposed by the state government.
ii) Non-Tax Revenue:
It consists of fees, receipts, fines or income from remunerative activities of urban local
bodies. The fees is collected through various forms and processing fees. Besides, fees
are collected from park and exhibition ground, halting places, public market, etc.
a) Grant-in-Aid: The State Government gives grants-in-aid to the urban local body. It
varies from state to state depending on the recommendations of the concern state
finance commission.
b) Loans & Bonds: Under the respective Municipal Acts, the Urban Local bodies are
entitled to raise loans from the state governments. The loans are to be paid back within
 prescribed time limit along with the interest. Besides, the now a days many
municipalities and municipal corporations are sailing bonds to enhance their revenue
base.
The progress of implementation of accounting reforms by the ULBs in India is very slow.
Only a few states have introduced the measures for raising finance as per the
recommendation of the Central Finance Commission.

Various mechanisms to improve municipal revenue.

The Central Finance Commission has suggested several measures to augment the
consolidated fund of the state for municipal resource mobilisation. These include land
taxes, surcharged cess on state taxes, and property tax. It was also suggested for
enhancing of local resources through property tax and fixation of user charges in such a
way that the full cost of operation and maintenance is recovered. However, all these
suggestions have not been dutifully implemented by various states. Even the state
government does not release the funds received on the recommendation of the Central
Finance Commission.
The JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) has included
following mandatory and optional reforms with the objectives to improve pricing and
cost recovery of user charges.
i) Mandatory reforms:
a) Levy of reasonable user charges by ULBs with the objective that full cost of O & M is
collected within next five years.
b) Internal earmarking within local body budget for basic services to the urban poor.
c) Provision of basic services to urban poor including water supply, sanitation, etc.
ii) Optional reforms:
a) Revision of by-laws to make rain water harvesting mandatory in all building to come
up in future and for adoption of water conservation measures.
b) By-laws on re-use of reclaimed water.
c) Encouraging public-private partnership
5) What is disaster management? Explain various standards in disaster
management.
Disasters have been increasing in frequency and intensity over the past few decades.
This has been directly linked to the nature and extent of human activities taking place in
erstwhile natural surroundings. Human populations are settling in areas hitherto left
untouched due to those being declared hazard prone. This trend of increasing disasters
has necessitated changes in the disaster management systems too. The trends in
disaster management can be studied with reference to vulnerabilities of specific regions
in India and the requirements of disaster management in those areas, viz. the
Himalayan regions, the Riverine regions and the Coastal regions. The chief emerging
requirement in disaster management is sustainable development practices, factoring
vulnerabilities of each specific geographic region in development policy. In this Unit, an
attempt is made to apprise the learners with the recent general trends in disaster
management, which pertain to all disasters- natural and man made affecting us today.

STRANDS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Preparedness
One of the many lessons learnt by victims of various natural disasters is that the
aftermath of the disaster can be worse than the disaster event itself. Thus, there is a
need to acknowledge the need for preparedness towards disaster reduction. However,
people are often surprised by the concept of reducing disasters. How, is often asked, can
a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a cyclone be reduced or prevented?
Unfortunately, due to rapid population growth and development of human settlements
in disaster prone areas, more and more people and their assets are vulnerable to
natural hazards. The number of disasters was three times higher worldwide in the past
ten years than in the 1960s, economic losses were eight times higher, exceeding US$ 60
billion a year!
Natural occurrences such as floods, earthquakes, cyclones, etc. simply cannot be
avoided altogether; they are a part of the environment we live in. What can be done,
however, is to take preventive measures at various levels of society in order to minimise
the impact of such natural hazards as much as possible for the people. The impact of a
natural hazard can be reduced; its worst effects can be prevented.
A natural hazard turns into a disaster when it hits a community and disrupts its normal
functioning and causes economic damage. Natural disasters hit all, rich and poor alike.
But it is the poor who will be hurt most. Protecting the poor from disasters also
contributes towards the alleviation of poverty.
The communities actively involved in working on prevention of natural disasters before
they strike belong to all groups of society: international and regional organisations,
national governments or private firms, local administrations or specialised associations.
What is important is to introduce a culture of prevention in all communities, at all
levels: action to save lives must be taken before the disaster strikes.
Principles of Mitigation and Preparedness
Disaster mitigation and preparedness activities need to be carried out well in advance
of any emergency, and are driven by the following principles:
• Risk assessment is a required step for the adoption of adequate and successful
disaster reduction policies
• Disaster prevention and preparedness are of primary importance in reducing the need
of disaster relief
• Disaster Prevention and preparedness should be considered integral part of the
developmental policy and planning at national, regional, bilateral, multilateral and
international stage.
• Early warning of impending disasters and their effective dissemination using
telecommunication are the key factors to successful prevention and preparedness
• Preventive measures are most effective when they involve participation at all levels,
from the local community to national level to the regional and international level.
• Vulnerability can be reduced by the application of proper design and patterns of
development focused on target groups through appropriate education and training
• The international community accepts the need to share necessary technology to
prevent, reduce and mitigate disasters, which should be made freely available and done
in a timely manner as an integral part of technical cooperation.
 ASSIGNMENT – 4
Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects and Programmes
Course Code: MEDS – 44
Maximum Marks: 100

1) What are basic features of project management? Explain various technique of

project management.
Basic Elements of Project Management
The four basic elements of project management, which a project manager has to look
into are: cost time, scope and quality. All these four elements are interconnected and
have to be managed effectively for the successful implementation of the project.

i) Cost Management: An efficient project manager is evaluated on his or her ability to

complete the project within the stipulated budget. The costs include estimated cost,
actual cost and variable cost. Besides, there is contingency cost which takes into account
the influence of weather, supplier and design allowances.
ii) Time Management: Time management is one important skills for any successful
project manager. Most of the project fails due to poor time management by the project
managers. For the effective management of time, a project has to broken down into
number of tasks which are to be Project Management accomplished within time frame.
To prepare the project schedule, the project manager has to figure out what the tasks
are, how long they will take, what resources they require and in what order they should
be done.
iii) Scope Management: The project manager at the outset need to clearly delineate
scope of the project. The scope of the project will enable the project manager to
judiciously plan required resources and manpower for the project. As project is time
and cost bound, therefore, scope of the project needs to be appropriately framed within
these constraints. Scope management comprises following main aspects such as
authorizing the job, developing a scope statement that will define the boundaries of
project, sub-dividing the work into manageable components with deliverables, verifying
that the amount of work has been achieved and specifying scope change control
procedures (Levis, 2007).
iv) Quality Management: Quality management is last but not least element of project
management. The success of the project is judged by the yardstick of quality of work it
has produced. The successful project manager maintains the balance between cost,
quantity and quality.According Levis (2007) quality management includes both quality
assurance and quality control. The former means planning to meet quality requirements
and the later emphasises onthe steps to be taken to monitor results to see if they
conform to requirements.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
The project management techniques helps the project manager to complete the project
activities successfully and effectively and achieve the project goal and objectives within
the assigned time period and budget. Broadly project management techniques are two
types:
i) Bar Charts
ii) Networks
Bar Chart
Bar Charts are the pictorial representation of various tasks required to be performed for
accomplishment of the project objectives. The bar charts are of two types: (i) Gantt
Chart and (ii) Milestone Chart
i) Gantt Chart
Henry L Gantt in 1917 developed a system of bar charts for scheduling and reporting of
a project. These charts, latter were known as Gantt Charts. It is a pictorial
representation specifying the start and finish time for various tasks to be performed in a
project on a horizontal time scale. The Gantt chart as a tool is used:
√ To plan time scale of a project
√ To estimate resources required for a project
√ For graphical illustration of schedule of tasks to be completed
√ Helps to plan coordinate and track specific tasks for project
√ Good for small projects when the number of tasks or activities is small and not
complex i.e. good for simple projects.
ii) Milestone Chart
Milestone Chart is an improvisation over the Gantt Chart by introducing milestones. The
milestone represents a circle over a taste in the bar chart which indicates completion of
a specific phase of the task. This was used because by drawing a simple bar chart one
can not monitor the progress of a particular task. In a milestone chart a task is broken
down in to specific activities and after accomplishment of the specific activity a
milestone is reached or in other words an event occurs.
In this bar chart, milestones are represented in circle. For example in Task A, the
milestone two can not be reached until the mile stone one is crossed and the activity
between milestone one and two is over. For example in a socio-economic survey in an
urban slum, the survey can not be possible unless questionnaires are prepared. Some of
the weaknesses of the milestone chart are:
i) It does not show interdependence between tasks.
ii) It does not indicate critical activities.
iii) It does not consider the uncertainties associated with accomplishment of a certain
task.
iii) It will be always cumbersome to draw the chart for large projects.
Networks
The best-known technique for network analysis is Programme Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT) developed during 1956-1958. The PERT was developed for US navy
for scheduling the research and development activities for Polaris Missiles Programme.
The heart of any PERT chart is a network of tasks needed to complete a project, showing
the order in which the tasks need to be completed and the dependencies between them.
Some of the key features of network are:
√ It is a graphical depiction of project tasks and their inter-relationships.
√ The important feature of network diagram is that the ordering of Tasks is shown by
connecting with it predecessor and successor tasks.
√ Net work diagramming is a Critical Path Scheduling Technique used for controlling
resources.
√ Critical Path Scheduling is a technique whose order and duration of Project
Management sequence of task activities directly affect the Completion date of a project.
A few steps to be followed in network analysis are:
i) Specify the individual activities:- All the activities in the project are listed and this list
can be used as the basis for adding sequence and duration information in the later steps.
ii) Determine the sequence of those activities:- Sequencing is important because some
activities are dependent on the completion of other activities.
iii) Estimate the completion time for each activity: - The time required to complete each
activity can be estimated using past experience.
iv) Draw a network diagram:- Once the activities and their sequences have been
defined, the network diagram can be drawn.
v) Identify the Critical path:- The Critical Path is the longest duration path through the
network. The significance of the critical path is that the activities that lie on it cannot be
delayed without delaying the project. Because of its impact on the entire project, critical
path analysis is an important aspect of project planning.
vi) Update the diagram as it progress:-As the project progress, the actual task
completion times will be known and the network diagram can be updated to include
this information. A new critical path may emerge and structural change made.
During the process of project implantation, some activities would be dependant on the
completion of other activities. For example training of personnel for survey depends on
completion of hiring of personnel, design of questionnaires and printing of
questionnaire. All these activities have to be completed for achieving the milestone of
training of personnel.
An arrow is used to represent each activity or tasks to accomplish and the duration of
the activity is recorded below the arrow e.g. hours, days or months.
Each activity or task that happens, has preceding event (circle) and each circle is pre-
numbered e.g. above circle ‘5’ is used as example to how this would be the 5th event.
The earliest event time (EET) displays the earliest time an activity (represented by an
arrow) can start, given the interdependence of other activities that would be completed
beforehand.
The latest event time (LET) for an activity is recorded in the circle following the activity
(arrow) e.g. the latest time an activity must be completed by, in order to achieve the
elapsed time of the project.
A dummy activity is used when a task or activity (represented by an arrow) follows
more than one preceding activity e.g. the arrow could be drawn from more than one
potential circle in the diagram.
The networking technique for the conduction of a socio-economic survey in a urban
slum. Here in this project activity ‘C’ that is conduction of survey depends a ‘A’ and ‘B’
activities such as preparation of questionnaire and recruitment of field investigators,
and their training. Whenever you see an activity with more than one preceding activity,
a dummy activity (broken arrow) will be required to preserve logic within the diagram.
Here, activity B is having more than two activities.
Explanation
• The elapsed (expected completion) time of the project is 8 weeks.
 • The critical path activities are A and C that is both must be completed within their
predicted durations, otherwise the project will be longer in duration than 8 weeks.
Notice how the EET and LET of critical activities are identical.
• Activity B is non-critical activity and would have a ‘float time’ of 1 week. This is
because its predicted duration is 4 weeks, but it can take 5 week to complete and still
leave enough time left for activity C to completed, the elapsed time of the project will
still be achieved. Notice how the EET and LET of non-critical activities are different; the
difference is 1 week e.g. the float time, when you deduct one from the other.
• The broken arrow (or dummy activity) preserves logic within the diagram e.g. visually
you can see that both activities A and B must be completed, before C can start. Notice
also that the arrow representing activity C start from circle 3 (not circle 2), this is
because the earliest time for C would be 5 weeks not 4 weeks as circle 2 displays.
Some of the benefits of network technique are:
i) It provides a graphical view of the project;
ii) It predicts the time required completing the project;
iii) It shows which the activities to be started simultaneous and the activities critical to
the project;
iv) It highlights ‘float times’ for all activities;
Definitions of a few terms required in Network analysis are given below:
i) Activity – Customarily an activity consumes time and resources. It may include paper
work in preparation of project proposal, conduction of survey, etc.
ii) Critical Path – A critical activity or event is one which has to be performed by a
certain time. The critical path is the longest path through a network and determines the
earliest completion of project work.
iii) Events – Beginning and ending points of activities are known as events.
iv) Milestone – This is an event that represents a point in a project of special
significance. Usually it is the completion of a major phase of the work.
v) Network – Networks are called arrow diagrams. They provide a graphical
representation of a project plan showing the relationships of the activities.
2) Explain meaning and features of evaluation. Describe two important approaches
to evaluation.
EVALUATION: MEANINGAND FEATURES
Meaning of Evaluation
Evaluation is a process for determining systematically and objectively the relevance,
efficiency, effectiveness and impact of project activities in the light of their stated
objectives. Since objectives and unbiased assessment of project outcomes are the
essential ingredients of an evaluation, generally, an independent agency is assigned the
job of evaluation. It is also an organizational process for improving activities still in
progress and for aiding management in future planning/programming and decision
making. Evaluation provides information about past or ongoing activities as a basis for
modifying or redesigning future strategies.
According to Shapiro “Evaluation is the comparison of actual project impacts against the
agreed strategic plans. It looks at what you set out to do, what you have accomplished
and how you accomplished it.” According to PSO “Evaluation is assessing as
systematically and objectively as possible an ongoing or completed project, programme
or policy. The objective is to be able to make statements about their relevance,
effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability”.
Features of Evaluation
Some of the basic features of evaluation are as follows:
• It is always with reference to stated criteria
• It is always with reference to a point of time
• It starts where progress reporting/monitoring/estimation surveys end
• It establishes relationship between policies/methods and results
• It investigates and find out factors for success/failure and suggest remedies
• More qualitative in approach and emphasis is on variability than standardization
• More purposive and less aggregative
• Its focus is - policy issues, problem formulation, organizational forms, administrative
practices, and extension of technical contents of the programmes, people cooperation,
attitude and impact
METHODS AND APPROACHES OF EVALUATION
The monitoring and evaluation is one of the important components of any project and
programme. The funding agencies always want that the money which they sanction to
the project and the purpose for which it is spend are utilized for the purpose for which
it is intended. Some of the methods and approaches used by the World Bank (2004) for
evaluation of projects are:
i) Logical Framework Approach
ii) Formal Survey Method
iii) Rapid Appraisal Method
iv) Public Expenditure Tracking Survey Method
v) Cost-Benefit and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
vi) Participatory Method
Logical Framework Approach
The Logical Framework is simply a tool, which provides a structure for specifying the
components of any activity, and the logical linkages between a set of means and a set of
ends. It places the project in its larger framework of objectives within the programme. It
serves as a useful tool for defining inputs, time-tables, assumptions for success, outputs
and indicators for monitoring and evaluation performance. The structure of the Log
Frame is deceptively simple. It consists of a 4 × 4 matrix in which the rows represent the
levels of project objectives, including the means required to achieve them (the vertical
logic), while the columns indicate how the achievement of these objectives can be
verified (the horizontal logic).
The two important component of logical frame work technique are (a) the vertical
Evaluation logic and (b) the hierarchy of project objectives.
a) TheVertical Logic: The vertical logic identifies what the project intends to do, clarifies
the relationship between project means and ends, and specifies the uncertainties
concerning both the project itself and the social/physical/ political environment within
which the project is located.
b) The Hierarchy of Project Objectives: Four levels are specified in the Log Frame:
Goal: The reason for undertaking the project: the ultimate objective of the programme
to which the specific project will contribute.
Purpose: What the project is expected to achieve in development terms once it is
completed within the allocated time. The purpose is the motivation behind the
production of the outputs.
Outputs: The specific results to be produced by the management of inputs. Inputs: The
activities to be undertaken and the resources available to produce the outputs.
Some of the advantages of logical framework are:
a) It forces the project analyst to trace out the inter-locking components of a project in a
Logical manner right from the start. Shifts the emphasis from inputs and outputs to
objectives of the project.
b) It forces the project analyst to ask himself, from the very outset, the question “How
can I check whether or not progress is being made towards achievement of objectives?”
c) It forces the project analyst to record systematically the risks and assumptions
inherent in the whole enterprise. Helps to minimise risk, keep a check if assumptions
are coming true.
d) Handing over to others is made easy.
e) Logical Framework is the intellectual baggage of Monitor and Evaluator.
Formal Survey Methods
Formal Surveys can be conducted from time to time during the project or programme
implementation period. The survey must try to collect information with the help of a
standardized tool from a carefully selected sample of people or households. Surveys
 sometimes used to often collect comparable information for a relatively large group of
people in particular target groups in a project area.
The survey is intended to serve following purpose:
a) Providing baseline data against which the performance of the strategy, programme or
project can be compared.
b) Comprising different groups at a given point of time.
c) Comparing changes over time in the same group.
d) Comparing actual conditions with the changed condition of the target established in a
programme or project design.
e) Describe prevailing conditions in a particular community or group. Some of the
advantages of this method are: (a) Its findings can be applied to longer group (b)
quantitative establishments can be made for the distribution of impacts.
3) Distinguish between monitoring and evaluation. Explain various tools and
techniques of monitoring.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF MONITORING

Tools of Monitoring
Broadly, following tools are used for the purpose of monitoring:
i) Regular progress report
Progress reports submitted by field staff and records at District and Block levels should
contain physical and financial progress vis-à -vis targets, coverage by blocks,
composition of groups (SC/ST/ Others), activities, etc.
From the financial and physical progress report, it is often possible to make a rapid
assessment of whether, and to what extent, the original activities of the scheme have
been fulfilled, and whether it is working successfully within the allocated budget.
Disbursement of funds for the scheme can be matched against other data/schemes.
ii) Monitoring staff performance (review)
Monitoring the staff performance can ensure that individuals are effectively employed
to fulfill given tasks. Ideally, all those employed in a project should meet regularly, to
discuss their progress, and match this against targets and objectives, and discuss
problems and possible changes.
iii) Tour reports by field staff
Often, the most useful information about qualitative aspects of a programme are
obtained from the tour reports submitted by field staff; this is especially true in the case
when the project is very small and the participants may possess only low levels of
education and literacy.
iv) Participant observation
The field staff may stay in the villages and observe the groups closely so as to obtain
sensitive, first-hand insights.
v) Reports from visitors
The project staff ensures that all visitors to the project area (Project Director, State
Level Officials, Researchers, etc) provide a short report on their impressions of the
schemes. These can provide insights/information on new developments, exchange of
experiences and help in further developing the programme.
vi) Interviews
Group members and community leaders should be interviewed on their attitude
towards the scheme and resultant behavioral changes.
vii) Participatory Monitoring
In this latest technique, the beneficiaries themselves are made partners in monitoring
and evaluation. Project staff and beneficiaries discuss and assess the performance
together, in order to understand how they have performed, what the problems are and
what the future holds for them. The project staff mainly plays a guiding role to
formulate appropriate questions and eliciting answers. For example, the group can be
prompted to draw inferences from the bank record books, savings books, etc.
viii)Key informants
In addition to our regular contacts, we must try to interact with other people who may
be useful sources of information e.g. Teachers, Postmaster, Kirana Shop, SHGs etc.
ix) Complaints / grievances
 Many a times, complaints and grievances petition from people in general and target
group in particular may throw some light on the actual performance of the scheme.
Every project should make provisions for such source of information as part of
monitoring mechanism.
Techniques of Monitoring
Broadly following two techniques are used in monitoring:
i) Earned Value Analysis (EVA); and
ii) Critical Ratio Technique (CRT)
i) EarnedValue Analysis: Is a way of measuring overall performance by using an
aggregate performance measure. The earned value of work performed for those tasks in
progress found by multiplying the estimated percent physical completion of work for
each task by the planned cost for those tasks. The result is the amount that should be
spent on the task so far. This can be compared with actual amount spent.
The methods of estimation usually used are:
a) The 50-50 estimate. 50% is assumed when task is begun and remaining 50% when
work completed.
b) 0-100% rule: This rule allows no credit to work until task is completed. This is a
highly conservative rule, which cause in delay in project work.
c) Proportional rule: This rule divides planned time-to-date by total scheduled time to
calculate percent complete. This is commonly used rule.
ii) Critical Ratio Technique: is applied in large projects, in which critical ratio is
calculated for all project activities. The formula used for the calculation of critical ratio
is:
Actual Progress Budgeted Cost
———————— × ———————
Scheduled Progress Actual Cost
If ratio is 1, everything is probably on target and if the ratio is further away from
1 it requires more investigation.
4) Define sampling? Discuss two methods of probability sampling with suitable
examples.
SAMPLING: MEANINGAND CONCEPTS
Meaning of Sampling
According to Levin and Rubin, statisticians use the word, population, to refer not only to
people, but, to all items that have been chosen for study. They use the word, sample, to
describe a portion chosen from the population.
According to Croach and Housden, a sample is a limited number taken from a large
group for testing and analysis, on the assumption that the sample can be taken as
representative for the whole group.
According to Boyce, sampling makes an estimate about some of the characteristics of a
population. To sample is to make a judgment or a decision about something after
experiencing just part of it.
Concepts in Sampling
For clarity and brevity, some concepts and preliminaries of sampling theory, which are
used in the study material, are discussed below.
• Sampling Units and Population: a unit may be taken as a well defined and identifiable
element or a group of elements on which observations can be made. The aggregate of
these units is termed as population and the population is said to be finite, if the units are
countable. The population is sub-divided into suitable small units known as sampling
units for the purpose of sampling. Sampling units may consist of one or more
elementary units and each elementary unit belongs to one and one sampling unit.
• Sampling Frame: a sampling frame is a list of sampling units with identification
particulars indicating the location of the sampling units. A sampling frame represents
the population under investigation, and it is the base of drawing a sample. As far as
possible, it should be up-to–date, i.e., free from omissions and duplications.
• Sample: a fraction of the population is said to constitute a sample. The number of units
included in the sample is known as the size of the sample.
• Sampling Fraction: the ratio of the sample size, n, to the population size, N, is known as
sampling fraction and it is denoted by (n / N).
• Sampling Procedure/Method: this is the method of selecting a sample from a
population.
• Census: this denotes all the elements or units of a population which are used to
explain the features of population. It usually refers to complete enumeration of all
persons in the population.
• Population Parameter and Sample Estimator: any function of the values of units in the
population, such as population mean or population variance, is termed a population
parameter. There can only be one set of values for a population and the population
values are treated as constant. However, the function of the values of the units in the
sample, such as sample mean and sample variance, is known as a statistic. The value of
the mean and variance differ from sample to sample and, therefore, it is a random
variable.
4.2.3 Advantages of Sampling
Some of the key advantages of sampling are:
i) it costs less
ii) takes less time
iii) data are acquired quickly
iv) fewer mistakes are likely
v) a more detailed study can be done.
Probability Sampling
A probability sample is one in which each element of the population has a known, non
zero chance of being included in the sample. Probability methods include simple
random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling.
1) Simple Random Sample
The random sample entails that each and every individual in a population has an equal
chance of being included in the sample and that the selection of one individual is in no
way dependent upon the selection of another person.
The two popularly used methods in random sampling are
i) draw of lottery
ii) using a random number table.
i) In lottery draw, for example, if we have to select a sample of 25 students from a total
of 600 students in a college, then we make separate slips of paper for 600 students and
put them in a box and thoroughly mix them. After that, a person is asked to pick up one
slip. Here, the probability of each of the student being selected in the sample is 1/600.
This procedure is continued till the sample size is acquired.
ii) Another method of simple random sampling is to use a random number table for
drawing 25 students from a total of 600 students. The procedure for using a random
number table follows.
1) Number each element in the sample frame from 001 to 600.
2) Decide a random starting point in the table. Any point will do. Say second row in the
second column (Appendix 1).
3) Look at the first digits at that point, because there are three digit in 600.
4) Then, if the number is less than 600, include it in the sample; if not then look for a
number where the first three digits are less than 600.
5) From that point you can move in any direction. Select only three digit numbers that
are less than 600, until you have 25 such numbers.
Note: You can move in any direction in the random number table because every digit
has been placed in the table at random.
For example, here if we start from the second row in the third column, then, the random
numbers are: 31684; 09865; 14491; 34691, continuing till 25 samples are selected.
 2) Systematic Random Sample
Designing a Systematic Random Sample is sometimes quite difficult and time consuming
and therefore, Systematic Random Sample, like Simple Random Sample, also uses a list
of all members of the population in its sampling frame. However, instead of using
random numbers to select the sample elements, the researcher applies a skip interval to
the list to produce a sample of the required size.

number of elements in the population

Skip interval = ————————————————
the required sample size
N
K = ——
n
K = skip interval
N = Universe size
n = Sample size
For example if we have to select a sample of 100 persons from a universe of 1000
population, then the skip is 10. In this case one number between 1 and 10 has to be
selected. Suppose 5 is selected, then the first sample would be 5th and the next one
15th, 25th, 35th, 45th, and so on. One of the advantages of this method is that it is more
convenient than other methods and simple to design. Again, it is used with very large
populations.
5) What are various types of data? Explain process of tabulation and interpretation
of data.
DATA: MEANING AND TYPES
You know that some basic statistical tools need to be applied for the analysis of data
while writing a report of urban development studies. Before describing the meaning of
data, let us, know what we mean by statistics. According to Netter and Wasserman
“statistics refers to the body of technique or methodology which has been developed for
the collection, presentation and analysis of quantitative data and for the use of such data
in decision-making”. Statistical tools and techniques are used by the researchers to
analyse and interpret data. Thus ‘data’ is a fundamental requirement for any decision
making. Data is generally defined as the evidence of fact which describes a group or a
situation and from which conclusion is drawn. The data is the plural from the word
‘datum’, which means fact? Data is usually classified into two types:
i) Primary data and Secondary data
ii) Discrete data and continuous data
i) Primary data and Secondary data: Primary data is the first hand information gathered
by an investigator or observer regarding a situation. Researcher collects primary data
keeping problems in mind. According to P.V.Young, there are two types of sources of
primary data i.e. direct primary sources and indirect primary sources. In direct primary
sources, researchers have direct interaction of first hand filed work observation
through interview schedule and questionnaire. While in indirect primary sources, he
uses the medium of radio broadcasting, television appeal and other valuable documents
for gathering information. Some of the advantages of primary data are: (i) Flexibility in
collecting data; (ii) more appropriate for large area.
The secondary data are gathered from personal or public documents. The various
sources of secondary data are books, journals, reports, letters and diaries etc.
ii) Discrete Data and Continuous Data: Discrete data can take only a discrete value that
can be divided into categories or group such as male and female, white and black; boys
and girls, etc.
On the other hand, the continuous data can take any value including decimal. This is a
type of data usually associated with some sort of physical measurement. The height of
trees in a nursery is an example of continuous data.
TABULATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
The following operations need to be done to bring data into a presentable form:
Data coding, editing and feeding
Data tabulation
Figures and graphs
We will now discuss these operations, one after the other, for both categorical and
numerical data.
Data Coding, Editing and Feeding
Once data is collected the researcher thinks about the processing and analysis of the
data. This is a crucial stage of research work. Here, the researcher has to consult the
guide and other academicians who have done research in the related field. Therefore, it
is advised that data processing must be planned in advance, and, necessarily, during the
time of questionnaire formulation; and, during the time of data collection. Nowadays,
with the advent of the computer, researchers might think it is the job of computer
assistant, but it is not so. Before either giving it to the computer assistant, or doing it
manually, a lot of activities have to be completed: (i) editing of the data which you
received from the field; (ii) coding of the data; (iii) preparation of the master chart if the
data is to be computed manually; and (iv) presentation of data.
i) Editing of the data
The editing of data is the first step of data processing and analysis. After collecting data,
either through the questionnaire or schedule, you have to edit it. You have to carefully
check for missing and wrongly entered data. Therefore, in large scale surveys and
research, the company undertaking the research project appoints supervisors, or,
editors, for proper checking of data. An example of editing of data is given below.
Example – Suppose that you conduct a survey of the occupation status of the people in a
village, for which you have to collect data from heads of households. The questionnaire
for the purpose is as follows
Name of the Respondent : Rama Singh
Age : 56
Sex : Male
Cast : General
Occupation : Private Service
Income of the Respondent : 10,000
Wife’s name : Rita Singh
Age : 51
Occupation : House wife
Monthly Income : 800/-
In this questionnaire, the wife of Rama Singh is a housewife, but she earns Rs. 800. She
may be a housewife, but by knitting she may be earning Rs. 800 per month. Therefore,
her occupation may be categorized as self employment. Like this, you have to cross
check the data and try to get accurate information which will minimize error and
strengthen your research findings. Therefore editing of the data is very essential before
sending it for processing.
ii) Coding of the data
The questionnaire must be properly coded. Before either, sending it for feeding into the
computer, or entering it in the master chart, the coding of data is necessary. The coding
of data will make data entry easy. Coding of data means assigning numerical symbol to
each response of the question. The purpose of giving numerical symbols is to translate
raw data into numerical data, which may be counted and tabulated. An example of
coding of the marital status and education is given below.
Marital Status
Married : 01
Separated : 02
Widow : 03
Divorced : 05
Never Married : 06
Any Other : 07
The coding of data and checking that codes are properly inserted in the questionnaire
must be done during the editing of the questionnaire. It is always better to prepare a
code book for your questionnaire. The coding can also be done during the time of data
collection, if the code book is available with you.
iii) Entering data in the Master Chart
If you are doing tabulation manually, it is always wise to enter the data into a master
chart. The master chart is a large sheet which will enable you to enter all the codes of
different variables into it. It will help you to generate tables easily. An example of
master chart is given below.

In the master chart you can enter the data of 14 sample respondents. Likewise you can
expand the number of respondents in the column and variables in the rows. It is always
better to enter code (numerical number) in the master chart.
iv) Entering Data into the Computer
Computers are widely used for the analysis of data. It makes the calculation much faster.
The excel sheet, and the SPSS package can be used in social science research. The
following steps are used in the analysis of data by using the SPSS package.
i) Entering of data in the SPSS statistical package
ii) Selection of procedure from the menu
iii) Selection of variables for analysis
iv) Examination of the output.
v) Presentation of Statistical Data
Statistical data are collected to serve a purpose. Therefore, data may be presented in
such a way that it may be easily grasped and the conclusion may be drawn promptly.
Generally, the following three methods are used for the presentation of statistical
information.
a) Textual Presentation: In this method, statistical information is presented in text form.
Generally, this type of presentation is made in a descriptive way. It requires careful
reading of the text in order to grasp the meaning and significance of the facts and
figures given, therein. But, for most people, it is not a suitable and effective method of
presentation of statistical information, because it is not easy for the reader to single out
the individual information and figures. The advantage of this method is that an ordinary
person can prepare and present the text and a layman can read it and grasp it.
b) Tabular Presentation: In this method, statistical information is presented in the form
of a table. Facts and figures are gathered, and then, incorporated in tables. Generally,
this type of presentation is made in a tabular form with rows and columns. Tables
summarize statistical data in a logical and orderly manner.The main advantage of this
method is that tables are brief, concise, and contain only relevant figures. Tables also
facilitate the comparison of figures. The only disadvantage of this method is that the
presentation of tables and the interpretation of data require some skills and techniques.
c) Graphical Presentation: In this case, statistical information is presented in the form of
graphs and charts. Facts and figures are gathered first, and then, they are depicted in
graphs and charts for presentation. Generally, this type of presentation is made through
figures, diagrams, charts, or graphs. The main advantage of this method is that the facts
and figures become more attractive and appealing to eye. A disadvantage of this method
is that facts cannot be shown in detail and accurately.
4.3.2 Data Tabulation
Tabulation is an orderly and systematic arrangement of numerical data presented in
rows and columns for the purpose of information, comparison, and interpretation. So, a
statistical table is a systematic arrangement of statistical data into rows and columns. It
summarizes the data in a logical and orderly manner for the purpose of presentation,
comparison, and interpretation. Tabulation is, thus, a scientific process and means of
recording, statistical data in a systematic and orderly manner.
A statistical table has the following five parts.
i) Title: each table must have a title which convey the contents of the table. It should be
clear, concise and self-explanatory. It should be written on the top of the table.
ii) Stub: this is a column used for mentioning the items and their heading. It is the left
most column of the table. A stub is generally marked with rows and in each row, an item
is mentioned. The stub should be clear and selfexplanatory.
iii) Caption: this is the heading for columns, other than the stub. It is the upper part of
the Table. Caption should be properly columned and worded. Sometimes, below the
caption, the units of measurement and column numbers, is called a box head.
iv) Body: the main part of the table. It contains the data which are exhibited in the table.
The figures inserted therein should be distinct.
v) Source & Footnote: the last part of a table. If the researcher is procuring data from a
secondary source, then the source of the data needs to be mentioned. For example, if
you are citing data from the Census of India then the year and the department and the
state need to be mentioned. After mentioning the sources, the researcher has to provide
a footnote, e.g., in the same cell, if you are giving the figure, and in parenthesis, the
percentage to the total, and then, it must be mentioned in the footnote. An example of a
table is given below: