Some 50-odd years ago, UC Berkeley scholars (including Kingsley Davis and Catherine Wurster) organized a path breaking conference on India’s urban future, here at the Claremont Hotel. This coming spring break, more than twenty faculty, researchers and graduate students will travel to New Delhi from Berkeley, to take part in a symposium/workshop (March 23-25) on The 21st-Century Indian City: Developing an Agenda for Urbanization in India.
Sponsored by the Kanwal and Ann Rekhi Foundation, the Center for South Asia Studies, Global Metropolitan Studies, and the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, it is perhaps the first time a major U.S. university has organized a symposium abroad with such a range of multidisciplinary participation.
UC Berkeley is uniquely positioned to lead a conference on Indian cities, given its unmatched expertise in the field of South Asian studies, as well as Urban Studies. Departments represented include Anthropology, the Business School, City and Regional Planning, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Energy Resources Group, Geography, Political Science and Sociology. On the Indian side, speakers will include scholars and policymakers from leading research institutions and non-profit organizations, such as the Center for Policy Research (the local co-sponsor), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Institute of Urban Affairs, National Housing Bank, Institute of Economic Growth and many others. It will be a time to take stock of urban developments in the past half century, review best practices in urbanization from around the world, and showcase the vast research capabilities and global, comparative perspective of Berkeley scholarship.
We keep hearing that the 21st century is destined to be the Asian century; if so, its epic dramas will unfold on an urban stage. More than half of humankind now lives in urban areas, and much of this present-day urbanization is taking place in Asia, especially in India and China. This process of urbanization is both a consequence of, and a further boost to, the forces that are driving economic growth in these countries. It is, however, turning out to be a mixed blessing. Indian urban centers are monuments to poverty, inequality, congestion and pollution.
Dysfunctional infrastructure creaks under the combined pressures of lopsided growth, political skullduggery and governance gridlock. Yet, these cities are also undeniably beacons of hope for millions. They are the incubators of the new middle-classes, fertile ground for the emergence of social movements and political mobilization, ceaseless job creators for rural migrants, and the wellspring of civil society growth.
It is in the cities of India that the vast opportunities opened up by rapid economic expansion collide with the seemingly insurmountable challenges of managing the frantic pace of national transformation. The institutions of urban planning, local finance, municipal governance and public-private initiatives are straining at the seams, making day-to-day affairs of urban management profoundly difficult.
The issues of land acquisition, slum revitalization, affordable housing, public transportation and city services are all intertwined together with local politics, socio-cultural factors and growing activism, condemning any simplistic approaches and policy quick-fixes to failure. With that in mind, all the panels have been structured in a unique way: each will be multidisciplinary, and will have a speaker from Berkeley, from Indian academia, from the Indian policy establishment and the non-profit activism sphere. The symposium will be built around four broad themes, with each theme representing a core challenge that has to be met in the coming decades: 1) Urbanization, Globalization and Economic Growth; 2) Infrastructure, Environment, and Planning; 3) Democracy and Governance; 4) The Social and Civic Life of Cities.
Some of the questions raised will include:
- Are first tier Indian cities too big?
- What are effective and appropriate transportation solutions to the specific nature of Indian traffic congestion?
- What are the determinants of effective urban/municipal governance? What are the solutions to politico-economic gridlock and the hijacking of power by local elites?
- What will it take to design an affordable and viable public housing scheme?
- How can decentralization in service delivery (such as water) work with increased private sector participation?
- What are the salient attributes of the emerging urban middle class and what is its role in civil society?
- What experiments with democracy do urban spaces allow?
- What regulatory structure and which incentives need to be created for sustainable urban development?
The future of humankind is inextricably linked with urban habitation. Cities attract us and keep us there, whether it be the lure of jobs, the dense network of relationships, the recreational and cultural attractions, or simply, as Milton said – “Towered cities please us then, And the busy hum of men”. Cities are central to national life and urban space plays a starring role in political and social events, whether on Tahrir, Trafalgar and Tiananmen squares, or Sukhumvit and Champs Elysees avenues.
Hopefully, the workshop will help in developing comparative insights and policy prescriptions, which are attentive to India’s needs and are informed by the successes and failures of other developing and developed countries. Fifty years ago, the collaboration between Indian urban scholars and policy makers and Berkeley took place in Berkeley. Today, as we move towards creating a forum where ideas about urbanization can be debated and shared in the spirit of global intellectual collaboration, it is only fitting that Berkeley goes to India.
For more information please contact Puneeta Kala at pkala@berkeley.edu
For a list of participants see: http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/csas.html?event_ID=41212
It was a wonderful workshop with experts from many fields explaining about urban India and how it can be made better. I enjoyed listening to the scholars from many fields speaking on related topics in the same workshop: economists, political scientists, ethnogrpahers, geographers, engineers, social activists, lawers, bankers, local government officers, etc. This is indeed unique and rare academic work and discussion. This should happen often. Congratulations to the organizers for bringing so many scholars and practitioners to this program for improving urban India in the future. Young and experienced scholars and practitioners, all were enthusiastically explaining their research, their experience or their views on how to make urban India work for making it a more livable and enjoyable. Proceedings are made available to government officers at all levels, for them to draw upon the discussions of this exceptional workshop. Congratulations to organizers and participants!
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Harriet’s comment is a good one. Land records, validation is a serious issue. Though, poor people know enough these days to not be duped. So long as they are physically present on their property it is indeed very difficult to move them off it. They know this. The land record problem affects the middle class more. They are the ones who do not have the time and do not the differenence between power-of-attorney vs solid, clean property title (there are still people — apparently young first time buyers — asking on internet discussion forums if it is OK to buy property using ‘power-of-attorney’). Most rural farmer can tell them that it is not OK to buy real estate using ‘power-of-attorney’; they does not know anyone who ever bought that way. ‘Pakka’ record and paper is what a buyer should want.
The electronic record system works for other assets: dematerialized stock records have helped immensely in bringing stock-market and financial assets and investments to those who could only dream about participating in the economic growth of the country. Electronic land-records is a good step forward. DEMAT system can be a good template for implementing the land-record and property market. Like in the DEMAT stock-trading system, there needs to be checks and balances, standardization, ratings, expert advise, media coverage, qualified professionals, ease of transactions, and well designed and enforced regulation. There are no large real firms in real estate transactions (brokers) in India. We can learn from the success of DEMAT and other securitized financial assets in India. Let us build on that understanding and success. Poor people have a large share of their investments in real estate assets they own. That is also where they like to invest, other than in gold. Making this market work well can be a win-win-win for developers-brokers-buyers. Like in the financial sector, it will be an evolutionary process, with hiccups in between — stories abound on internet about investors complaining that they are looking for the stock broker who sold their stock without their permission at the height of the last market crash. They had signed that ‘power-of-attorney’ allowing the broker to do so (stock market regulator had made the ‘power-of-attorney’ illegal when the markets had recovered; they are back now.) So there are bound to be issues that will need education, and good regulation to overcome them.
I can go on at some length about these issues. But it is sufficient to say that there is a system is place now. It is inefficient and expensive for most.
Technology can solve these problems.
People can make technology work.
Economists can make people work.
Who can make Economists work?
Well, are they not people?
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Delighted that Berkeley is coming to India! And to the capital city of Delhi…but it would be great if we can start looking at two, three and maybe even four tier cities that are begining to urbanise before they make the same old mistakes of India’s BIG cities.
I have moved from Washington DC, to Navi Mumbai to Mangalore and recently to Puthige, Moodabidri a village in Karnataka and I can see ‘the beacons of hope for millions’ soon turning into dark pits of despair.
While ideas about urbanization ‘can be debated and shared in the spirit of global intellectual collaboration’ …what would really make a difference is adding a practical component to the conference that looks at Operational issues, particularly at the municipal governance level:Taluk and Tashildar’s offices.
Computerisation of land records and scanning of Survey maps and consigning the so called “original” documents to the shredder is creating a tremendous opportunity to create newly made up ‘authentic’ documents based on non-existing original documents and sale deeds. The newly computerised land records are full of erros that are creeping into the system as young clerks are transcribing them with absoultely no attention to detail Where 1 acre and 0.1 acres of land can mean a lot.
This process completely intimidates the rural poor and illiterate people, especially widowed women who inherit land and are guided by touts telling them where to put their left thumb imprint. One visit to a Sub registrar’s and Tashildar’s office to observe the goings on will be an eye opener and a day well spent if anyone would really like to get tot eh source of a lot of problems.
This example may not be part of today’s discussion on Urban Indian cities but these are the building blocks of tomorrows mega cities. New emerging cities need hand holding, pro-bono legal assistance and good old watch dogs as we transition to the cities of the 21st century.
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It is exciting to hear about the workshop on the twenty-first century Indian city. I am interested in knowing more about it since I am also involved in urban research in India.
With thanks,
Atul
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