From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Sep 1 10:22:45 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 10:22:45 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Poverty & Inequality in a "World Class City" In-Reply-To: <7fe1019c0908312100l27ce8c35ge9816b3f82b74009@mail.gmail.com> References: <7fe1019c0908312100l27ce8c35ge9816b3f82b74009@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <86b8a7050908312152y7d844e29q61b3751e5bb1ea45@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan Date: Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 9:30 AM 1.2 m in city earn less than Rs 20/day Nauzer Bharucha, *Times of India *1 September 2009, MUMBAI: Mumbai is a city of extreme contrasts. Despite having the highest per capita income in the country (Rs 65,361), more than 1.2 million people, or little under 10% of its population, earn less than Rs 20 a day. This, in a city where plus apartments are routinely sold for anywhere between Rs 10 cr and Rs 25 crore. The damning revelation comes in the Human Development Report commissioned for the BMC and partly funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the report, more than half of Mumbai’s population lives in sub-human conditions in shanties, but the land that slums are situated on comprise just 6% of the city’s total land area. “Is there justification to continue calling this city, once the London of the east, the Urbs Prima in India? Given the levels of deprivation and the size of deprived population, it would be natural to ask, ‘Whose city is Mumbai, anyway?’,’’ the report says caustically. Amidst the glitz and the dollar billionaires that the city houses, the urban poverty is glaring. The official statistics, according to the report, reveal a dismal picture. At least 12.17 lakh people, or close to 10% of Mumbai’s population, earn an income of less than Rs 591 per month. Interestingly, the city had a per capita income of Rs 65,361 in 2006-07, which is twice the country’s average per capita income of Rs 29,382. “However, these levels do not reveal the wide disparities in incomes across the city where both extreme wealth and absolute poverty are visible without having to look for it. Mumbai is much riddled with urban poverty even as it is home to the overwhelmingly rich people,’’ it said. Although in 1998 it was reported that the poverty was much low at only 8.5% and much below the national and state urban averages, a baseline survey of 16,000 slum households by the MMRDA for its Mumbai Urban Transport Project told a different story: with an average monthly household income of Rs 2,978, 40% of them were below the poverty line. “These various sets of statistics at different points of time do indicate that Mumbai is beset with poverty, even if the precise extent remains to be determined,’’ it said. “The per capita incomes hide a sombre picture of huge disparities. There are people who are very rich, rich, middleclass, poor and very poor because most Indian cities are, as much as Indian society itself is, without inclusive growth,’’ it observed. Another interesting fact that the report has thrown up is the presence of slums in Mumbai—about 54% of the population comprises slum dwellers. “And the relevant dimension is the area they together occupy—just 6% of all land in Mumbai, explaining the horrific levels of congestion,’’ it said. According to the study, “Those who do not live in the slums, numerically nearly half, rarely, if ever, even consider walking through them. This, despite the fact that the city is directly or indirectly dependent on the slums for its supply of services and cheap goods. Slum dwellers are integral to the city and yet the city is aloof to their needs. Those living in slums have contact with, and continual access to, the non-slum areas where less than a half of Mumbai’s population lives. Thus, slums are manifestations of deep structural poverty.’’ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Half of city lives in slums, without clean water, sanitation or security Shweta Desai, Sep 01, 2009 INDIAN EXPRESS Mumbai might account for 33 per cent of the country’s tax collections, but one of every two Mumbaiites lives in a shanty, with little or no access to sanitation, clean drinking water and security. The high economic disparity visible in the city arises from the fact that in 11 of the 24 civic administrative wards, the slum population is more than 50 per cent, revealing an enormous gap between demand and supply in housing and abysmal civic amenities. “Goals of human development cannot be realised if the people, in this case one half of the city, live in an environment which is polluted, degraded and dehumanizing,” states the Human Development Report compiled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation with the help of United Nations Development Programme. It points out that 54.1 per cent of the population lives in slums. What’s more, 97 per cent of these Mumbaiites have never attempted to move out of the slums, indicating “stagnation in personal economic status”. According to the ward-wise break-up of the slum and non-slum population as of 2001, S ward in the eastern suburbs, comprising Bhandup, Nahur, Vikhroli and Kanjurmarg, has the highest concentration of slum dwellers at 85.8 per cent. It is followed by L ward (Kurla) with 84.7 per cent, H/East ward (Santacruz, Mahim) with 78.8 per cent and M/East (Govandi, Mankhurd) with 77.5 per cent. In other eastern suburban wards the slum population varies between 60 and 70 per cent except in Ward T, which shows the lowest concentration at 33 per cent. Wards of the western suburbs have a lower proportion of slums dwellers. P/North has 64 per cent, R/South 55 per cent and R/C Ward has 34 per cent. The lowest concentration is in Wards B, D and E, ranging between 10 and 13 per cent. The disparity in slum and non-slum population has exposed another of Mumbai’s peculiar problems: housing. Since 1961, the number of households has always been more than the houses occupied. This difference widened incredibly during 1991-2001, when houses were 169,603 short of households, indicating that the realty sector, though active, has not managed to address the problem. Homeless households have increased decade by decade, the mean size going up, from 1.9 in 1971, to 2.0 in 1981, 2.3 in 1991, and 3.3 in 2001. “The gap between housing and households has increased tremendously even after 2001 and has gone up to 12 lakh. The gap needs to be filled by more housing projects for slums and low-income groups. There is a need for large-scale investment in these sectors and developers apart from being given FSI incentives should be attracted by tax exemptions,” said Mohan Deshmukh, former president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry. Slum dwellers face a number of problems in acquiring basic amenities: water, electricity and even toilets: only 44 per cent of households in the city have access to latrines. “If residents tolerate the conditions in which they live, it is out of sheer helplessness, mainly emerging from economic reasons,” the report states. The report calls for holistic development instead of a “patchy, incidental treatment” to mainstream them into a city to which they contribute. It calls also for a “workable widely acceptable model emerges to the satisfaction of the slum-dwellers for replication across the city sooner or later”. “Redevelopment as prescribed should be considered but the project should not benefit the developers as most of the SRA projects have ended. Slum rehabilitation should take into consideration all dwellers and not only few depending on deadline which results in more slums,” said activist Simpreet Singh from NGO Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Aandolan. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *30% Mumbaikars earn less than Rs592 a month* Sandeep Ashar / DNA Wednesday, June 24, 2009 *Mumbai: *A recent survey conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and commissioned by the central government, reveals that the urban poor comprises close to 30% of the city's population. Over 10 lakh city families -- roughly 40 lakh people -- earn less than Rs591.75 per person per month, and do without basic urban facilities like television sets, telephones, in-built toilets. These families have claimed to be below the poverty line (BPL) in the door-to-door survey carried out by the BMC in conjunction with authorities from the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA). The objective of the survey was to identify BPL families, in a bid to pass on to them the benefits of the central government-proposed Suvarna Jayanti Urban Employment Policy. Of the 16.07 lakh families surveyed in slum areas, tribal belts, gaothans, koliwadas and slum rehabilitation buildings, 10.78 lakh families claimed to be BPL. For a family to be classified as BPL, its per-capita monthly income has to be less than Rs591.75. A senior civic official said the questionnaire listed several socio-economic parameters, including income profile, living and education standards, assets and literacy levels. The findings suggest that nearly 30% of Mumbai's population comprises people in the BPL category. In fact, the initial survey reported over 12.02 lakh families. Corrections were made after several cases of repetition were revealed. DMA authorities told DNA they had noticed discrepancies in the filled-out 50,000-odd forms. Yogesh Mahangade, assistant municipal commissioner, planning, said thecorrected lists for almost all municipal wards, except the S municipal ward,had been received. "We are incorporating the changes. The list will be sooncirculated." Under the Suvarna Jayanti Urban Employment Policy, the central government has proposed to provide training, recruitment and employment opportunities for families in the BPL category. Dilip Paygude, deputy director, DMA, said, "After the survey results are circulated among ward committee members, objections regarding the list will be invited. The final list will then be forwarded to the central government." After a similar exercise carried out in 1997-98, 27,331 families were declared as BPL. Officials however clarified that less number of families were surveyed at the time. Besides, the monthly income criterion to qualify as BPL was lower, at Rs497 per person per family. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ There are more poor people in Andheri than in Dharavi Sandeep Ashar /* DNA* Wednesday, June 24, 2009 3:07 IST *Mumbai: *Many upper middle class families live in Andheri and Malad. But Andheri has the second-most number of families who have claimed to be below the poverty line after Bhandup. Over 1 lakh families in Bhandup have claimed to be BPL. The corresponding figure in Malad is 75,510. Over 10.78 lakh families in the city have claimed to be in the BPL category in a survey carried out by BMC in coordination with the Worli-based Director of Municipal Administration. A few experts said the findings could be exaggerated, but many said the poverty levels could have shot up in Mumbai because of an increase in the cost of living. Navtej Nainan, an academician, whose article on poverty hotspots was recently published in Habitat International, said it was myth that poverty existed only in slums. "It exists in different communities and settlements like gaothans, chawls, and koliwadas," she said. Simpreet Singh, an activist with the National Alliance of People's Movement, which works extensively in slums in Mumbai, said, "Even as the survey figures are hard to digest, the figures of families falling in the BPL category is way above 27,331 declared in the previous survey." He added: "The economy boom has failed to reach the uneducated, unskilled person living in the slum. There are scores of families who find it difficult to win a daily bread for the family." Tiss director S Parshuram agreed. He blamed the high cost of living, healthcare and education in Mumbai for increase in poverty levels. In fact, Parshuram said that he would not be surprised if the figures revealed in the survey were true. "The recent National sample survey also found 25% population in urban cities to be below the poverty line," he said. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GB GB Andolan1" group. To post to this group, send email to gb-gb-andolan1 at googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to gb-gb-andolan1+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/gb-gb-andolan1?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090901/6ca48730/attachment-0001.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Sep 1 20:10:43 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 20:10:43 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Daunting urban challenge The JNNURM has not measured up Message-ID: <86b8a7050909010740s6fa63501sa899e5bf3a408058@mail.gmail.com> http://www.business-standard.com//india/storypage.php?autono=363860 Daunting urban challengeThe JNNURM has not measured upBusiness Standard / New Delhi July 14, 2009, 0:01 IST India’s urban population is projected to go up by around 100 million in the next 12 years; that means urban space and facilities equivalent to at least seven Mumbais will have to be created. The challenge is making governments at the Centre and in the states start focusing on the needs of towns and cities, in part because more voters live in them than before. In the latest Budget, for instance, the finance minister has introduced a low-cost housing programme (named inevitably after Rajiv Gandhi) that is grandly intended to abolish slums in five years. The likelihood of this happening can be gauged from the fate of that flagship programme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which has used only a third of the funds made available during four out of its seven years. The states’ inability to spend the money given to them is tied closely to the way they run their affairs. The Mission was carefully designed to offer resources to states to build their urban infrastructure while reforming the way cities are run (like abolishing the urban land ceiling, and ending unrealistic rent control laws that distort the housing market). The scheme has worked in patches, so that there is now a big gap in the way different states have progressed along the reform route. What is disappointing, in some respects, is that even those who have failed to reform keep securing central funding. This may be understandable because the losers cannot be left behind, but it does undermine the premises of the Mission. In the two metros, Mumbai and Delhi, creating a market for land by abolishing the urban land ceiling has been stymied. Maharashtra has repealed the law in question but, since most of the land available had already been notified and resulted in litigation, the market will not get going unless the litigation is over. In Delhi, the land monopoly of the malfunctioning and under-performing Delhi Development Authority continues. In fact, Delhi is a particularly bad example of a state that has continued to get money even without carrying out a whole menu of reforms. Reform of this state of affairs is critical, because it is widely held that India’s leading cities are such dynamic growth engines that if the local governments set their houses in order, they will be able to garner sufficient resources for their own re-development, on commercial terms. Yet, virtually no state has transferred the urban planning function to local bodies. While the administrative structure of Delhi is exceptional, the blame for town halls remaining powerless rests with state governments which are reluctant to devolve power. Just a few states have adopted the ‘mayor-in-council’ structure of city government, which is considered effective. The urban challenge cannot be faced without initiating such change. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090901/b37e734d/attachment.html From bawazainab79 at gmail.com Thu Sep 3 01:27:13 2009 From: bawazainab79 at gmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 01:27:13 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Notes from a Metro (Pun Unintentionally Intentional) Message-ID: *Enter Delhi*: The boy was about 13, perhaps less. He was riding a bike which was about three times his size. He swerved between the vehicles on the road at Karol Bagh, very much in the wrong in terms of which side of the road he ought to be on, and therefore also in terms of the traffic rules and regulations. But he could not care. I looked at him and wondered, *Dilli dilwalon ki hai* – Delhi is a city of the large-hearted, of the daring, the bold and the courageous. A few days later, one of the auto drivers remarked to me during a journey, *Kehte hai dilli dilwalon ki hoti hai. Lekin yeh jhoot hai. Sabhi log yahan paise ke peeche pade rehte hai aur har koi aapko lootne ki koshish karna chahta hai –* It is a saying that Delhi is a city of the large-hearted. But this is false. Everyone here is behind money, and each person is out to loot/cheat you. Another auto driver mentioned to me during another journey, *Dilli mein corruption jyada hai, doosre states aur shaharon se bhi zyaada*– There is more corruption in Delhi, more than what it is in other states and cities (in India). *Kyon* – why, I asked, in a rhetorical fashion. Before he could respond, I already answered – *kyonki yeh rajdhani hai?* – Because this is the capital of the country? *Haan, is hi liye. Aur doosra yeh ki har koi yahan apne aap ko minister ka rishtadar bata ta hai ­­–* Yes, that is why. And the other thing is that each one here shows off as being the relative of one minister or the other. In this way, they can get away with anything and also claim to have ‘influence’ or political capital/clout to pass by it all! I smiled on hearing this. Maybe I knew this was coming. At one time, someone had remarked that the problem in Pune city is that everyone shows himself/herself off as a relative of the historical hero Shivaji or belonging to the family of the Peshwas! That relationship needs to be understood in the backdrop of caste, culture, cultural capital and filial capital, somewhat different from the relationships with ministers shown off in Dilli. I still believe that* dilli dilwalon ki hai*. I encounter the aggressive coldness, the aloofness, but then there are also people who talk to me, who invite me into their homes to a cup of tea or a morsel of food. And that encourages me to be a conduit of their stories, of their thoughts, of their imaginations, of their aspirations, of their prejudices, of their biases, of their fears and everything else that comes in this package called humankind. I tell a story here, one that I have only weaved from the myriads which auto drivers, dwellers, taxi drivers and various other people I encountered in Delhi told me at different points in time, during different journeys. This is a story of a city becoming. And with the city becoming, we become, we invest, we reap and we lose. As I am writing, I am unsure how to piece the different narratives together. At times, I pause, wondering if I am sounding didactic or arrogant, or if I am being incoherent. So, perhaps as I write of the city becoming, I also write of myself, and hope that Providence will accompany me in this exercise. Thus, we go … I landed in Delhi on the second day of the strike of the autorickshaw drivers. This was topic enough to begin a conversation from the next day onwards as I leapt in and out of autos. *Toh bhaiyya, aapka strike tha kal. Strike kyon tha?* – I asked the auto driver next day, you had a strike yesterday. Why did you strike? *Ab aisa hai ki authauti wale hum ko fine laga dete hai agar wardi na pehno, agar signal kaat do ya phir galat raaste ho jao. Chalan kat ta hai 5,000 ka, 10,000 ka. Aur gaadi chudwane jao woh alag. To hum strike kar rahe the. –*Now it is like this, that the *authauti *(authority) people, they fine us if we do not wear our uniforms, if we break the signal, if we go the wrong side of the roads. The *chalan*(fine receipt) is usually of 5,000 rupees, 10,000 rupees, and then we also have to go to release the vehicle (which is another headache). That is why we were on strike. *Toh aapka masla hal hua*? – So, was your matter resolved? I asked. *Nahin, kahan. Ab to sarkar ne kaha hai ki woh hamare mamle mein dekhenge. Dekhe kya hota hai.* – No, where? The government has promised to look into our matter. Let us see what happens. Another fellow told me that the strike is also because, *Kabhi log meter se jaana chahte hai toh kabhi humse pehle hi fix karwa lete hai ki itne mein hi jaana hai. Ab yeh to logon ki marzi hai. Bahar se jo log aate hai, woh meter se nahin jaana chahte. To woh humse done karwa lete hai ki itna denge. Lekin policewalleh jo hai woh hummein galat batate hai. Kehte hai hum meter se nahi jaa te aur humko chalan laga dete hai.* – Sometimes people want to go by the meter* *and sometimes they want to fix the fare at the beginning of the journey itself. It is their wish. Those people who come from outside Delhi do not want to go by the meter. They want to fix the fare right at the beginning and hence they do so accordingly. But the policemen always put us auto drivers in the wrong. They say that we don’t go by the meter. And then they write us a *chalan*. He continued, *Aur galat kya hai jo hum aap se 10 rupaiye jyada bhi maang le. Waise bhi mehangayi itni bdh gayi hai. Aur sarkar hai jo kiraya badhane nahin deti. *– And then, what is wrong if I ask you for ten rupees more? As it is, inflation has increased and the government does not want us to increase the fares. After a while, he said, *Aap ko bata de ki log bolte hai ki Bambai mein saare auto wale meter se jaate hai. Lekin unka meter hamesha badha hua rahta hai. Phir woh sahi kaise? *– I must tell you that people tell us that the auto drivers in Bombay always go by the meter. But their meter is not correct and is rigged. Then how come they are right and their ways are correct? *Toh bhaiyya aapka union kuch nahi karta?* I asked the driver whether their union does not do anything for them. *Ab aisa hai ki union ek nahi, bikhre huye hai. Political party walon ka bahrosa nahin. Aaj yahan toh kal wahan. *– Now it is like that we do not have one union. There are several factions. And we do not trust political parties. Today they are here, tomorrow they are there. *Bambai mein to Shiv Sena wale auto union ko control karte hai. Aapke yahan kya BJP wale union pe kaboo rakhte hai?* – I told him that in Bombay, the Shiv Sena party controls the autorickshaw driver unions. Then I asked, if the BJP has a hold on the unions in Delhi. *Waisa nahin hai. Shiv Sena wale ne hamari thodi madad ki thi. Kiraya badhwane ki hamari maang ko unhonne support diya tha. Lekin hum jyada Shiv Sena party se sambandh nahi rakhte. Kyonki woh logon ko baant dete hai. Phir, kuch samay baad, unki party bhi kamjoor pad gayi aur bikhar gayi. To hum unhe support nahin na dete hai.* – It is not like that. The Shiv Sena party and their people had given us some support at one time. When we raised the issue of increasing the fares, they supported us. But we don’t keep much relation with the Sena because they are into divisive politics. And then, the party also became weak after a point in time and it began to disintegrate. So we don’t give them support. To another auto driver, during another journey, I asked again why their tribe was on strike. He said, *Hum galat raaste ho jate hai to chalan kat jata hai 5,000 ka. Us se bada nuksaan ho jata hai humko. Aur sarkar bhi hai jo kiraya badhane nahi deti. Lekin chawal aur shakkar ke daam badh jaate hai. Ab dekho, Congress sarkar ko aaye che mahine bhi nahin huye ki mehangaayi badh gayi. –* If we go on the wrong side of the road, they issue a *chalan* of 5,000 rupees. That leads us to incur very heavy losses. And then the government is there – they don’t let us increase the fare. But the prices of essential commodities keep rising. Now look, the Congress government is in power since only six months and the prices of rice and sugar have increased. We were on our way to South Delhi. At one stage, both the driver and I were unsure about whether to make a left or a right on the road. We stopped by and asked the guard at the club to direct us. I spoke to the guard and asked him for the address. He said, *Madam, woh toh road ke doosre side par hai. Agar autowallah us side se jayega to usko chalan lag jayega. U turn le lo aur phir service road pakad lo. *– Madam, the place you want to go to is on the other side of the road. If the auto driver goes there, he will be issued a fine receipt. Go to the end of the road, take a u-turn and then take the service road. My heart jumped out when I heard the security guard. Just at the beginning of the journey, the auto driver was telling me about *chalans* being issued to them for being on the wrong side of the road and how unfair it was to them and their livelihoods. And now, I would become the cause of a *chalan*being issued to the auto driver. I was very scared. The moment I spotted the place I had to be at from the other side of the road, I stopped the auto driver, gave him his prepaid fare claim receipt, and asked him to speed off. Whew! In the days that passed, and I travelled through various parts of the city, it became evident that the transport authority was perhaps one of the most corrupt and controlling departments in the overall administration. Different auto drivers, during different journeys, said, *Ab aisa hai ki Tata wale yeh rickshaw banate hai. Iska daam hota hai 1,25,000 jyada se jyada. Uske upar, aap samajh lo ki gaadi ki registration, permit, aur kharcha mila ke 10,000 aur ho jata hai. To maan lo ki gaadi ka bahut kar ke 1,35,000 ho jata hai. Lekin aisa hai ki dalaalon ne kabza kar rakha hai, aur black karte hai. Yehi gaadi bikti kai 4,00,000 se 5,00,000 lakh tak. Ab hum to itna kharcha kar nahin sakte hai nah?!? Aur yahan log hai, jinhone ne pachaas pachaas auto apne paas kar liye hain. – *Now it is like this that the Tata guys make these autorickshaws. The actual cost of the vehicle is maximum Rs. 1,25,000. On top of that, there are costs of registration and permits. That comes to about Rs. 10,000. So, at the most, the auto costs about Rs. 1,35,000. Now, there are these brokers, they control the sales of the autorickshaws and hike the price to Rs. 4,00,000 to Rs. 5,00,000. Now, we cannot spend so much. And here, (in Delhi), there are individuals who have about 50 vehicles under their ownership. *Toh hum ne suna hai ki agar aap Haryana mein registration karwaye, to auto 1,75,000 mein mil jaati hai auto.* – So, we have heard that if you register in Haryana, you get the auto for Rs. 1,75,000? I queried. *Haan, yeh toh sahi hai. – *Yes, this is right. *Haan, hum kal kisi ko mile the jo hame yeh bata raha tha –* Yes, we met someone yesterday who was telling us this. What a difference in the prices, no?, my friend travelling with me exclaimed. Almost three times! At another time, I asked the auto driver driving us from Central Secretariat whether the prepaid auto system is more profitable for them or not. *Ab aisa hai ki prepaid mein hammein do char rupaiye jyada mil jaate hai. Lekin yeh bhi problem hai ki hammein jaana padta hai paisa lene ke liye – *Now it is like that we get a little more money when we go by prepaid receipt system. But then, the problem is that we have to go to collect the money back to the counter from where the receipt was made in the first place. *Haan, woh aapke raaste ke bahaar pad jata hoga? *-* *Yes, that must be out of the way for you. *Nahi ji, woh baat nahi hai. Ab aisa hai ki pulicewale is prepaid ko chalate hai. Aur pulicewala to apne baap ka bhi nahin to mera kya? *– No, that is not really the case. The deal is that the prepaid auto system is run by the (traffic) police. Now, the policeman does not even care for his own father, what will he care for me? *Toh aisa lagta hai ki transport department yahan sabse corrupt hai.* – So, it seems like the transport department is most corrupt here. *Haan ji. Ab aisa hai ki sarkar license ke do sau pachaas maangti hai. Jab dalaal beech mein aa jata hai, to usi ka che hazaar ho jata hai. Phir permit lena padta hai. Sarkar uske do sau assi maangti hai aur dalaal aa jaye to wahi teen hazaar ka ho jata hai. Woh sab ko paise khilata hai – neeche se le kar ke upar tak. *– Yes. Now it is like this that the *sarkar* (which could mean administration or the government in different contexts) asks for 250 rupees for issuing license. When the broker comes in the way, then that same license costs us Rs. 6,000. Then we also have to take a permit to run a commercial vehicle on the road. For that, the administration asks for 280 rupees but the broker gets in between and makes it 3,000 rupees. The broker gives money to every official in the administration, from bottom to the top. *Phir, permit ki baat hi dekh li ji ye. Aisa hai ki hammein LMV (light motor vehicle) ka permit mil jaye to hum LMV hi chala sakte hai. Agar hammein truck wagayreh chalana ho, to HMV (heavy motor vehicle) ka license lena padta hai.* – Then you also take the issue of permit. Now, it is like this that we get a permit to drive light motor vehicles. But if we want to drive a truck or some other heavy motor vehicle, then we have to take another license. *To agar aap HMV chalate hai to phir to aapko LMV ka permit nahin lena padta hoga?* – So then, I queried, if you drive a heavy motor vehicle, then you don’t have to take a permit for a light motor vehicle? *Kahan ji! Tab bhi hammein lena padta hai. Yehi to ajeeb baat hai. Agar koi graduate ho, to kya aap us se punchenge ki tumne tenth ka class pass kiya hai ki nahin? Hamney bhi ek baar officer se pooncha tha ki sahib, agar koi graduate hai to kya aap us se poonchege ki woh tenth pass hai ki nahi? Officer ne kaha ki yeh kayda ajeeb hai. Lekin woh kya kare? Woh thodi na kayda badal sakta hai.* – Where? Even then we have to take a permit. Now, if someone is a graduate, will you ask him whether he has passed tenth class (i.e. schooling)? Once, we had asked an officer (in the authority), that sir, if someone is a graduate, will you ask him whether he has passed tenth class? The officer replied, yes, the rule is strange. But then, what can the officer do? He cannot change the law and the rules. *Ab aisa bhi hai ki minister department ko utna nahin jaanta jitna dalal department ko ekum andar se jaanta hai. *– Now it is also like this that the minister does not know the department as much as the broker knows. The broker knows the insides of the department. *Yahan to Punjabiyon ka raaj chalta. Woh hi saare autorickshaw control karte hai. Aur hamare transport minister bhi Harwinder Singh Lovely ji hain – Punjabi. Aur Punjabiyon ka toh aisa hai ki saara kaam bahar hi bahar kar wa lo. *– Here, the Punjabis rule. Most of the autorickshaws are under their control. And our transport minister is also a Punjabi. His name is Harwinder Singh Lovely. And with the Punjabis, they prefer to get all the work done outside. *Bahar kar wa lo matlab kya? *­– What does it mean to get all the work done outside? I asked. (Perhaps he meant that the Punjabis prefer all the matters to be arbitrated and sorted out among the contending parties, outside of the administration’s gaze and involvement.) *Uska matlab hai sab kuch bahar hi nipta lo. Hamare Raju Srivastava ji ne ek joke kaha tha. Flyover banane ka contract nikala sarkar ne. Bungali ne 30,000 ka contract bhara. Marwadi ne 60,000 ka aur Punjabi ne 90,000. Phir afsar (officer) ne teen no ko bulaya aur pooncha ki teen no ke tender mein itna pharak kyon. Bungali ne kaha ki woh saste mein flyover banayega. To woh 10,000 ka material layega, 10,000 labour ko dega aur 10,000 apna profit rakhega. Marwari ne kaha ki woh thoda acchi quality ka flyover banayega. Toh woh 20,000 ka material layega, 20,000 labour ko dega aur 20,000 khud profit rakhega. Phir Punjabi se pooncha. Toh usne bataya ki woh 30,000 bungali ko dega flyover banane ke liye, 30,000 afsar (officer) ko dega aur 30,000 khud rakhega. Toh lo ji, sab khush – aap bhi khush aur main bhi khush.* – That means that the matters have to be sorted out directly between the contending parties. Our Raju Srivastava (comedian and TV personality) had once narrated a joke. A tender was opened for bids to construct a flyover. Bengali quoted 30,000 rupees, Marwari quoted 60,000 rupees and Punjabi quoted 90,000 rupees. The officer called them all in order for them to explain the disparities in the price quoted. Bengali said that he would build a cheap flyover and hence, he would pay 10,000 for materials, 10,000 for labour and keep 10,000 as profit for himself. Marwari said he would build a flyover of good quality. Hence, he would spend 20,000 on materials, 20,000 on labour and 20,000 as personal profit. Punjabi said that he would give 30,000 to the Bengali to build the flyover, 30,000 to the officer and keep the balance 30,000 for himself. This way, you are also happy, I am also happy, Bengali is also happy and everyone is happy! People narrated their perceptions in some journeys. At one time, I was told that house owners prefer to rent their apartments to Bengalis because the Bengalis are peace-loving people and do not fight, whereas Punjabis are more likely to capture the property after living there for some time. In one journey, the autorickshaw driver remarked that Bengalis living in Delhi’s CR Park had all migrated from Bangladesh. He believed that Calcutta was always a prosperous city and that the only Bengalis who migrated were the Hindus from East Pakistan. He explained to us how Calcutta is a cheap city: *Yahan aap auto mein 55 rupaiye kharcha karenge. Wahan Calcutta mein 55 rupaiye mein aap taxi ki savari kar sakte hai.* – Here, in Delhi, you will spend 55 rupees to travel in an auto. There, in Calcutta, you will spend 55 rupees to travel in a taxi. He continued, *Calcutta accha sheher tha. Lekin yeh CPI (M) walon ne usko bigaad ke rakkha hai. Hara aye din strike kar dete hai.* – Calcutta was a nice city (the word *sheher* somehow indicates much more magnanimity, benevolence and vastness than its English translation city!). But, then the CPI (M) (Communist Party – Marxist) has spoilt the city. Every other day, they call for a strike. I think about the disdain with politics that people narrate to me. Yet, they engage with politics. On the surface, we may read this as the corruption that has set into politics. And yet, people engage with politics. Does one class this as “necessary evil”? Or political consciousness? I am not sure how to explain this. For now, I refuse to dismiss this as corruption/apathy/degeneration set into politics. Perhaps I see this as a way of balancing power scales and equations … ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Then I ride past South Delhi. They are building the metro rail system. Just the other day, Mel, D and I were talking in the train from Vidhan Sabha to New Delhi Railway station: Moi: It is so terrible to keep hearing the same announcements at each station each time you travel through the same route. D: Perhaps they should randomize the announcements! Moi: How? They should declare that the next station is Chawri Bazaar and not Civil Lines? D: Yes, maybe. Then everyone will laugh – hahahahaha! Mel: Hehehe! I think the funniest announcement is when they say “Beware! Toys, bags, etc could be bomb!” Yes, bomb! Like everywhere, everyday there is bomb! Moi: The other day, I was travelling in the train from Vidhan Sabha to Rajiv Chowk. At Kashmere Gate, lots of people got in. One of them had a suitcase which he kept close to an old woman’s legs. The old woman began asking around – “whose suitcase? Whose suitcase? Whose suitcase?” – but no one responded. I felt that the owner of the suitcase was not responding because he did not want to haggle with the old woman for space to keep his luggage. And I assumed that the old woman was nagging because she wanted it moved. Finally, she announced, “*Bhaiyya* (brother), you never know what this suitcase could be!” implying that it could be a bomb. “Times are different today.” The *bhaiyya* listening to her concurred with her. The owner of the suitcase came forth and ascertained that the bag belonged to him. I was reminded of my first bus journey in London when an old woman sitting next to me almost had palpitations when she saw the police accumulated around a roadside flea market from outside the window. She wondered whether it was a blast. Hmmm … such memories, such associations, such fears. The Delhi Metro keeps extending each year to different parts of the city. Sometimes I am fascinated and I feel wow! I am able to see parts of Delhi which I wouldn’t have had there been no metro. Then I tell myself that maybe I am building false hopes because it means now with the metro, I don’t take no buses as I used to earlier. I think of regularities, of habits, of everyday routines and what the metro does to people’s lives in this city as also to their minds. Does it open the possibilities for new encounters? … [The other day when I was in the train, people got inside in large numbers at Kashmere Gate. A fellow happened to push another. The one who got pushed turned around and asked the pusher, *Dhakka kyon diya? *Why did you push? *Arre bhaiyya, tum nah toh mere dost nah to mere dushman, main aapko jaan boojh kar dhakka kyon du?* The fellow replied, oh brother! I am neither your friend nor your foe, why should I push you! The two men smiled and understood. *Dilli dilwalon ki hai* – it is these negotiations which force me to peer into the city and into people and their conversations and encounters …] Does the Metro foster/reinforce old beliefs and ideas? I pass through the security checks each day at each Metro station. Sometimes I find the lady guards so bored, doing the same thing they do over and over again – feel people’s bodies and search their bags. Most of the times, it is a half hearted effort, like a formality. And then, as I write right now, I wonder what would happen if there were no security checks at all at each of the metro stations … I also think of the implications the underground and elevated metro has, not so much in terms of costs and effects on surrounding neighbourhoods, but more in terms of what becomes visible and invisible as we go underground in some areas and over ground in others? How does over ground and underground shape our perceptions of the city, our sight, our minds and our visions? …** We walked out of Vidhan Sabha metro station, gate number 1. Across the road were the luxurious DMRC flats meant for the DMRC employees. I point them out to Mel. She also exclaimed in wonder. And then she asked me, “So the security guards at the stations and the people who sell the tokens live in these flats?” I said no. I would imagine they are meant for the top notch officials. Then she laughed and said, “Maybe those who guard the metro rail stations also guard these flats!” The train is usually filled at Kashmere Gate and it both empties and fills up at Rajiv Chowk. The Blue Line trains going to Dwarka are crazy. You get no seat on them to sit for most parts of the journey. The announcement goes: “Please do not sit on the floors of the train and do not play music.” And people sit on the floors of the train. And I wonder whether I can play my I-Pod into my ears and if I do, would I be violating the rules of the use of the Metro? I talk to the taxi driver on the way to the airport. I ask him, *Bhaiyya*, *Metro ke aa jane se aapke dhande ko pharak pada hai?* – Has your business been affected because of the coming of the metro? *Nahi ji. Koi nahi. Balki Metro* *ke badh jaane se hamara dhanda to aur badh jayega. Kya hota hai ji ki log to station par utar jaate hai. Lekin unko aage bhi jaana hota hai. Toh ab kya hoga ki hammein jyada sawari milegi, bhale hi short distance ke liye. Lekin sawari jyada ho jayegi aur jaldi jaldi customer milte rahege *– Not at all! Instead, with the coming of the Metro, our business will increase. What happens is that people get off at the station and then they need to go ahead. In which case, they will call on us. Yes, the distances will be shorter, but we will get more customers, and faster. Autorickshaw fellows also concurred along similar lines. I asked one of them whether the coming of the Metro has made a difference to Delhi. He explained, *Ab kya hai ji ki BJP sarkar ne is Metro ki planning kit hi dus saal pehle. Aur phir aabaadi toh badhti jaati hai. Aur ab is Metro ke aane se, aabaadi aur bhi badh gayi hai!* – The BJP government had planned the Metro ten years ago (according to the then estimates). What happens is that the population increases and now with the Metro, the population has increased further. But the taxi driver does not concur here. He says, *Metro ke aane se pharak pada hai? Kuch nahi ji. Ab kya hota hai ki Dilli ka aadmi bada sust hota hai. Woh bistar mein pada pada phone lagayega taxi ke liye. Hum taxi le aate hai. Phir woh kahe ga bhaiyya zara upar aa kar ke samaan utha lena. Chalo ji, humne samaan utha liya. Phir hum usko station pahuncha dete hai. Ab who kahega, bhaiyya zara coolie bulwa dena. Chalo ji coolie ne maang liye sau-do sau. De diye. Ab in forgeineron ko dekh lo. Khud itne bade bade samaan apne peenth par utha kar ke khud hi chalte hai aur station khud hi jaate hai. Hamare yahan ke log bade aalsi hai. Ab dekhiye ji, kaun sa aadmi metro mein chadhega? Jo beechara busson mein safar karte karte thak gaya hai aur jo jaldi aur theek thaak pahunchna chahta hai. Ab jo pachees-tees hazaar kamane wala hai, kya who metro mein safar karega?* – Has the coming of the metro made a difference? Nothing! Now what happens is that the man in Delhi is very lazy. He will lie in his bed and make a phone call for a taxi. Ok, we bring the taxi to his house. Then he will call us upstairs and ask to pick up his luggage. Ok, we have done that too. Then we drive him to the station. On reaching, he will tell us, ‘go, call a coolie to lift the luggage’. The coolie demands 100-200 rupees – they give it. Now look at these foreigners. They carry their heavy backpacks on their shoulders and backs and they walk themselves to the station. Our people are not like that. Now tell me, who are the people who will use the metro? Those who travel by buses and who want to travel in a clean and safe way and want to reach their destinations quickly. Those who earn 25,000-30,000 rupees, do you think they will take the metro? He continued, *Yeh public-city hi aisi hai. Jiski jaisi soch, woh waisa hi karega. Joh gaadi mein chalne wala hai, woh gaadi mein he jayega.* – This is public-city is like this only. Those who think a particular way, they will behave accordingly. Those who travel by car, they will always use a car. I think about planning, public transport and ways by which people travel the city. The taxi driver tells me, *Ab Dilli mein jitney road ya flyover bana le, gaadiyan kam nahi hongi. Hota yun hai ki jeb mein hai 10,000 rupaiye. Toh bank wale phone kar ke kehte hai, ‘gaadi bhijwa dete hai’. Kamaiyi toh hote rahegi. Har mahine paise bharte rahenge.* – Now in Delhi, build as many roads and flyovers as you like, the number of cars on the road will not reduce. It happens like this that you have 10,000 rupees sitting in your pocket and the Bank fellow knows, he will phone you. He will tell you, ‘we are sending a car for you’. The Bank fellow believes that this fellow will keep earning. So every month, he will pay the installments. Then I ask the taxi *bhaiyya* *Aur zameen? *– And land? (Can you buy land?) He laughs, in a tone I cannot describe. I don’t know what emotion he is going through or what thought it is. He says, *Woh to aap soch bhi nahi sakte Dilli mein.* –You cannot think of buying land in Delhi. My mind races back to the man whose name I did not ask, but when we were wandering around someone’s house, he asked me if I was in their area to purchase a plot of land. This man had been moved from Shahadra to a resettlement colony because his land/house was going to be acquired under the Metro rail construction. I asked him whether he was not interested in going back to Shahadra and residing there. He looked at me and smiled and exclaimed, *Soch bhi nahi sakte waapas jaane ki! Zameen ke bhau itne badh chuke hai ki hum soch bhi nahi sakte. Ek gaj ke 35,000 rupaiye. Kahan se laye?* – Cannot even think of going back! The prices of the land have increased so much that we cannot even think. One *gaj* (square meter) costs about 35,000 rupees now. Where to get so much money? *Kya! Itne kyon badh gaye?* – What? I exclaimed. Why have the prices increased so much? *Kyonki wahan ab poora market ban gaya hai* … - Because a full market has come up there. I am not sure what the market means because as I wanted to talk more, my host asked me to come in along with him and have tea. But he said he did not want to come in. He asked me to look around his area and see if I find some (plot) that I like and want to purchase. Market, I think about that ghost and demon. It has been intriguing me what is the market? How do we understand it? Where is the market? How do we understand the scales at which markets operate? Do the scales have to be separated or can we understand and narrate in a way where scales are neither overwhelming nor absolute nor diminishing one or the other? Market … And then, in the midst of my thoughts, I suddenly ask the taxi driver where he lives? *Mayur Vihar Phase III.* *Haan, hum Mayur Vihar Phase I mein rehte the pehle. * – yes, I used to live in Mayur Vihar Phase I in the beginning, I told him. He then said, somewhat as a matter of factly, *Asal mein Phase I aur II mein apartment hai aur society hai. Phase III poora gaon jaisa hai. Wahan pe gaon jaise kothi/makaan hote hai. Gharon mein aangan jaisa hota hai.* – Actually, in Phase I and II there are apartments and are organized into (housing) societies. Phase III is completely a village. There you have houses like those in villages. Some of the houses have courtyards. As he mentioned this to me, I recognized the aspiration for modernity. In some sense, his tone was slightly hesitant and then also somewhat ashamed. From the beginning of our journey, the taxi driver had been talking about how companies like Easy Cabs are now becoming popular in Delhi because, *AC hota hai. Aaraam hai. Auto wale jaise thodi door jaane ke liye jyaada paise maangte hai. Ab hamare yahan kya hai ki sab facilities hai. Aur hum poora data record kar ke rakhte hai. Dekhiye ji aisa ki is gaadi ne kab kis passenger ko kahan choda tha uska poora data aur record hamare paas hai. Ab aapne kahin bag chod diya gaadi mein, to aap keh sakte hai ki is gaadi aur is driver ne hammein choda tha is samay. Aapka bag waapas mil sakta hai. Ab auto ka kya hai ki driver ke maathe pe nahin likha hota ki woh imaandar hai ya nahin. Aapko apna bag mile ya nahin. - * There is air conditioning. The auto drivers ask you for a lot of money for going a short distance. We, at Easy Cabs, have all the facilities. We maintain a complete record and all the data regarding all journeys that a particular cab and the driver have done. So if you leave your bag in the car by any chance, then you can call and tell the company that you travelled on so-and-so date in so-and-so car number and you will get your bag back. Now with the auto driver, it is not written on his forehead that he is honest and will return your bag to you aptly. The taxi driver had completed his Bachelors in Commerce discipline. He gets 20% of the share from the day’s earnings. It has been two years since he is driving his cab. His father is an employee in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). He is trying for a position in the police services and he hopes it will work out. He tells me about the flyover that is being built from IIT gate right up to the airport. *Aap dus minute mein airport pahunch jaoge ek baar yeh flyover ban gaya toh. Lekin iska kaam chal raha hai chaar saal se. Games hone tak yeh ban jayega. Aisa hai ki PWD wale isko bana rahe hai. Agar private wala banata, toh ab tak yeh khatam ho chuka hota. * – Once this flyover is built, you will reach the airport in ten minutes flat. But the work on this flyover has been going on since 4 years. It should be ready by the time the 2010 (Common Wealth) Games begin in Delhi. The deal is that the Public Works Department (PWD) folks are constructing this flyover. If a private contractor were doing this, it would be ready in the agreed upon time. This intrigues me. I want to probe into his notions of privatization and contract work, more so because he said his father was an employee of the DJB, a government servant. *Toh bhaiyya yeh DJB ko private kar ne wale the?* – So brother, they were going to privatize the DJB, I asked him. *Haan, woh toh BJP sarkar karne wali thi. Ab Congress sarkar aayi huyi hai toh unhone rok rakha hai.* – Yes, that the BJP government was going to do. But now that the Congress government has come, it has put a stop to privatization. Then I want to probe more. Hence, I ask him about electricity privatization in Delhi and how that has proved to be as inefficient as the DESU running it and the number of power cuts continue to be the same. He replies, *Ab aisa hai ki koi aadmi do kilo vazan utha sakta hai. Ab aap us ko bolon ki chalees kilo uthaye. Toh woh kaise utha payega? Ab har ghar mein AC hai, pankhe hai. Balki ek hi room mein kamas kam do AC hai. Cooler to the hi the. Log bhi to jyada bijli istamaal kar rahe hai.* – Now it is like that man can lift 10 kilo weight but you ask him to lift 40 kilos, will he be able to do it? Now, in every house, there are air-conditioners and fans. Moreover, in the same room, there are two air-conditioners. Coolers were always there. You leave that. And people are also using more and more electricity. I am left on this journey thinking about the ways in which people perceive services provided by governments and those provided by private entities. There is no straightforward story that we can tell of whether the private is better than government or that the state should continue to provide water, lighting, health and education. I am grappling with some of these issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I move around South Delhi and notice the frenetic pace of the Metro Rail construction in preparation for the Games in 2010. I pass by an area whose name I don’t know, but it appears before you hit Defence Colony. The construction of the stadium is happening there. Shapoorji Paloonji is the contractor. I am told that LNJP colony near New Delhi railway station is going to be moved. Surveys have taken place to enumerate the slum dwellers. Mel says that the dwellers feel irritated when they see a foreigner around because they are currently coping with the stress of potential eviction. There is no information as to when the evictions will happen. They are only told that the evictions will happen. We go to Ghevra and at the entry to Savda colony where the autorickshaws and cycle rickshaws stand, we are asked if we want to go to Savda. We ask the people who ask us how they know that we are going to Savda. They say that many NGOwalahs come here and they marked as one of that tribe. When being driven around in Savda, people laughed at us and mocked the autorickshaw driver, Haan, take them around Savda. They have come to see the area. Come, see! It is mockery at us, because we are seen as spectators of their plight. I feel ashamed. But I hold out, because *Dilli dilwalon ki hai* and it is the *dil* –the* *heart, the courage, the spirit – which I have to rely on. We pass through the laughter and the prying eyes. And then we are invited into people’s homes and their lives. I watch around in Savda. I hear the language of capture, of building, of speculation which I hear in Mumbai. I then wonder what happens once the games are over. I am told that the built structures will be sold. In my heart of hearts, I hope that they are captured by the very people on whose possessions these were built on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I began to write my notes sitting at the airport. And even then, I find these are incomplete. There are questions I have not asked, there are conversations I have not told. There is the story of *khatra* – danger – that the autodrivers spoke to me about which I have not told here. There is the story of illegal property with legal stamping and legal property with official stamps to prove that there is no *ghotala – *scam – in the transactions and the resulting ownership. But I am spent for now. I am immersed in these tales and I am still dissecting them to understand a city that is becoming. For that matter, all cities in India are now becoming, becoming in a way that was vastly different from what it was two decades ago. My children will know of cities the way I did not know of them. But then, how much did I really know of them as I grew up? … I write with my feet … I feel to travel more … [Dedicated to Melodi Oz with who I travelled into some parts of Delhi and lived with during my time in the city. The Oz turned out to be a wizard – waiting for more magic and laughter to rub on me in the times to come. Dedicated to Ravi Sundaram and his Pirate Modernity – for the conversations, the friendship and the understanding of cities that I have derived from him in some measure.] -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Gaining Ground ... http://zainab.freecrow.org http://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories-of-the-internet/transparency-and-politics -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090903/d5301159/attachment-0001.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Thu Sep 3 12:29:42 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 12:29:42 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?windows-1252?q?Sep_5=2C_09_Saturday_=3A_Public_Wor?= =?windows-1252?q?kshop_on_=91People=92s_Perspectives_on_Urban_Gove?= =?windows-1252?q?rnance_and_Planning=92?= In-Reply-To: <86b8a7050909021052j7ee8ba10w2f00908d5bfbd514@mail.gmail.com> References: <86b8a7050909021052j7ee8ba10w2f00908d5bfbd514@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <86b8a7050909022359m2cbab247uad58170b22ee6c45@mail.gmail.com> Dear friends, This is to invite you / your organisation to participate in a *Public Workshop on ‘People’s Perspectives on Urban Governance and Planning’* on Saturday, 5th September, 2009 in Bangalore. This workshop is being organised by Citizens Action Forum (CAF), The Concerned for Working Children, Environment Support Group (ESG), Grahak Shakti, Hasiru Usiru, Institution of Engineers and Slum Jagattu and a few concerned individuals and organisations committed to democratising decision making and planning in Bangalore. Bangalore has had a host of urban governance problems and issues due to which the quality of life of a majority of Bangaloreans has been severely affected. We have not had elections to the BBMP for 3 years. A group of administrators who are not accountable to the citizens have been framing policies and taking decisions on Bangalore people’s development needs for the past three years. Lack of coordinated planning has been one of the causes for Bangalore's many ills. We have the BBMP and para-statals like BDA, BMRDA, KUIDFC, all creating plans for Bangalore. To remedy this scenario, the 74th Amendment of the Constitution (Nagarapalika Act) calls for establishment of a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) with elected representatives as 2/3rds of its members. The MPC is mandated to be the main planning agency for the metropolitan area. However, instead of setting up the MPC as per constitutional norms, the government set up a non-statutory body like ABIDe which further worsens the problem. The workshop will discuss these issues, their impact on Bangalore and also how we, the urban majority consisting of the urban poor, the middle class, RWAs, civil society can work together to remedy the situation. The *workshop will be held in Institution of Engineers, Ambedkar Veedhi on Saturday, 5th September 2009.* It is time that all of us put together a united front and demand our rightful say in the governance of Bangalore. This consultation will be the first in a series of steps to unite the people of Bangalore in seeking the full implementation of the 74th Amendment to the Indian Constitution. Please find attached a detailed *Concept Note* about the workshop, and a tentative *Session Plan*. We do hope you decide to join us. The session plan is also pasted below for quick reference. Thanking you, Citizens Action Forum, The Concerned for Working Children, Environment Support Group (ESG), Grahak Shakti, Hasiru Usiru, Institution of Engineers and Slum Jagattu* * *Please contact us on 92431 94979 for any queries. * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090903/24c9ab6b/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Final concept note urban governance workshop Sep0509.doc Type: application/msword Size: 28160 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090903/24c9ab6b/attachment-0002.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Session Plan Urban Governance workshop.doc Type: application/msword Size: 33280 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090903/24c9ab6b/attachment-0003.doc From yanivbin at gmail.com Thu Sep 3 19:21:57 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 19:21:57 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Reinventing Delhi: Cutting the Gordian Knot Message-ID: <86b8a7050909030651q245b4cd0n185b4d926f637a4a@mail.gmail.com> http://www.business-standard.com//india/storypage.php?autono=368792 *Sanjeev Sanyal:* Reinventing Delhi: Cutting the Gordian KnotSanjeev Sanyal / New Delhi September 02, 2009, 0:12 IST Delhi needs strategic interventions, not master plans, says *Sanjeev Sanyal* Few cities in the world have been as dramatically transformed as Delhi in the last hundred years. From a decayed Mughal city at the end of the 19th century to the grand imperial capital and then to the capital of independent India. It is now one of the largest and fastest-growing mega-cities in the world. Spread across three states, the metropolitan region has a population of 16mn. However, this apparent success hides virtual civic collapse. Despite ambitious master plans and large sums of money, Delhi has proved unmanageable. Is there another way? *Master plans’ dismal history* According to the Delhi District Gazetteer 1883-84, Delhi had a population of 173,303 in the late 19th century. The grandeur of the Mughal court was long forgotten and, after 1858, it was no more than a large provincial town. That changed when the British colonial government decided to shift the capital to Delhi in 1911 and hired Edwin Lutyens to design a city to reflect imperial grandeur. Lutyens created what was effectively the first “master plan” for New Delhi. It was meant for a population of 60,000 — mostly government officials and their retainers. The old city was still expected to remain the commercial hub. Lutyens’ Delhi was completed in the mid-thirties but the urban plan collapsed barely a decade later as the city found itself with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing West Pakistan. The authorities dealt with the crisis with ad-hoc arrangements but in 1962, a new master plan was devised. Given the thinking of the times, it was a framework for low-rise suburbia where the government would decree land-use and zoning. From their “commanding heights” the planners declared that “there is undesirable mixing of land-uses almost everywhere in the city.” Just as the government has the right to control economic activity through licences, it also has the right to tell people where to live and where to work. The 1962 master plan was a dismal failure. The city developed in unpredictable ways while the government failed to deliver on many promises. Even by 1981, only three of the fifteen district centres proposed in the master plan had been developed. Offices, clinics and shops moved into residential areas as the designated commercial areas were grossly insufficient. Even by 1992, with the population now nine million, only six of the fifteen district centres were developed. Liberalisation created economic opportunities that pushed the gap between plan and reality to breaking point. Eventually the pressure exploded out into brand new areas like Gurgaon and Noida. The official response was yet another master plan announced in 2007 called Delhi 2021. Two years later it already looks outdated. *Why master plans do not work* The most obvious problem with master planning in Indian cities is the lack of governance. The civic authorities simply do not have the ability to enforce the master plan even in the national capital. Secondly, all master plans require proper implementation and sequencing of public investment. As discussed earlier, a combination of corruption and incompetence meant that important aspects of the 1962 master plan remain unimplemented even today. There is, however, a more fundamental flaw with the whole master planning approach. It is a vestige of socialist-era thinking that presumes a predetermined trajectory of urban development. Therefore, it cannot deal with the organic evolution of a living and vibrant city. It is the same reason that the Mahalanobis model of economic planning was doomed to fail. There was no way in which Lutyens could have predicted Independence and Partition in 1913 and the 1962 master plan could have anticipated Gurgaon’s BPO boom. Indeed, master planning has failed in most cities in the world. Singapore is one of the few exceptions but, even in this case, success has been mostly due to the Singaporean government’s unique ability to think strategically and to adjust the model constantly. India lacks the technical, administrative and political capability needed for continuous policy risk-taking. So what is the alternative? In my view, the governments that run the National Capital Region should concentrate on two things — basic governance and a few strategic interventions. *Back to basics* My criticism of master planning does not mean that I am advocating a free-for-all. Even in a market economy, the state is needed to provide basic governance and public goods. Thus, the NCR needs a simple set of municipal rules regarding property rights, traffic, street-hawking, advertising signage and so on. The government should concentrate on enforcing these rules. Similarly, the authorities should worry about parks, public health, sewage disposal and other public amenities. The government should not be concerned about whether or not an up-market restaurant should be allowed in an abandoned mental asylum in Mehrauli. *Strategic interventions* Of course, the government will, from time to time, need to make large strategic interventions in order to cut through intractable gridlocks in the urban eco-system. However, these should strictly be interventions that will open out new urban vistas and have large multiplier effects. The Delhi Metro is an example of such a strategic investment that was necessary to get away from Delhi’s reliance on roads. The Metro is changing the urban eco-system of Delhi in unpredictable ways, but that is the idea. Another intervention in the same vein is the proposal to clean Delhi’s 300km network of nullahs and turn them into a network of walking paths criss-crossing the city. This would dramatically improve the last-mile connectivity of public transport, encourage walking for short trips and encourage social interaction; not to mention improve drainage and sewage disposal. This is a cheap and simple intervention but has the potential to fundamentally change Delhi’s DNA. Again, the exact outcome is not pre-determined but it opens up a whole new way for Delhi to evolve (interested readers can visit www.delhinullahs.org). To conclude, it’s time we cut through the Gordian Knot created by the traditional approach of formulaic command-and-control master plans. Instead, the Delhi administration should go back to basic municipal management. At the same time, long-term issues should be dealt with strategic interventions that have systemic multiplier effects rather than by micro-managing a pre-ordained master plan. *The author is Founder, Sustainable Planet Institute and Sr Fellow, WWF * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090903/ac2d922c/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Sat Sep 5 00:20:58 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 5 Sep 2009 00:20:58 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Every second person in Mumbai resides in slum: UNDP Message-ID: <86b8a7050909041150g4ce69cfu77f41b583e523b26@mail.gmail.com> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Every-second-person-in-Mumbai-resides-in-slum-UNDP/articleshow/4972195.cms Every second person in Mumbai resides in slum: UNDPPTI 4 September 2009, 04:43pm IST MUMBAI: One in two persons resides in a slum in India's financial capital, according to a report. "Worldwide, one in three persons lives in a slum. But the figures are much higher for Mumbai where 54.1% of the population are slum dwellers as per 2001 Census. This means that one in two persons in Mumbai city is residing in a slum," the Human Development Report compiled by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and UNDP says. "They occupy just six per cent of all land in Mumbai explaining the horrific levels of congestion," it added. Delhi has 18.9%, Kolkata 11.72% and Chennai 25.60% in slums. Some 29%, between a fourth and third of Maharashtra's urban population resides in Mumbai's slums. The first cut-off date was 1976, meaning the slums settled prior to 1975 were recognised and notified. The present cut-off date for notification of slums is 1995 but the government recently declared that pre-2000 slums would be regularised. In 2006-07, the city had a per capita income of Rs 65,361, twice than the country's average per capita income of Rs 29,382. Despite having the highest per capita income in the country, the income of nearly 10% population of the city is not above Rs 591.75 per month, which means Rs 20 a day. These families do not have amenities like TV, fridge, fan, toilets in their house, source of water supply, do not own any vehicle or farm. Quoting a report on Urban Poverty Reduction Strategy by the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies, All India Institute of Local Self-Government, UNDP said, in 1998 poverty was much low at only 8.5%. A baseline survey of 16,000 slum households by the MMRDA for its Mumbai Urban Transport Project says, with an average monthly household income of Rs 2,978, and 40% of them were below the poverty line. The UNDP report says, the poor in Mumbai are residing across three distinct habitat categories. The first of these is the chawls - either single or multistoreyed, single-room tenements and pavement dwellers. The poor who live there include migrants, construction workers, street vendors, domestic help, beggars, waste pickers, sex workers, taxi and auto rickshaw drivers and workers. As per the report, the slum and hutment dwellers of unauthorised structures form an integral part of this vibrant metropolis. Most of the slum dwellers participate in the "informal economy" which by all accounts would appear to be growing, the report said. "No country in the industrial age has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanisation. If migration and urbanisation are two sides of a coin, slums are the natural outcomes of urbanisation. Not all poor people live in slums, and not all people who live in areas defined as slums are poor," the report said. Urban poverty is not seen as only income poverty but absence of access to basic civic services as well and the quality of their habitats. “However, for the sake of simplicity, the urban poor can be termed the slum dwellers,” it said. Poor qualities of shelter, extreme overcrowding, poor access to public services, including basic civic facilities as well as insecurity of land tenure in most cases are the other markers of poverty, the report said, adding, "there has been no change in the condition of the slum dwellers even though the non-slum areas in the city have improved their lifestyles." "Therefore, a slum-dweller deserves not patchy, incidental, but focused attention, probably positive treatment or positive discrimination - to bring them into the mainstream of the city to which they contribute," the report said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090905/1be9925c/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Sep 16 10:51:43 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:51:43 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Contest invites strategies for developing the city Message-ID: <86b8a7050909152221o1fd1893fhea9cae4436eebee@mail.gmail.com> *Date:16/09/2009* *URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/09/16/stories/2009091657920200.htm* ------------------------------ Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad * Contest invites strategies for developing the city * Staff Reporter HYDERABAD: At a time when morphology of Indian cities is changing at a fast pace and rapid urbanisation is witnessing increasing migration from rural to urban areas, metropolis such as Hyderabad are coming under greater pressure in providing basic services to its burgeoning population. It is leading to what urban planners call urban decay. Though the city was initially designed to cater to five lakh population, it later rose to 40 lakh and currently hovers around 80 lakh. Likewise, the area has increased from 174 square kilometre to 744 square kilometre to 7,000 square kilometre currently. These have brought enormous pressure on the government to deliver - provide basic services like good roads, drainages, smooth traffic flow, regular water supply etc. to its citizens, observed Karuna Gopal, president of Foundation for Futuristic Cities (FFC). Despite the various initiatives of the government like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) citizens continue to suffer from bad roads, garbage dumping etc., she said. To enable citizens to participate and come up with innovative strategies for developing the city and improve the quality of life, FFC has announced ‘Citizens for City’ contest. Anyone can draft a well-researched strategy from a list of 30 topics given on the foundation’s website, www.citizensforcity.org. It was formally launched by Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly Nadendla Manohar here on Tuesday. Commenting on the initiative, he said it would be in the society’s better interests if one utilises existing institutions rather than blame them for everything. “Such initiatives will eventually lead to meaningful partnerships between government, private sector and citizens to make our city vibrant and performing,” Ms. Gopal said. It comes in the context of city development strategy for Greater Hyderabad – a requirement under JNNURM currently being developed by the GHMC. The competition whose aim is to influence policy makers and town planners to incorporate citizen ideas into city development policy initiatives will lead to ‘City Strategy Awards’ being awarded to the top three winners. October 15 is the last day for entering the contest while the deadline for submission is October 31. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090916/b573a0d0/attachment-0001.html From prem.cnt at gmail.com Thu Sep 17 14:23:21 2009 From: prem.cnt at gmail.com (Prem Chandavarkar) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:23:21 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [Reader-list] 'World Class City' concept & repercussions for urban planning in Asia-Pacific In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0909121717k1ef4400bh82b4e559e1d32bce@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0909121717k1ef4400bh82b4e559e1d32bce@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <7e230b560909170153j7ecfaa8au15895c30b1f55591@mail.gmail.com> I am not sure about an analysis which sees the whole problem as pushed on us from above by global financial institutions. As Foucault has pointed out, power is difficult to enforce until it is also constructed as something desirable to those on whom power is to be enforced. So one has to look within the Asian region and see why the idea of the "world class city" is seen as desirable by Asians. In India, I believe it is linked to two factors: Firstly, as a post-colonial country we suffered a sense of historical discontinuity. Given over two centuries of history that one could not consider authentically one's own, the connection between past present and future suffered a disruption. This created a development discourse for the first five decades after independence where the nation's sense of history was perceived as being in a state of suspension between a memory of a glorious yet distant past and an anticipated technological modernity. Secondly, when it came to any sense of culture, the city suffered from a lack of perceived authenticity. Any discussion of "authentic" Indian culture was always rooted in the village. Unlike the west where the city was seen as the site of the avant garde and therefore the cutting edge of cultural production, in India culture was perceived as being largely rural, and the city was seen more as a technical efficiency to be viewed purely through a rational lens. But after 1991, with the successes of industries such as software in particular (and other industries followed based on the global credibility for India that the software industry created), suddenly India was perceived as being anchored in global production in a very central way. Modernity no longer had to be anticipated - it had arrived. The software industry is essentially an urban (that too largely metropolitan) industry, and therefore the city was seen as leading India's march into modernity. This has created a perception that "globalisation equals modernity", and has created a desire for the global city in India, where the global city is seen as clean, ordered, efficient and visually iconic. Some indicators of this desire are: a) One often hears a public rhetoric that constructs an imagery of the global city as being clean and efficient: examples like Singapore and Shanghai are often raised as paradigms that the Indian city must aspire towards. b) There is a growing wave of middle class activism driven by resident's associations that is pushing towards better master planning and the better enforcement of master plans. c) Judicial judgments are leaning towards this notion of the efficient and ordered city. To take as an example three recent Supreme Court judgments on Delhi: · The requirement that all public transport vehicles must shift to CNG as a fuel. · The sealing of shops and other business establishments in residential areas (even though the master plan provisions of commercial space are grossly inadequate for a city of the size of Delhi). · The decision that the three decades old Nangla Machi basti on the banks of the Yamuna must be demolished because it is not recognised on the master plan, and the master plan authorities have declared the site as the location of the games village for the proposed Commonwealth Games. d) Cities are now concerned about branding themselves. City authorities evince greater interest in brandable projects such as stadiums and convention centres, as opposed to non-brandable projects such as social housing. The existence of organisations like World Bank and IMF has definitely played a role in this process, but one has to realise that we have sought them out, and it is not a one-directional process of something being shoved down our throats. Except it is a very narrow (but powerful) segment that is seeking out this model. Unfortunately it is this segment that dominates the attention of the media, and as a result the dislocations to large segments of our population go unrecognised. Am copying this to the urban study group as there have been discussions on that list expressing concern over the concept of the 'world class city'. Regards, Prem -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090917/fbaa8ea0/attachment.html From anilbhattarai at gmail.com Thu Sep 17 22:36:50 2009 From: anilbhattarai at gmail.com (Anil Bhattarai) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:06:50 -0400 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [Reader-list] 'World Class City' concept & repercussions for urban planning in Asia-Pacific In-Reply-To: <7e230b560909170153j7ecfaa8au15895c30b1f55591@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0909121717k1ef4400bh82b4e559e1d32bce@mail.gmail.com> <7e230b560909170153j7ecfaa8au15895c30b1f55591@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <62596c150909171006x299aff7fxcfd1479694bcec27@mail.gmail.com> Hello, I am a newbie to this discussion group and therefore I don't have much reference to past discussions. However, Prem's discussion about how 'we' have adopted the world-class city is very insightful. I think, as you have outlined, the reference to the imposition thesis as if it was the World Bank and the IMF with their grand-designs which shoved specific models on 'us' does not allow us to think creatively about what needs to be done, in addition to the fact it was not also an empirically full picture. There is a growing desire to participate in that dream--the dream of a particular notion of world-city among the majority of the ruling elites. It is here, I see the need of creating a urban politics that galvanizes 'others' in a project that presents different visions of the city. The problem in India and many other places, the politics is dominated by a narrow elites, and the majority of the residents, and mostly poor among them, do not have spaces in which they can politically articulate different visions. I see this part mostly missing in this post-colonial dream analysis. It's not the general 'we' who aspired for particular dreams, but there are class dimensions, there are caste dimensions, and there are gendered dimensions to it. Ultimately, it's the failure of the politics of the left to provide creative alternatives to the dominant practices of city-building. Sooner or later, it is by compulsion and not by choice, that even the middle class will have to come to realize that this particular brand of world-class city--with flyovers, megamalls, is going to be too costly for human lives. But again, the challenge is not only to 'see' how things have emerged, but also to begin the process of constructing diverse visions/ or consolidating them through political process. Anil On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Prem Chandavarkar wrote: > I am not sure about an analysis which sees the whole problem as pushed on us > from above by global financial institutions.  As Foucault has pointed out, > power is difficult to enforce until it is also constructed as something > desirable to those on whom power is to be enforced.  So one has to look > within the Asian region and see why the idea of the "world class city" is > seen as desirable by Asians. > In India, I believe it is linked to two factors: > > Firstly, as a post-colonial country we suffered a sense of historical > discontinuity.  Given over two centuries of history that one could not > consider authentically one's own, the connection between past present and > future suffered a disruption.  This created a development discourse for the > first five decades after independence where the nation's sense of history > was perceived as being in a state of suspension between a memory of a > glorious yet distant past and an anticipated technological modernity. > > Secondly, when it came to any sense of culture, the city suffered from a > lack of perceived authenticity.  Any discussion of "authentic" Indian > culture was always rooted in the village.  Unlike the west where the city > was seen as the site of the avant garde and therefore the cutting edge of > cultural production, in India culture was perceived as being largely rural, > and the city was seen more as a technical efficiency to be viewed purely > through a rational lens. > > But after 1991, with the successes of industries such as software in > particular (and other industries followed based on the global credibility > for India that the software industry created), suddenly India was perceived > as being anchored in global production in a very central way.  Modernity no > longer had to be anticipated - it had arrived.  The software industry is > essentially an urban (that too largely metropolitan) industry, and therefore > the city was seen as leading India's march into modernity. > > This has created a perception that "globalisation equals modernity", and has > created a desire for the global city in India, where the global city is seen > as clean, ordered, efficient and visually iconic.  Some indicators of this > desire are: > > a)       One often hears a public rhetoric that constructs an imagery of the > global city as being clean and efficient: examples like Singapore and > Shanghai are often raised as paradigms that the Indian city must aspire > towards. > > b)      There is a growing wave of middle class activism driven by > resident's associations that is pushing towards better master planning and > the better enforcement of master plans. > > c)       Judicial judgments are leaning towards this notion of the efficient > and ordered city.  To take as an example three recent Supreme Court > judgments on Delhi: > > ·         The requirement that all public transport vehicles must shift to > CNG as a fuel. > > ·         The sealing of shops and other business establishments in > residential areas (even though the master plan provisions of commercial > space are grossly inadequate for a city of the size of Delhi). > > ·         The decision that the three decades old Nangla Machi basti on the > banks of the Yamuna must be demolished because it is not recognised on the > master plan, and the master plan authorities have declared the site as the > location of the games village for the proposed Commonwealth Games. > > d)      Cities are now concerned about branding themselves.  City > authorities evince greater interest in brandable projects such as stadiums > and convention centres, as opposed to non-brandable projects such as social > housing. > The existence of organisations like World Bank and IMF has definitely played > a role in this process, but one has to realise that we have sought them out, > and it is not a one-directional process of something being shoved down our > throats.  Except it is a very narrow (but powerful) segment that is seeking > out this model.  Unfortunately it is this segment that dominates the > attention of the media, and as a result the dislocations to large segments > of our population go unrecognised. > > Am copying this to the urban study group as there have been discussions on > that list expressing concern over the concept of the 'world class city'. > > Regards, > Prem > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Anil Bhattarai Programme in Planning University of Torontoh www.ajamvarifarm.org www.zmag.org www.nyayahealth.org From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Sep 18 03:29:05 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?eWFzaXIgftmK2Kcg2LPYsQ==?=) Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:59:05 +0500 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [Reader-list] 'World Class City' concept & repercussions for urban planning in Asia-Pacific In-Reply-To: <62596c150909171006x299aff7fxcfd1479694bcec27@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0909121717k1ef4400bh82b4e559e1d32bce@mail.gmail.com> <7e230b560909170153j7ecfaa8au15895c30b1f55591@mail.gmail.com> <62596c150909171006x299aff7fxcfd1479694bcec27@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0909171459n4f94c57bqa00be6713b5635c3@mail.gmail.com> Yes i think its an important point that we all indulge in the fantasy of the global the modern the urban cosmopolis. can i indulge you and others in a the other fantasy, of the alternatives. where are the alternatives, why are they not popular (they'are absent). i find my vision is blurred (i agree: is may also be the failure of the eye that's Left?). and all the alternatives i remembered i no longer do in my current aporia. may be be we can list some resources, websites, people here? how about that. around themes of visions and practical politics? yasir mauj collective karachi On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 10:06 PM, Anil Bhattarai wrote: > Hello, > I am a newbie to this discussion group and therefore I don't have much > reference to past discussions. However, Prem's discussion about how > 'we' have adopted the world-class city is very insightful. I think, as > you have outlined, the reference to the imposition thesis as if it was > the World Bank and the IMF with their grand-designs which shoved > specific models on 'us' does not allow us to think creatively about > what needs to be done, in addition to the fact it was not also an > empirically full picture. There is a growing desire to participate in > that dream--the dream of a particular notion of world-city among the > majority of the ruling elites. > > It is here, I see the need of creating a urban politics that > galvanizes 'others' in a project that presents different visions of > the city. The problem in India and many other places, the politics is > dominated by a narrow elites, and the majority of the residents, and > mostly poor among them, do not have spaces in which they can > politically articulate different visions. > > I see this part mostly missing in this post-colonial dream analysis. > It's not the general 'we' who aspired for particular dreams, but there > are class dimensions, there are caste dimensions, and there are > gendered dimensions to it. Ultimately, it's the failure of the > politics of the left to provide creative alternatives to the dominant > practices of city-building. > > Sooner or later, it is by compulsion and not by choice, that even the > middle class will have to come to realize that this particular brand > of world-class city--with flyovers, megamalls, is going to be too > costly for human lives. > > But again, the challenge is not only to 'see' how things have emerged, > but also to begin the process of constructing diverse visions/ or > consolidating them through political process. > > Anil > > On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Prem Chandavarkar wrote: >> I am not sure about an analysis which sees the whole problem as pushed on us >> from above by global financial institutions.  As Foucault has pointed out, >> power is difficult to enforce until it is also constructed as something >> desirable to those on whom power is to be enforced.  So one has to look >> within the Asian region and see why the idea of the "world class city" is >> seen as desirable by Asians. >> In India, I believe it is linked to two factors: >> >> Firstly, as a post-colonial country we suffered a sense of historical >> discontinuity.  Given over two centuries of history that one could not >> consider authentically one's own, the connection between past present and >> future suffered a disruption.  This created a development discourse for the >> first five decades after independence where the nation's sense of history >> was perceived as being in a state of suspension between a memory of a >> glorious yet distant past and an anticipated technological modernity. >> >> Secondly, when it came to any sense of culture, the city suffered from a >> lack of perceived authenticity.  Any discussion of "authentic" Indian >> culture was always rooted in the village.  Unlike the west where the city >> was seen as the site of the avant garde and therefore the cutting edge of >> cultural production, in India culture was perceived as being largely rural, >> and the city was seen more as a technical efficiency to be viewed purely >> through a rational lens. >> >> But after 1991, with the successes of industries such as software in >> particular (and other industries followed based on the global credibility >> for India that the software industry created), suddenly India was perceived >> as being anchored in global production in a very central way.  Modernity no >> longer had to be anticipated - it had arrived.  The software industry is >> essentially an urban (that too largely metropolitan) industry, and therefore >> the city was seen as leading India's march into modernity. >> >> This has created a perception that "globalisation equals modernity", and has >> created a desire for the global city in India, where the global city is seen >> as clean, ordered, efficient and visually iconic.  Some indicators of this >> desire are: >> >> a)       One often hears a public rhetoric that constructs an imagery of the >> global city as being clean and efficient: examples like Singapore and >> Shanghai are often raised as paradigms that the Indian city must aspire >> towards. >> >> b)      There is a growing wave of middle class activism driven by >> resident's associations that is pushing towards better master planning and >> the better enforcement of master plans. >> >> c)       Judicial judgments are leaning towards this notion of the efficient >> and ordered city.  To take as an example three recent Supreme Court >> judgments on Delhi: >> >> ·         The requirement that all public transport vehicles must shift to >> CNG as a fuel. >> >> ·         The sealing of shops and other business establishments in >> residential areas (even though the master plan provisions of commercial >> space are grossly inadequate for a city of the size of Delhi). >> >> ·         The decision that the three decades old Nangla Machi basti on the >> banks of the Yamuna must be demolished because it is not recognised on the >> master plan, and the master plan authorities have declared the site as the >> location of the games village for the proposed Commonwealth Games. >> >> d)      Cities are now concerned about branding themselves.  City >> authorities evince greater interest in brandable projects such as stadiums >> and convention centres, as opposed to non-brandable projects such as social >> housing. >> The existence of organisations like World Bank and IMF has definitely played >> a role in this process, but one has to realise that we have sought them out, >> and it is not a one-directional process of something being shoved down our >> throats.  Except it is a very narrow (but powerful) segment that is seeking >> out this model.  Unfortunately it is this segment that dominates the >> attention of the media, and as a result the dislocations to large segments >> of our population go unrecognised. >> >> Am copying this to the urban study group as there have been discussions on >> that list expressing concern over the concept of the 'world class city'. >> >> Regards, >> Prem >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > Anil Bhattarai > Programme in Planning > University of Torontoh > www.ajamvarifarm.org > www.zmag.org > www.nyayahealth.org > From anilbhattarai at gmail.com Fri Sep 18 07:56:32 2009 From: anilbhattarai at gmail.com (Anil Bhattarai) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:26:32 -0500 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [Reader-list] 'World Class City' concept & repercussions for urban planning in Asia-Pacific In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0909171459n4f94c57bqa00be6713b5635c3@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0909121717k1ef4400bh82b4e559e1d32bce@mail.gmail.com> <7e230b560909170153j7ecfaa8au15895c30b1f55591@mail.gmail.com> <62596c150909171006x299aff7fxcfd1479694bcec27@mail.gmail.com> <5af37bb0909171459n4f94c57bqa00be6713b5635c3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <62596c150909171926s51796543u2a3f276bb37078c@mail.gmail.com> Hi Yasir, Here is a link I came across that discusses the transformation of Detroit into prosperous food city in the US. Yes, good idea to share links and also project ideas. http://www.guernicamag.com/spotlight/1182/food_among_the_ruins/index.php I am currently in Toronto, but will be moving back to Nepal in December, initially for a 9month field research for my ph.d. and after ph.d. for good to start systainable food system building work in a western mountain region of Nepal. I am seriously exploring the possibilities of doing alternative small-town urbanism there. Let's see. I do not hesitate to imagine, howsoever idiosyncratic the ideas may sound like. Alright Ab On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:59 PM, yasir ~يا سر wrote: > Yes i think its an important point that we all indulge in the fantasy > of the global the modern the urban cosmopolis. > > can i indulge you and others in a the other fantasy, of the > alternatives. where are the alternatives, why are they not popular > (they'are absent). > > i find my vision is blurred (i agree: is may also be the failure of > the eye that's Left?). and all the alternatives i remembered i no > longer do in my current aporia. > > may be be we can list some resources, websites, people here? how about > that. around themes of visions and practical politics? > > > yasir > mauj collective > karachi > > > On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 10:06 PM, Anil Bhattarai > wrote: >> Hello, >> I am a newbie to this discussion group and therefore I don't have much >> reference to past discussions. However, Prem's discussion about how >> 'we' have adopted the world-class city is very insightful. I think, as >> you have outlined, the reference to the imposition thesis as if it was >> the World Bank and the IMF with their grand-designs which shoved >> specific models on 'us' does not allow us to think creatively about >> what needs to be done, in addition to the fact it was not also an >> empirically full picture. There is a growing desire to participate in >> that dream--the dream of a particular notion of world-city among the >> majority of the ruling elites. >> >> It is here, I see the need of creating a urban politics that >> galvanizes 'others' in a project that presents different visions of >> the city. The problem in India and many other places, the politics is >> dominated by a narrow elites, and the majority of the residents, and >> mostly poor among them, do not have spaces in which they can >> politically articulate different visions. >> >> I see this part mostly missing in this post-colonial dream analysis. >> It's not the general 'we' who aspired for particular dreams, but there >> are class dimensions, there are caste dimensions, and there are >> gendered dimensions to it. Ultimately, it's the failure of the >> politics of the left to provide creative alternatives to the dominant >> practices of city-building. >> >> Sooner or later, it is by compulsion and not by choice, that even the >> middle class will have to come to realize that this particular brand >> of world-class city--with flyovers, megamalls, is going to be too >> costly for human lives. >> >> But again, the challenge is not only to 'see' how things have emerged, >> but also to begin the process of constructing diverse visions/ or >> consolidating them through political process. >> >> Anil >> >> On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Prem Chandavarkar wrote: >>> I am not sure about an analysis which sees the whole problem as pushed on us >>> from above by global financial institutions.  As Foucault has pointed out, >>> power is difficult to enforce until it is also constructed as something >>> desirable to those on whom power is to be enforced.  So one has to look >>> within the Asian region and see why the idea of the "world class city" is >>> seen as desirable by Asians. >>> In India, I believe it is linked to two factors: >>> >>> Firstly, as a post-colonial country we suffered a sense of historical >>> discontinuity.  Given over two centuries of history that one could not >>> consider authentically one's own, the connection between past present and >>> future suffered a disruption.  This created a development discourse for the >>> first five decades after independence where the nation's sense of history >>> was perceived as being in a state of suspension between a memory of a >>> glorious yet distant past and an anticipated technological modernity. >>> >>> Secondly, when it came to any sense of culture, the city suffered from a >>> lack of perceived authenticity.  Any discussion of "authentic" Indian >>> culture was always rooted in the village.  Unlike the west where the city >>> was seen as the site of the avant garde and therefore the cutting edge of >>> cultural production, in India culture was perceived as being largely rural, >>> and the city was seen more as a technical efficiency to be viewed purely >>> through a rational lens. >>> >>> But after 1991, with the successes of industries such as software in >>> particular (and other industries followed based on the global credibility >>> for India that the software industry created), suddenly India was perceived >>> as being anchored in global production in a very central way.  Modernity no >>> longer had to be anticipated - it had arrived.  The software industry is >>> essentially an urban (that too largely metropolitan) industry, and therefore >>> the city was seen as leading India's march into modernity. >>> >>> This has created a perception that "globalisation equals modernity", and has >>> created a desire for the global city in India, where the global city is seen >>> as clean, ordered, efficient and visually iconic.  Some indicators of this >>> desire are: >>> >>> a)       One often hears a public rhetoric that constructs an imagery of the >>> global city as being clean and efficient: examples like Singapore and >>> Shanghai are often raised as paradigms that the Indian city must aspire >>> towards. >>> >>> b)      There is a growing wave of middle class activism driven by >>> resident's associations that is pushing towards better master planning and >>> the better enforcement of master plans. >>> >>> c)       Judicial judgments are leaning towards this notion of the efficient >>> and ordered city.  To take as an example three recent Supreme Court >>> judgments on Delhi: >>> >>> ·         The requirement that all public transport vehicles must shift to >>> CNG as a fuel. >>> >>> ·         The sealing of shops and other business establishments in >>> residential areas (even though the master plan provisions of commercial >>> space are grossly inadequate for a city of the size of Delhi). >>> >>> ·         The decision that the three decades old Nangla Machi basti on the >>> banks of the Yamuna must be demolished because it is not recognised on the >>> master plan, and the master plan authorities have declared the site as the >>> location of the games village for the proposed Commonwealth Games. >>> >>> d)      Cities are now concerned about branding themselves.  City >>> authorities evince greater interest in brandable projects such as stadiums >>> and convention centres, as opposed to non-brandable projects such as social >>> housing. >>> The existence of organisations like World Bank and IMF has definitely played >>> a role in this process, but one has to realise that we have sought them out, >>> and it is not a one-directional process of something being shoved down our >>> throats.  Except it is a very narrow (but powerful) segment that is seeking >>> out this model.  Unfortunately it is this segment that dominates the >>> attention of the media, and as a result the dislocations to large segments >>> of our population go unrecognised. >>> >>> Am copying this to the urban study group as there have been discussions on >>> that list expressing concern over the concept of the 'world class city'. >>> >>> Regards, >>> Prem >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> >> -- >> Anil Bhattarai >> Programme in Planning >> University of Torontoh >> www.ajamvarifarm.org >> www.zmag.org >> www.nyayahealth.org >> > -- Anil Bhattarai Programme in Planning University of Torontoh www.ajamvarifarm.org www.zmag.org www.nyayahealth.org From anilbhattarai at gmail.com Fri Sep 18 07:58:15 2009 From: anilbhattarai at gmail.com (Anil Bhattarai) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:28:15 -0500 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [Reader-list] 'World Class City' concept & repercussions for urban planning in Asia-Pacific In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0909171459n4f94c57bqa00be6713b5635c3@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0909121717k1ef4400bh82b4e559e1d32bce@mail.gmail.com> <7e230b560909170153j7ecfaa8au15895c30b1f55591@mail.gmail.com> <62596c150909171006x299aff7fxcfd1479694bcec27@mail.gmail.com> <5af37bb0909171459n4f94c57bqa00be6713b5635c3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <62596c150909171928h7214660fkbcfa48340fa951fe@mail.gmail.com> One more idea I wanted to share but forgot in my previous email: I have started contacting folks in Kathmandu who are serious about starting campaigns for bicycle paths in the city. Kathmandu being a manageably small city, if we can institute good bike trails, we can see a sizeable chunk of city dwellers pedalling along than driving. Ab On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:59 PM, yasir ~يا سر wrote: > Yes i think its an important point that we all indulge in the fantasy > of the global the modern the urban cosmopolis. > > can i indulge you and others in a the other fantasy, of the > alternatives. where are the alternatives, why are they not popular > (they'are absent). > > i find my vision is blurred (i agree: is may also be the failure of > the eye that's Left?). and all the alternatives i remembered i no > longer do in my current aporia. > > may be be we can list some resources, websites, people here? how about > that. around themes of visions and practical politics? > > > yasir > mauj collective > karachi > > > On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 10:06 PM, Anil Bhattarai > wrote: >> Hello, >> I am a newbie to this discussion group and therefore I don't have much >> reference to past discussions. However, Prem's discussion about how >> 'we' have adopted the world-class city is very insightful. I think, as >> you have outlined, the reference to the imposition thesis as if it was >> the World Bank and the IMF with their grand-designs which shoved >> specific models on 'us' does not allow us to think creatively about >> what needs to be done, in addition to the fact it was not also an >> empirically full picture. There is a growing desire to participate in >> that dream--the dream of a particular notion of world-city among the >> majority of the ruling elites. >> >> It is here, I see the need of creating a urban politics that >> galvanizes 'others' in a project that presents different visions of >> the city. The problem in India and many other places, the politics is >> dominated by a narrow elites, and the majority of the residents, and >> mostly poor among them, do not have spaces in which they can >> politically articulate different visions. >> >> I see this part mostly missing in this post-colonial dream analysis. >> It's not the general 'we' who aspired for particular dreams, but there >> are class dimensions, there are caste dimensions, and there are >> gendered dimensions to it. Ultimately, it's the failure of the >> politics of the left to provide creative alternatives to the dominant >> practices of city-building. >> >> Sooner or later, it is by compulsion and not by choice, that even the >> middle class will have to come to realize that this particular brand >> of world-class city--with flyovers, megamalls, is going to be too >> costly for human lives. >> >> But again, the challenge is not only to 'see' how things have emerged, >> but also to begin the process of constructing diverse visions/ or >> consolidating them through political process. >> >> Anil >> >> On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Prem Chandavarkar wrote: >>> I am not sure about an analysis which sees the whole problem as pushed on us >>> from above by global financial institutions.  As Foucault has pointed out, >>> power is difficult to enforce until it is also constructed as something >>> desirable to those on whom power is to be enforced.  So one has to look >>> within the Asian region and see why the idea of the "world class city" is >>> seen as desirable by Asians. >>> In India, I believe it is linked to two factors: >>> >>> Firstly, as a post-colonial country we suffered a sense of historical >>> discontinuity.  Given over two centuries of history that one could not >>> consider authentically one's own, the connection between past present and >>> future suffered a disruption.  This created a development discourse for the >>> first five decades after independence where the nation's sense of history >>> was perceived as being in a state of suspension between a memory of a >>> glorious yet distant past and an anticipated technological modernity. >>> >>> Secondly, when it came to any sense of culture, the city suffered from a >>> lack of perceived authenticity.  Any discussion of "authentic" Indian >>> culture was always rooted in the village.  Unlike the west where the city >>> was seen as the site of the avant garde and therefore the cutting edge of >>> cultural production, in India culture was perceived as being largely rural, >>> and the city was seen more as a technical efficiency to be viewed purely >>> through a rational lens. >>> >>> But after 1991, with the successes of industries such as software in >>> particular (and other industries followed based on the global credibility >>> for India that the software industry created), suddenly India was perceived >>> as being anchored in global production in a very central way.  Modernity no >>> longer had to be anticipated - it had arrived.  The software industry is >>> essentially an urban (that too largely metropolitan) industry, and therefore >>> the city was seen as leading India's march into modernity. >>> >>> This has created a perception that "globalisation equals modernity", and has >>> created a desire for the global city in India, where the global city is seen >>> as clean, ordered, efficient and visually iconic.  Some indicators of this >>> desire are: >>> >>> a)       One often hears a public rhetoric that constructs an imagery of the >>> global city as being clean and efficient: examples like Singapore and >>> Shanghai are often raised as paradigms that the Indian city must aspire >>> towards. >>> >>> b)      There is a growing wave of middle class activism driven by >>> resident's associations that is pushing towards better master planning and >>> the better enforcement of master plans. >>> >>> c)       Judicial judgments are leaning towards this notion of the efficient >>> and ordered city.  To take as an example three recent Supreme Court >>> judgments on Delhi: >>> >>> ·         The requirement that all public transport vehicles must shift to >>> CNG as a fuel. >>> >>> ·         The sealing of shops and other business establishments in >>> residential areas (even though the master plan provisions of commercial >>> space are grossly inadequate for a city of the size of Delhi). >>> >>> ·         The decision that the three decades old Nangla Machi basti on the >>> banks of the Yamuna must be demolished because it is not recognised on the >>> master plan, and the master plan authorities have declared the site as the >>> location of the games village for the proposed Commonwealth Games. >>> >>> d)      Cities are now concerned about branding themselves.  City >>> authorities evince greater interest in brandable projects such as stadiums >>> and convention centres, as opposed to non-brandable projects such as social >>> housing. >>> The existence of organisations like World Bank and IMF has definitely played >>> a role in this process, but one has to realise that we have sought them out, >>> and it is not a one-directional process of something being shoved down our >>> throats.  Except it is a very narrow (but powerful) segment that is seeking >>> out this model.  Unfortunately it is this segment that dominates the >>> attention of the media, and as a result the dislocations to large segments >>> of our population go unrecognised. >>> >>> Am copying this to the urban study group as there have been discussions on >>> that list expressing concern over the concept of the 'world class city'. >>> >>> Regards, >>> Prem >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> >> -- >> Anil Bhattarai >> Programme in Planning >> University of Torontoh >> www.ajamvarifarm.org >> www.zmag.org >> www.nyayahealth.org >> > -- Anil Bhattarai Programme in Planning University of Torontoh www.ajamvarifarm.org www.zmag.org www.nyayahealth.org From leofsaldanha at gmail.com Fri Sep 18 17:12:15 2009 From: leofsaldanha at gmail.com (Leo Saldanha) Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:12:15 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Workshop Invitation: Urban Lakes as Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces Message-ID: <4AB37217.4090509@gmail.com> *Environment Support Group ® * *in collaboration with * *Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology * *invites you to a workshop on* *Urban Lakes as Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces* *A Workshop for Decision makers, Media, NGOs, Teachers, Students and the Public * *Date: Saturday 26*^*th* * September 2009* *Time: 9**.30 am - 4.00 pm * *Venue: Marigowda Hall, Lalbagh, Near Double Road Entrance, Bangalore* The urban built area of Bangalore once had over 300 tanks (now also called as lakes). These water harvesting systems were built over hundreds of years by various generations, and formed an intricate network of water use serving agriculture and drinking water needs. In addition these water bodies have become critical sites for a variety of flora and fauna, especially local and migratory waterfowl. Over time, these tanks have disappeared due to poor urban planning, lack of concern and reliance on drawing water from faraway rivers. The cultural underpinnings of water conservation that was so innate to life and living in these regions, slowly eroded with the disappearance of these lakes. As the city grows more dense in population and buildings, the critical importance of lakes as social, cultural and ecological spaces is being felt. Presently less than 60 of these tanks exist in built Bangalore, and most are heavily polluted or drained. As a direct result of encroachment of lakes and its canal networks, Bangalore's neighbourhoods get easily flooded even in a short rain frequently resulting in loss of life and property. In this workshop we will understand the traditional methods of use and management of tanks and community relationships that kept these practices alive. We will appreciate the dynamic ecology of lakes and their role in supporting livelihoods of communities dependent on fishing, horticulture and farming. We will focus our concerns on how lakes have transitioned into cesspools of urban waste, sewage and decay. We will examine how critical lakes are to building water security for ever growing Bangalore. We will examine the role of the Rule of Law and Community Action in reviving these critical water bodies. We will also examine current policies of protecting and conserving lakes and examine their efficiency, especially ongoing efforts at privatising lakes. As an overall process we will try and evolve a series of good practices to ensure our lakes are retained for our generation and generations to come. This workshop is for decision makers from the government and corporate sectors, academicians, media persons, legal professionals, political leaders, etc. Needless to state, anyone is welcome with prior registration. Proceedings of this workshop will be widely circulated with the help of mass media and also electronically. *For More Details and Registrations contact*: Divya Ravindranath or Bhargavi S. Rao, *Environment Support Group, *1572, 36^th Cross, Ring Road, Banashankari 2^nd Stage, Bangalore 560070 _Tel:91-80-26713559/60/61 _ Email _bhargavi at esgindia. org/divyarrs at esgindia.org _Website: _www.esgindia.org _ *Lalbagh requires all Participants to pay the entrance fee of RS.10/- at the gates * * * */Agenda /*// */9.30 am:/*/ *Registration*/ /10.00 am: Welcome: Ms. Bhargavi S. Rao, Coordinator (Education)/Trustee, Environment Support Group/// /10.10 am: Keynote Address: Justice Santosh Hegde, Hon. Lokayukta and formerly Judge of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India/// */10.35 am: Morning Session/*// /Introductory Comments by Chairperson Dr. D. S. Ravindran, Indian Forest Service /// /10.40 am: Dr. Esha Shah, Research Fellow, Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK on "A Historical Anthropology of Tank Irrigation Technology in South India"/// /11.10 am: Dr. S. Subramanya, Ornithologist and Wetland Specialist, and Professor, University of Agricultural Sciences, on "Structure and Ecology of Lakes with special emphasis on sustainable management practices"/// /11.40 am: Ms. Nandini Chami, Research Associate, Environment Support Group, on "Current Status of Lakes in Bangalore"/// /12.10 am: Open Discussion and Closing remarks of the Chair / /1.00 pm: Lunch /// */1.45 pm: Afternoon Session/*// /Introductory Comments by Chair Mr. Ravi Joshi, Resident Editor (Karnataka), The New Indian Express /// /1.50 pm: Mr. A. R. Shivakumar, Principal Investigator -- Rain Water Harvesting and Executive Secretary, Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology on "Criticality of Lakes in building Water Security of Bangalore"/// /2.20 pm: Mr. Sunil Dutt Yadav, Advocate, High Court of Karnataka on "//Policy and Legal Frameworks for Sustainable Protection of L//akes//"/// /2.50 pm: Open Discussion and Closing remarks of the Chair / */3.30 pm: Concluding Session/*// /Concluding Remarks by Mr. A. T. Ramaswamy, formerly Chairman of the Joint House Committee of Karnataka Legislature on Encroachment of Government Lands in Bangalore City/Urban District/// /Vote of Thanks/// -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090918/fb40e99a/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Workshop on Lakes_Flyer_invite.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 95615 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090918/fb40e99a/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Invitation_Card_LakesWorkshop_ESG_KSCST_260909.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 252746 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090918/fb40e99a/attachment-0003.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: leofsaldanha.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 310 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090918/fb40e99a/attachment-0001.vcf From cugambetta at yahoo.com Sat Sep 19 02:28:23 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:58:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] airoots/eirut Message-ID: <829687.65191.qm@web57403.mail.re1.yahoo.com> http://www.airoots.org/ Just came across this. Will be of interest to list members. Curt From elkamath at yahoo.com Sat Sep 19 09:39:30 2009 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:09:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] In hundreds of cities, parking spaces become parks Message-ID: <80271.49847.qm@web53609.mail.re2.yahoo.com> In Hundreds of Cities, Parking Spaces Become Parks By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: September 18, 2009 Filed at 9:28 p.m. ET LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Activists across the nation parked themselves curbside Friday, taking up spaces reserved for cars and transforming them into mini parks with sod, potted plants, lawn chairs and even barbecues to raise awareness about how the auto has won the battle over public space in big cities. On a busy street in Los Angeles, a neighborhood association took up seven parking spots and set up a hangout with a grill, a kiddie pool and a gardening workshop to teach people how to grow drought-tolerant plants. In Chicago, an architecture firm turned two parking spaces into a pit stop where bicyclists can chill out on a grassy knoll and refuel on drinks and snacks. In New York City, theater students from Fordham University staged a ''Shakespeare in the Parking Spot'' festival. Construction workers on their lunch break sat on cardboard chairs and watched the students read ''Romeo and Juliet,'' ''Richard III'' and other plays from a portable stage. ''I was impressed,'' said adjunct professor Sandra McKee. ''They did some interesting interpretations and they projected their voice well. Of course, they had to compete with the cars.'' The setting was one of the pocket parks created for ''Park(ing) Day.'' The movement started as a single installation four years ago in San Francisco and has become a worldwide event reaching more than 100 cities on four continents. Matthew Passmore, who helped start Park(ing) Day, said the concept strikes a chord with urban dwellers everywhere because they're dealing with similar issues of traffic congestion and pollution. The temporary parks highlight the fact that curbside parking ''results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,'' Passmore said. He cites a study by Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, which found that drivers spent an average of 3.3 minutes, or half a mile, circling the block in search of a parking space. Over a year, vehicles traveled 950,000 miles -- the equivalent of 38 trips around the Earth -- just looking for a parking spot. Shoup said many drivers would rather cruise for open spots on the street than park in higher-priced lots and garages. ''Converting a parking space into something else challenges people's assumption about how space is used and allows them to reimagine the possibilities of the urban landscape,'' Passmore said. Organizers said many cities have been supportive, even when mini parks occupy a parking space beyond the time limit. ''Parking enforcement is well aware of what we're doing and they look the other way,'' said Alfredo Hernandez, who has staged mini parks in Los Angeles for three years. But just in case, he said he keeps plenty of coins in his pocket to feed the meter. Motorists and police slowed as they passed three such parks in Los Angeles to check out the scene. Some stopped to ask what it was about, then put their thumbs up before driving away. At one park in downtown's arts district, an affordable housing advocacy group set up a lounge area over two parking spaces with chairs, tables and a lamp covered in artificial grass. A few people played Scrabble while others chatted with curious onlookers. ''When we cut out the AstroTurf to lay on the ground, we didn't realize how big it was,'' said organizer Marla Alvarez. ''This shows how valuable a parking space is as a piece of real estate. Hopefully this will start a dialogue about what you can do beyond just parking a car here.'' Melissa How, a designer who works nearby, said it's usually tough to find a parking space in the area but she didn't mind losing two spaces to a temporary park.''I think it's good. This doesn't happen everyday,'' she said. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/09/18/us/AP-US-Parking-Meter-Parks.html?_r=1 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090918/fc47c63d/attachment.html From mythriprasad at rediffmail.com Sun Sep 20 00:33:33 2009 From: mythriprasad at rediffmail.com (mythri ) Date: 19 Sep 2009 19:03:33 -0000 Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?utf-8?q?Fw=3A_Fwd=3A_UK_Environment_Film_Fellowshi?= =?utf-8?q?ps_2010?= Message-ID: <1253346263.S.23074.27712.f5mail-147-126.rediffmail.com.old.1253387013.62475@webmail.rediffmail.com> Note: Forwarded message attached -- Original Message -- From: Asha Joseph ashaa.joseph at gmail.com To: jeeva jayadas devakijeeva at gmail.com Subject: Fwd: UK Environment Film Fellowships 2010 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090919/4cfaeb3f/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Asha Joseph Subject: Fwd: UK Environment Film Fellowships 2010 Date: no date Size: 22398 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090919/4cfaeb3f/attachment-0001.mht From campaigns at ipetitions.com Sun Sep 20 11:20:22 2009 From: campaigns at ipetitions.com (campaigns at ipetitions.com) Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:50:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Message from Suma Message-ID: <20090920055022.5EAD810A0004@w2.angle9.com> Hello, Suma would like you to visit the following online campaign, by iPetitions: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/reviseICSSRdoctoralfellowship Message: Please see this petition and join _____________________________________________________________ Create a petition, sign a petition: At http://www.ipetitions.com, your voice counts. From yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Sep 20 23:19:34 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:19:34 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invisible people Message-ID: <86b8a7050909201049q6d7e0acfu2004217938b572d6@mail.gmail.com> *Date:20/09/2009* *URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2009/09/20/stories/2009092050110300.htm * ------------------------------ THE OTHER HALF * Invisible people * KALPANA SHARMA The documentary fleshes out the story of unacknowledged lives whose hard work holds up a city like Mumbai… ------------------------------ * The least that we, who are served and looked after by these silent servers, can do is to acknowledge their presence… * ------------------------------ * Unappreciated work: A still from the documentary “At my doorstep”. * Every morning, before most people in the multi-storied building where I live in Mumbai wake up and virtually unnoticed by its residents, a silent army of men do their work. A young boy, a student during the rest of the day, delivers newspapers, the g arbage bag left outside our doors is cleared and the corridor swept and swabbed by the sweeper and the milkman delivers packets of milk, perching them on a ledge or placing them in a bag hung on front doors. And even as we stir, the “breadman” delivers freshly baked local bread and eggs, the *sabziwallah* comes to the door with a selection of vegetables, the fruit man brings your choice of fruit, the *istriwallah*comes to collect and deliver your ironing and the local *kirana* (grocery) store delivers whatever you order on the phone. This is apart from your domestic help arriving to sweep and swab your house, wash your clothes, cook your meal and wash your dishes. And also apart from the security men at the gate of the building, who check everyone who enters the building and make sure you are not disturbed by strangers coming to your door. Question we don’t ask So who are these people? Do we know their names? Where do they come from? How do they survive in Mumbai? Where do they live? Do we care? Nishtha Jain, a film-maker already known for her remarkable film on the life of her domestic help, “Lakshmi and me”, that brought out the world of the women who literally hold up the homes of the middle class and the rich in Mumbai, has now made another film on the world of these virtually invisible people who hold up the city of Mumbai. “At my doorstep” is the story of the security guards, the men who iron clothes, the boys who deliver newspapers and groceries and the men who clear the garbage from Mumbai’s multi-storied and high-rise buildings. Set against the background of Mumbai’s Film City, and the dreams that Bollywood weaves for so many who come to the city seeking work, Jain opens our eyes to the world that these men inhabit. Through the words of Dayanand, a poet and writer originally from Bokaro in Jharkhand, who works as a security guard, Jain portrays the philosophical mindset that helps these men to survive. Dayanand’s arrival in Mumbai begins with the ticket collector fining him for travelling from Bokaro to Mumbai on an Express Train with an ordinary ticket. Unable to pay the fine, he spends his first night in the lockup. His journey then progresses to the point he has a job but no home. A hut in a slum becomes home, embellished with posters and poems pasted on its flimsy walls. In his spare time, Dayanand uses his skill as a writer to help others like him to write home to their loved ones. While the film fleshes out Dayanand, it leaves us asking questions about some of the other men. Like the young boy who delivers and collects clothes for ironing every day. And his colleagues, who spend the whole day ironing clothes in a hot room and say that if they do such work for more than eight months they fall sick. We watch them cook dal and rice and eat it in the same room where they have worked all day, and where they will sleep. The lucky ones sleep on the ironing tables; the others, like the delivery boy, sleep in the space below the tables. Who are these men? Where did they come from? What is their future? Equally intriguing is the young delivery boy who runs up and down stairs carrying groceries and always smiling. Not everyone pays him the entire amount of the bill. Often people tell him to come back later for the money. It is amazing how people with fixed incomes and secure jobs demand credit from those who work on minute margins. Of course, no one bothers to tip the boy for the service he provides. Clockwork routine And what about the security guard, Sonu? He spends his day opening and closing the gate of the building depending on which car wants to enter or leave. His additional job is to make sure that water is pumped up to the overhead tanks. For this, he must go to the roof of the building, open the tanks and check, wait until they are filled up — an overflow will fetch a reprimand — and then lock the covers of the tanks and come down. Rain or shine, this job must be done. Even in a Mumbai monsoon, without a raincoat or umbrella. For people who live in the Mumbai that is not a slum, all this is familiar. Something similar must happen in most of our bigger cities that are increasingly going vertical. Even in those cities that have housing colonies with individual houses, there is a similar silent army of workers that provide an almost unacknowledged service. Indeed, when we think of the economy in many cities changing from industrial to the service sector, these are the kind of services that are drawing in the majority of people. The formal sector only caters to a minute percentage of the total workforce. No rights These service providers are also the bulk of the city’s homeless — people who live in informal settlements with no security of tenure. Many of them earn far less than the minimum wage but their sense of security is based on a system of kinship that provides them with employment and a place to live. In Mumbai, over half the population lives in informal settlements. And in India as a whole, 85 per cent of the working population is employed in the informal sector, in jobs like the ones described above as well as many others. Without such people, Mumbai would come to a dead halt. Yet, these workers are not organised, they cannot demand better working conditions or higher wages, and they certainly cannot afford to stop work even for a day. Perhaps we cannot change this reality. For many people like Dayanand, cities like Mumbai are attractive because they provide so many diverse avenues for employment. The least that we, who are served and looked after by these silent servers, can do is to acknowledge their presence, know who they are and accept that without them our cities would collapse. Email the writer: sharma.kalpana at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090920/b7b42c31/attachment.html From sollybenj at yahoo.co.in Mon Sep 21 08:17:15 2009 From: sollybenj at yahoo.co.in (solomon benjamin) Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:47:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?utf-8?b?VGFsayDigJhTdWJhbHRlcm7igJkgR2xvYmFsaXNt?= =?utf-8?q?_to_think_beyond_=E2=80=98The_Designed_City=E2=80=99=22_by_Solo?= =?utf-8?q?mon_Benjamin_at_NIAS_Bangalore?= Message-ID: <806438.25072.qm@web8902.mail.in.yahoo.com> Talk by Solomon Benjamin: Reflections on work in progress: "‘Subaltern’ Globalism to think beyond ‘The Designed City’" on Wednesday 23rd Sept. 2009 at 9:30, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISc Campus, Bangalore Abstract: Does an ethnography of land development allow one to conceptualize economy and politics in Indian metros and towns (and Chinese small towns) in ways that move beyond the confines of ‘place’ and explore more fluid, even if uncertain, spaces? I explore parallels and connections between Indian and Chinese urbanisms. These terrains, much of which built around de-facto and complex land tenures, seem to make possible a small firm based manufacturing and trade economy. These are times when small traders bridge Indian and Chinese urbanism, traveling economy class with suitcases full of samples, contributing to an enlarging realm of ‘subaltern’ global processes: Globalization is not only large MNC firms operating within an un-contested and homogenous market. The political implications are significant: Popular political consciousness emerges from local groups ‘working’ the administrative system around land issues. This politics pushes local administrations to pressure higher-level political, economic, and administrative systems to be more responsive to local needs but contest big business. In the Chinese case, MNCs feel threatened enough to depose to the US Senate committees against such ‘local protectionism’ and ‘piracy’ that hinders their interests in a ‘free’ market. In the Indian case, big business groups (including MNCs) seek Master Plan-enforced zoning to access coveted locations. This situation calls for an inter-disciplinary analysis to emphasizes legal pluralism and greater analytical focus on local administration beyond managerial perspectives. In doing so, it questions conventional approaches to ‘Third World’ city development especially Master Planning. Add whatever you love to the Yahoo! India homepage. Try now! http://in.yahoo.com/trynew From virtuallyme at gmail.com Thu Sep 24 11:21:21 2009 From: virtuallyme at gmail.com (Rohan DSouza) Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:21:21 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Static walls of Bengalooru..... Message-ID: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> Hi All, The city corporation of Bangalore has recently gone on a wall beautifcation drive in the city aimed supposedly at 'bringing down defacement of public property' (http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article19884.ece) This has resulted in the walls of the city being painted by artists, displaying various themes, ranging from the mythological to the cultural, heritage etc. While passing by these newly adorned walls, one gets the impression that despite the colours and attempted vibrancy of the paintings, this has changed their essential character. These walls which have a dynamic nature by being notice boards of cultural, political, social and even economic activities in the city, have now morphed into static snapshots of the tourism department. Walls in Bangalore have, like most other urban centres, been sites of announcement of new movies, political rallies, job opportunities and in some places graffiti as well as adornments of pan, tobacco etc. As movies change, political rallies and gatherings come and go, social circumstances change, the walls respond to these ebbs and flows with an ongoing narrative of urban life. The new initiative by the city corporation, in the name of beautification, is changing these walls of urban commentary into lifeless and single dimensional paintings, that will stay as 'they used a special weather-proof paint'! Rgds, Rohan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090924/d9847aff/attachment-0001.html From virtuallyme at gmail.com Fri Sep 25 14:36:01 2009 From: virtuallyme at gmail.com (Rohan DSouza) Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:36:01 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Static walls of Bengalooru..... In-Reply-To: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> References: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <79e82f610909250206n7f15133t2aec8e9fff0a64b9@mail.gmail.com> Hi All, The city corporation of Bangalore has recently gone on a wall beautifcation drive in the city aimed supposedly at 'bringing down defacement of public property' (http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article19884.ece) This has resulted in the walls of the city being painted by artists, displaying various themes, ranging from the mythological to the cultural, heritage etc. While passing by these newly adorned walls, one gets the impression that despite the colours and attempted vibrancy of the paintings, this has changed their essential character. These walls which have a dynamic nature by being notice boards of cultural, political, social and even economic activities in the city, have now morphed into static snapshots of the tourism department. Walls in Bangalore have, like most other urban centres, been sites of announcement of new movies, political rallies, job opportunities and in some places graffiti as well as adornments of pan, tobacco etc. As movies change, political rallies and gatherings come and go, social circumstances change, the walls respond to these ebbs and flows with an ongoing narrative of urban life. The new initiative by the city corporation, in the name of beautification, is changing these walls of urban commentary into lifeless and single dimensional paintings, that will stay as 'they used a special weather-proof paint'! Rgds, Rohan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090925/6acd6935/attachment.html From cugambetta at yahoo.com Sun Sep 27 13:16:45 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:46:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: UDRI Research Fellowship announcement Message-ID: <598174.92973.qm@web57410.mail.re1.yahoo.com> ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: UDRI Research Fellowship Programme To: urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net; urbanstudygroup at sarai.net Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 11:26:25 PM Subject: FW: UDRI Research Fellowship announcement To: Urban Study Group: I would be grateful if you could post/circulate the following announcement for the UDRI research fellowship program ANNOUNCEMENT- UDRI RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 2010- CYCLE 3 The Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) announces the next cycle of the Research Fellowship Programme to provide young scholars, researchers and independent practitioners the opportunity to do research on contemporary urban issues and concerns of Mumbai. Research Fellows shall be given a monthly stipend/ professional allowance of INR 20,000 and will be provided with working space and requisite infrastructure at the UDRI studio. In addition UDRI will facilitate discussions with relevant resource persons in the field and assist in the publication of research findings. Support will also be available to the fellows for post-research advocacy. The research period can vary between 6 to18 months. Applicants shall demonstrate the relevance of the proposed research to the city of Mumbai/Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the feasibility of accompanying the research goal within the stipulated period. Areas of research could revolve around: * Alternative Histories and Conceptualizations * Urban Projects * Urban Practices * Policy Review * City Geographies Dates Last date of application | 23.11.09 Tentative dates of interview | 08.01.10 Tentative Date for Start of Fellowship | 01.02.10 Eligibility Requirements * Bachelors/masters degree in architecture or planning, and equivalent published work (or) Masters degree in geography or social sciences and equivalent published work * High proficiency in English and preferably Hindi and Marathi * Be eligible for leave of absence, if employed. The programme Brochure and Applications can be downloaded from the UDRI website www.udri.org and submitted by email to researchfellowship at udri.org For further details you may also contact UDRI Tel. +91-22-6573-5773, +91-22-22822924 Address: 43, V B Gandhi Marg, Kalaghoda, Fort, Mumbai 400 023 Thanks and Best Wishes, Deepali Mody Director-Research Fellowship -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090927/a54c41ed/attachment.html From gabriel at srishti.ac.in Sun Sep 27 21:27:46 2009 From: gabriel at srishti.ac.in (Gabriel Harp) Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:57:46 +0200 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Static walls of Bengalooru..... In-Reply-To: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> References: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <69574CC5-8DBD-4E89-8184-8F9927EAF279@srishti.ac.in> Lifeless. Really? Single-dimensional. Really? The comment that notice boards and other postings on the wall give them a dynamic character seems misplaced. Yes, they change over time as some stuff is put up and other is taken down. But the "default setting" is by no means dynamic. People using city walls as bulletin boards hardly incorporates any new ideas into the character of the wall itself. Perhaps the ideas on the pamphlets change, but it does not make the walls more predictive of or responsive to their environment. And what if the walls were indeed snapshots of the tourism department, with all its desks, papers, brochures, people milling about, and coffee saucers? Maybe I would see something interesting about a department office---and perhaps an unnoticed snapshot of the city. And since when is Bangalore short on walls or other surfaces for painting? Perhaps if there were more painting and not less, more graffiti and fewer political banners, then maybe we could carry these discussions into the public sphere. But as long as any attempt to make a city something, creative, pleasant to be near, is met with resistance because it is not entirely "from the ground up" why should any of its planning agencies do anything? I for one am happy to see something interesting happening in Bangalore's infrastructure which has very little civic cultural character, in my opinion. However, I'd trade all those conventional wall paintings for streets closed to cars on Brigade Rd, Commercial St, and others without hesitation. cheers, Gabriel On Sep 24, 2009, at 7:51 AM, Rohan DSouza wrote: > Hi All, > > The city corporation of Bangalore has recently gone on a wall > beautifcation drive in the city aimed supposedly at 'bringing down > defacement of public property' (http://beta.thehindu.com/news/ > cities/Bangalore/article19884.ece) This has resulted in the walls > of the city being painted by artists, displaying various themes, > ranging from the mythological to the cultural, heritage etc. > > While passing by these newly adorned walls, one gets the impression > that despite the colours and attempted vibrancy of the paintings, > this has changed their essential character. These walls which have > a dynamic nature by being notice boards of cultural, political, > social and even economic activities in the city, have now morphed > into static snapshots of the tourism department. > > Walls in Bangalore have, like most other urban centres, been sites > of announcement of new movies, political rallies, job opportunities > and in some places graffiti as well as adornments of pan, tobacco > etc. As movies change, political rallies and gatherings come and > go, social circumstances change, the walls respond to these ebbs > and flows with an ongoing narrative of urban life. The new > initiative by the city corporation, in the name of beautification, > is changing these walls of urban commentary into lifeless and > single dimensional paintings, that will stay as 'they used a > special weather-proof paint'! > > Rgds, > Rohan > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urban Study Group: Reading the South Asian City > > To subscribe or browse the Urban Study Group archives, please visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090927/154178ad/attachment-0001.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Sep 28 18:19:58 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:19:58 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Mysore corp in debt: MGP Message-ID: <86b8a7050909280549l7806f461ma2734f6f066d8bf7@mail.gmail.com> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5060603.cms MCC in debt: NGOTNN 26 September 2009, 10:29pm IST MYSORE: Is the Mysore City Corporation pushing itself into a debt trap? Corporators are accusing the administration of financial mismanagement while the Mysore Grahakara Parishat is seeking to know how the MCC will foot the hefty bills of JNNURM projects? The City Development Plan prepared by the MCC as a prerequisite for obtaining approval for JNNURM projects has made a commitment to fund these projects. The MCC has stated that it will spend Rs 53 crore anually between 2007-12 for the JNNURM projects. It is not clear how the MCC can raise the money. As it is, the local body has been defaulting in repaying the ADB loan taken some 10 years back to upgrade infrastructure. As a result of non-payment, the Rs 130-crore loan has now ballooned to over Rs 300 crore, the MGP stated. But the MCC has made no allocation in its budget towards clearing this loan, it pointed out. The MCC financial statement says that it cannot generate the revenues needed to meet its Rs 53 crore annual liability towards the JNNURM works and will be forced to take a loan. But the MCC has not been able to repay its loan to the ADB, said MGP's Maj Gen (retd) S G Vombatkere. The MGP also suspected whether the investment may not help Mysore as projected. Pointing at some of the ADB works, the NGO stated: "Despite checks and balances put in place to ensure that money was spent properly, work quality to large extent was shoddy providing little benefit to the public. In JNNURM works, these checks and balances are not evident and so the prognosis on the quality of work is not hopeful. Caving in of a road near Ashoka Circle (Ballal junction) and questions raised about the new bus stand are some early indications." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090928/7c378713/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Sep 28 18:25:58 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:25:58 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] House tax, water rate not on Chandigarh corpn agenda Message-ID: <86b8a7050909280555m856a667h29cbf51c79032695@mail.gmail.com> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chandigarh/House-tax-water-rate-not-on-MC-agenda/articleshow/5063395.cms House tax, water rate not on MC agendaRajan Walia, TNN 28 September 2009, 02:37am IST CHANDIGARH: Mayor Kamlesh and municipal councillors are sticking to their guns in opposition to the twin issues of increasing water tariff and introducing house tax in the city. The two items have again not found mention on the agenda for the upcoming general house meeting of the municipal corporation to be held on Tuesday. This is despite UT home secretary Ram Niwas and Chandigarh municipal commissioner Roshan Sunkaria seeking that the issues at least be discussed in the MC house. Sunkaria had sent an agenda including the two issues to the mayor for her approval. However, she did not accept that. While informing The Times of India about this, a senior MC official stated that this was an outright rejection to table the two issues in the house. “We will have to approach the Chandigarh administration and seek its intervention in getting these implemented at the earliest. The city cannot afford to lose Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission funds, which are linked to the MC taking these steps,” insisted the official. At the recent meeting of the MC’s finance and contract committee, the mayor and other councillors had stated that they could not take a decision regarding battery-operated vehicles ferrying shoppers in Sector-17 plaza as the civic body did not have the power to deal with Motor Vehicles Act related issues. They had also refused to act on phasing out horse carts in the city for the same reason. UT administration had forwarded those two proposals. Talking about the issues missing from the agenda, Kamlesh said, “We don’t wish to unnecessarily burden city’s residents by imposing house tax or increasing water tariff. Look at the neglected areas like slums. The people there don?t get proper supply of water at all. Let the authorities provide water and then we would think of raising the water tariff.” Senior nominated councilllor AP Sanwaria said the mayor’s decision regarding the agenda was unfortunate. He ridiculed the mayor’s stand that MC did not need JNNURM funds as it had enough cash deposits in the bank. “How can you compare incoming central funds with cash resources we have to get more funds for the city’s development and can’t afford to ignore JNNURM.” Sanwaria insisted he would make efforts to get the issue discussed on Tuesday. “Let it create differences among councillors. We would put all possible pressure on the house to get the issue discussed,” said Sanwaria. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090928/62b6b2f7/attachment.html From ghertner at gmail.com Tue Sep 29 01:38:57 2009 From: ghertner at gmail.com (Asher Ghertner) Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:08:57 -0700 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: URGENT PETITION ON ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA References: <7.0.1.0.2.20090928125749.031c0eb0@berkeley.edu> Message-ID: In light of recent attacks against shack dwellers in South Africa, the following petition is being circulated in order to garner international solidarity and to put pressure on the Zuma government to take action. Please sign on and/or circulate this petition to relevant lists. Begin forwarded message: Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:07:02 -0700 To: hart at berkeley.edu From: Gillian Hart Subject: URGENT PETITION ON ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA Dear friends and colleagues, Over the weekend there were horrifying attacks against residents of shack settlements in Durban, in which local police and government officials appear to have been complicit. I'm writing to urge you to sign this petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/274924944 calling on Jacob Zuma to intervene directly. These attacks are reminiscent of the wave of xenophobic killings of "foreigners" that swept through South Africa last year. This latest incarnation is framed in ethnic terms. Many residents of the Clare Estate/Kennedy Road shack settlements in Durban are from the Eastern Cape (Amapondo). According to reports, 40 heavily armed men attacked the settlements shouting "The AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for the AmaZulu". The police failed to intervene, and violence continued in the presence of ANC officials. Residents of the Kennedy Road/Clare Estate settlements have been subject to harassment from police and local government officials since 2005. The Shackdwellers Movement (Abahlali baseMjondolo) that emerged from this conflict has been one of the most effective of the post- apartheid movements protesting ongoing social and economic injustice (http://www.abahlali.org/ ). I'm forwarding some information from Richard Ballard, a colleague at University of KwaZulu-Natal, who compiled an urgent letter to be published in South African newspapers. This petition is an effort to mobilize international attention and support, and I very much hope you will be willing to sign and pass it on. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Gill Hart > See http://mailinfo.berkeley.edu/ for more information. > > Dear all > > Apologies for a mass email. This concerns a deadly attack in Kennedy > Road shack settlement. It’s important to get a condemnation out > there urgently. Following Eva’s email (below), I have compiled a > short statement of concern which I would like to send to newspapers > this afternoon. If you would like to add your name please email me > directly (include institutional affiliation and country if not SA) > by 3pm. Note that the wording may shift slightly. Forward to anyone > you like. > > Richard Ballard > > > Draft letter of concern: Kennedy Road Attacks > > > > We are greatly concerned about reports of a violent attack in > Kennedy road on the weekend. According to press releases from > Abahlali BasemJondolo, a group of 40 armed men attacked a youth camp > shouting ‘The AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for > the AmaZulu.’ Several deaths resulted, shacks have been burnt and > many have fled and are hiding in the bush. > > > > Many shack settlements in the Clare Estate area accommodate people > from the Eastern Cape. Violence that targets ethnicity and political > affiliation is an extremely worrying development indeed. Also > worrying are reports of the failure of the Sydenham police station > to take action to defend the lives and property of shack residents. > > > > We call on authorities to denounce the violence, to reaffirm that > all are welcome in eThekwini regardless of origin and political > affiliation, to protect the lives and property of those under > attack, to provide shelter for those displaced, and to arrange a > credible investigation. > > > > Signed > > > -- > ---- > Richard Ballard, School of Development Studies, University of > KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4041 > Phone: 031 2602266; Fax: 031 2602359; Cell: 0837897108; email: >ballardr at ukzn.ac.za; www: http:// > sds.ukzn.ac.za/ > > - > >>> Eva Jackson 9/28/2009 7:33 AM >>> > > Dear Durban Action Against Xenophobia members, MSA, S.A.R.A.H, > Rotaract, SSM and all > > You may have seen the press releases sent out about the unbelievable > violence and chaos at Kennedy Road in Sydenham. You can read these > below. Thousands are now spread out all over Clare Estate and > elsewhere without food or shelter. Last night they could not return > to their settlement as it was being destroyed by the armed thugs who > have killed an unknown number of people. The police presence has > been ineffectual. With your support we can all help to arrange food > and temporary accommodation for as many people as possible. > > Not sure off the top of my head who to send this to... While we can > from our side remobilise the DAAX network, and we can all inform our > respective member groups, and call on and assist civil society, we > need a confirmed drop-off point for supplies, food, anything that's > needed. St Philomena's church has been suggested as it is in the > area and has been used by Abahlali members before. Once this is > confirmed and once we know what kind of operation St Philomenas or > another nearby building is prepared to accommodate, we can all > contact churches and charities to channel supplies there, and > hopefully to accommodate people, which is urgent. Al Imdaad's > capacity for providing food is huge, and if they could assist it > would be good > > Kerry can you confirm that this is also roughly the location of the > hall where supplies could be dropped off? Durban Saint Philomena's > Children's Home 92 Rippon Road Sydenham > > Eva > > 079 533 2470 > > Emergency Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement > > Sunday 27 September 2009, 22:40 > > There are now senior ANC leaders in the Kennedy Road Community Hall. > In their presence the homes of the elected Kennedy Road leadership > continue to be demolished and burnt by the same small group of well > armed people who have been carrying out attacks with impunity for 23 > straight hours. None of the people that launched the surprise, > unprovoked and heavily armed attack on the KRDC last night have been > arrested and yet most of the KRDC is locked up in the Sydenham > Police station (including those who were publicly performing the > imfene dance in Claremont at the time of the attack). > > The police are currently on the scene and are doing nothing to stop > the destruction. These are the same police who have, over the years, > attacked a number of peaceful and legal marches with swift, shocking > (and very effective) brutality. They are very well equipped and > armed. They can get the riot police to support them in just a few > minutes. They can get water cannons and helicopters in a few > minutes. They can call in the army if they need to. It would be > supremely easy for them to stop these attacks if they wished too. > The police complicity in these attacks is now entirely beyond > question. It is a matter of clear and obvious and undeniable fact. > > We have just heard that S'bu Zikode's house has been demolished and > his goods have been stolen. He personally requested support from the > police but received none. Should we be surprised given that these > are the same police that tortured him in 2007 for the crime of > trying to attend a radio interview? > > There is no democracy for the poor in South Africa. Abahlali have > been saying this for years. Now it must be obvious to everyone. It > is time that we all stopped pretending that everything is ok in our > country > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Abahlali press 6:31 pm 27 September > > This press statement has been updated. Please use this version from > now on. We will update further as we get further information. > > Kennedy Road Development Committee (KRDC) > > Emergency Press Release, Sunday 27 September 2009 > > Kennedy Road Development Committee Attacked People Have Been Killed > > Last night at about 11:30 a group of about 40 men heavily armed with > guns, bush knives and even a sword attacked the KRDC near the > Abahlali baseMjondolo office in the Kennedy Road settlement. The > movement was holding an all night camp for the Youth League but the > camp was not attacked but the people at the camp were intimidated > and threatened. > > The men who attacked were shouting: 'The AmaMpondo are taking over > Kennedy. Kennedy is for the AmaZulu. Some people were killed. We > can't yet say exactly how many. Some are saying that three people > are dead. Some are saying that five people are dead. Many people are > also very seriously injured. The attackers broke everything that > they could including the windows in the hall. They destroyed 15 > houses before launching their attack. They were knocking on each > door shouting 'All the amaZulu must come out' and then destroying > the shacks. As far as we know two of the attackers were killed when > people managed to take their bush knives off them. This was self > defense. > > The Sydenham police were called but they did not come. They said > that they had no vans but they didn't radio their vans to come. This > has led some people to conclude that this was a carefully planned > attack on the movement and that the police knew in advance that it > had been planned and stayed away on purpose. Why else would the > police refuse to come when they are being called while people are > being openly murdered? When the attack happened one officer from > Crime Intelligence was there in plain clothes. > > This morning the police arrived under the authority of Glen Nayager > and made eight arrests. As far as we can tell only members of the > Kennedy Road Development Committee (KRDC) have been arrested. If > this is true it indicates clearly that the police are part of this > attack on the movement. It also seems that the police are only > taking statements from the people that attacked us! Some of the > people that they have arrested were not even at Kennedy Road when we > were attacked. They were in Claremont for an imfene dance. They do > the imfene dance every Saturday. All the people that have been > arrested as amaMphondo. These arrests feel to us like the Kennedy > Six scandal all over again. > > We believe that this attack has been planned and organised by > Gumede, from the Lacy Road settlement, who is the head of the Branch > Executive Committee of the local ANC. There has never been political > freedom in Lacy Road. Since 2005 we have been told that anyone > wearing the red shirt of Abahlali baseMjondolo in Lacy Road will be > killed. In 2006 Gumede personally threatened Abahlali baseMjondolo > member and Lacy Road resident M'du Hlongwa with death for wearing a > read shirt in the settllement. But anyone can wear any shirt of any > politics that they like in our settlements. You will see COPE, ANC > and SACP shirts in our settlements. We are democracts. Our politics > is a politics of open and free discussion - not violence and > intimidation. > > This is not the first time that our movement has been attacked. Last > year both Mzonke Poni, head of AbM in the Western Cape, and S'bu > Zikode, head of AbM in KwaZulu-Natal, were attacked and seriously > beaten by well organised and mysterious groups of young men. These > attacks happened a few days apart. The men who attacked Zikode also > said that he was selling Kennedy to the AmaMpondo. Some time after > the attacks on Mzonke and S'bu Mashumi Figland, Deputy President of > Abahlali baseMjondolo who was then also Chairperson of the Kennedy > Road Development Committee, was also attacked and seriously beaten. > Again the attack was very well organised and carried out by a > mysterious group of young men. During the attack Mashumi, who is > Xhosa, was told that the AmaMpondo must leave Durban and go back to > the Eastern Cape. > > This ethnic politics in the local ANC started with Jacob Zuma's > election campaign. Before then it was unknown in the settlement. > People in the local ANC started to say 'now is the time for the > amaZulu'. This ethnic politics started with Zuma's election campaign > and so it his responsibility to take this politics out of the ANC. > > Gumede, head of the local BEC of the ANC, has been trying by all > means to undermine the movement for many years. He has failed. Every > year we have open elections in Kennedy Road and ever year people > vote for who they want to represent them on the KRDC. > > We believe that Gumede, with the support of ward councillor Yakoob > Baig, has tried to build a coalition against the movement in order > to attack it violently. Gumede has said publicly that he will turn > the Abahlali baseMjondolo office into an ANC office. His coalition > is now a milita. They have found 4 types of people that want to > attack the movement: > > 1. People who want to follow an ethnic politics: The movement > accepts all shack dwellers on an equal basis. We do not care where a > person was born or what language they speak. This has caused those > who want an ethnic politics to oppose us. > > 2. Criminals: We have a Safety & Security committee and we have been > working to get the criminals out of our settlement. In recent months > we have been working very well with the local police to get them > arrested. We have also put a time limit on the shebeens saying that > they must close at 10:00 p.m. so that people can sleep properly and > that there is no violence, especially violence against women, when > people get too drunk. The criminals and some shebeen owners do not > like what the movement is doing to make the settlement safe for > everybody. > > 3. People who want Gumede's patronage: Every time the movement wins > a small victory, like getting toilets built or even cleaned, Gumede > tries to ensure that the jobs go only to his people. We are opposed > to development becoming misused for party politics. The people who > want to get Gumede's jobs are also unhappy with what we are doing. > We also think that now the Abahlali baseMjondolo has won the > struggle against the eviction of Kennedy Road, and for the up grade > of the settlement where it is, these people want to use violence to > take over the settlement so that they can get the contacts that they > think will come with development. We suspect that Gumede has > promised them these contracts. > > 4. People who are making money from electricity: Operation Khanyisa, > in which we connect people to electricity, is for free. People who > were charging to connect people to electricity see it as a threat to > them. > > The next Kennedy Road AGM is coming soon. Once again the people of > Kennedy Road can vote for ever they want to represent them. The > people who attacked us last night do not want democracy. If they > felt that they had support they could just have waited for the AGM > and put up candidates. > > What Gumede, and Baig are doing is not just an attack on Abahlali > baseMjondolo. It is also an attack on democracy. They have now set > set up a militia to destroy the movement. We have no armed wing. We > have never attacked anyone. Our politics is a politics of open > meetings and popular democracy. It is a politics of debating and > discussing together. The politics that is being used to attack us is > a politics of war. Gumede has not become a war lord. Abahlali > baseMjondolo will mobilise its members across the city, the province > and the country against Gumede. > > We see no difference between what is being done to us and what the > apartheid regime did with the Witdoeke in the shack settlements in > Cape Town in the 1980s. > > After what has happened many people are saying to us that they do > not trust the police. They are asking for the army to be sent in as > the army might be neutral. > > As we write the attacks and threats continue. We are under attack. A > member of the Saftey & Security committee, affiliated to the KRDC, > was stabbed and killed this morning. He was not there last night. He > was doing the imfene dance in Claremont. The attackers tried to > chase the ambulance away. > > Gumede and his militia are not just a threat to us and our > community. They are a threat to democracy in South Africa. It is > very clear that democracy is under attack. > > As we are sending this statement a helicopter and many more police > officers are arriving. We hope that they will be neutral and follow > the law not Gumede's politics of war. But as far as we can tell the > police that are here are just looking for statements against the > KRDC - those who were ambushed in the night! The violence is > continuing. Gumede's people are saying that if Mashumi Figlan > returns to Kennedy he will be killed. We do not have confidence that > he and others will be protected by the police. None of the > perpetrators of the attacks last night have been arrested. We are > not armed. People are very scared that there will be more attacks. > They are packing their bags and fleeing the settlement. > > Things are still confused. This statement was prepared in this > confusion. If there are any errors or important things left out of > this statement we will correct them or add them when we can talk to > everyone safely and send out a more detailed statement. > > For more information and breaking news please contact the following > members of the Kennedy Road Development Committee: > > Mzwakhe Mdlalose: 072 132 8458 > > Anton Zamisa: 079 380 1759 > > Bheki Simelane: 078 598 9491 > > Nokutula Manyawo: 083 949 1379 > > -- > > Uyishayile! > > To view Elkartasun Bideak's collection of short films visit >http://www.youtube.com/user/elkartasunbideak > > To view 'From the Shacks to the Constitutional Court' visit >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_T7OKD05Vw > > To view an excerpt of 'A Place in the City' visit > > http://www.youtube.com/ > watch?v=Fr7h6aTQp5A > > To view 'Dear Mandela' visit >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caBo002T4eI > > To find out more about 'When the Mountain Meets its Shadow', a new > film about life and struggle in Cape Town, visit >http://when-the-mountain-meets-its-shadow.com/ > > Abahlali baseMjondolo, together with with Landless People's Movement > (Gauteng), the Rural Network (KwaZulu-Natal) and the Western Cape > Anti-Eviction Campaign, is part of the Poor People's Alliance - a > national network of democratic membership based poor people's > movements. > > ------------------------------ > > > > Please find our Email Disclaimer here-->: >http://www.ukzn.ac.za/disclaimer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090928/22f52350/attachment-0001.html From sunalini_kumar at hotmail.com Tue Sep 29 08:13:29 2009 From: sunalini_kumar at hotmail.com (Sunalini Kumar) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:43:29 +0100 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Static walls of Bengalooru..... In-Reply-To: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> References: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: This is thought-provoking; reminds me tangentially of the farcical 'wall of democracy' in Delhi University created by the former VC Deepak Nayyar. After banning posters and political messages on all other walls around the University, the VC's office designated one stretch of wall opposite the main Arts Faculty building that could be used for democracy-related (!) posters and graffiti. As a metaphor for the growing suspicion and regulation of "messy" democratic tendencies by technocrats and meritocrats in our so-called democracy, it spoke volumes. In hindsight, it seems to have been a precursor to the Lyngdoh Committee's recommendations on student politics. The contrast with JNU as far as wall art is concerned is striking; even as a child visiting the JNU campus once, I remember being overwhelmed and excited about the profusion of political graffiti around campus, without understanding fully why. JNU poster art has of course reached new heights of aesthetics due to the long history of activism on that campus, but even if this werent the case, as you say Rohan, walls are crucial notice boards of the cultural, political and economic life of a city. Replacing them with static official-directed aesthetics is not an innocent move. This is the trend of our times; the regulation of everyday expression and popular occupation of public space, gentrification and beautification of officially 'unclaimed' parts of the city. This phenomenon is not too different from creating gated neighbourhood parks and official-controlled metro station art, although I do believe it may have even further-reaching consequences in the long run. The issue is also of what Richard Dagger in an entirely different context calls 'civic memory' - urban authorities are contiunally directing what memory of the city will survive into the future. This in turn shapes civic activism for all time to come. That they used 'special weather-proof paint' is highly appropriate! Thanks for your post, Sunalini Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:21:21 +0530 From: virtuallyme at gmail.com To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net Subject: [Urbanstudy] Static walls of Bengalooru..... Hi All, The city corporation of Bangalore has recently gone on a wall beautifcation drive in the city aimed supposedly at 'bringing down defacement of public property' (http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article19884.ece) This has resulted in the walls of the city being painted by artists, displaying various themes, ranging from the mythological to the cultural, heritage etc. While passing by these newly adorned walls, one gets the impression that despite the colours and attempted vibrancy of the paintings, this has changed their essential character. These walls which have a dynamic nature by being notice boards of cultural, political, social and even economic activities in the city, have now morphed into static snapshots of the tourism department. Walls in Bangalore have, like most other urban centres, been sites of announcement of new movies, political rallies, job opportunities and in some places graffiti as well as adornments of pan, tobacco etc. As movies change, political rallies and gatherings come and go, social circumstances change, the walls respond to these ebbs and flows with an ongoing narrative of urban life. The new initiative by the city corporation, in the name of beautification, is changing these walls of urban commentary into lifeless and single dimensional paintings, that will stay as 'they used a special weather-proof paint'! Rgds, Rohan _________________________________________________________________ Get the best of MSN on your mobile http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/147991039/direct/01/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090929/6de5875d/attachment.html From divyarrs at gmail.com Thu Sep 24 11:21:18 2009 From: divyarrs at gmail.com (divya ravindranath) Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:21:18 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] reminder- workshop on lakes as ecological, cultural and public spaces Message-ID: <250ac9ab0909232251n7345cae6w1d70a59a2b9c0074@mail.gmail.com> Dear All, This is a reminder for the workshop on Lakes as Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces on 26th September 09, at MH Marigowda Hall, Lal Bagh. The invitation and agenda is attached and has all the details Please register with divyarrs at esgindia.org or bhargavi at esgindia.org Please note that registration is compulsory as we need to make arrangements for take-away kits and lunch divya -- http://captured-on-camera.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090924/8f33fbe7/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Invitation_lakes workshop_260909.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 95155 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090924/8f33fbe7/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Workshop on Lakes_Flyer_invite.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 97298 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090924/8f33fbe7/attachment-0003.pdf From anithasuseelan at gmail.com Fri Sep 25 00:40:01 2009 From: anithasuseelan at gmail.com (Anitha Suseelan) Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:40:01 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] National Urban Design Thesis Seminar - Invitation In-Reply-To: <2bd5bff60909241203w2cc6b512pce0d3d2ca622ce24@mail.gmail.com> References: <2bd5bff60909241127h1778359avd6746a58beee6abd@mail.gmail.com> <2bd5bff60909241203w2cc6b512pce0d3d2ca622ce24@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <9432f80a0909241210x52e0585dwbe9653a023e3d27e@mail.gmail.com> *Dear All,* Urban design education has come a long way since its inception in India in the ‘6os to its present, where six institutions are providing post graduate education in the subject. These schools vary in experience, tradition and methodology of education as reflected in the topics and the nature of thesis work done by students in these institutions. The Institute of Urban Designers – India (IUDI), a national professional association of qualified urban designers, in collaboration with the RVCE, Bangalore is holding a day-long thesis seminar with participants from all the institutes offering Urban Design program in India: CEPT - Ahmedabad, SPA - Delhi, RVCE - Bangalore, KRVIA - Mumbai, JU - Kolkata and USD - Mysore in order to develop an overview of urban design as articulated in new thinking by our students. The objective of the seminar is to promote shared learning amongst participating colleges and has no component of competition, comparison or assessment. On the other hand, the idea is to build up a common resource pool in the field of urban design with the hope that there will be larger interactions in the form of juries, joint studios, workshops, etc. contributing to the overall development of pedagogy in urban design. This is the first event of an annual seminar program to be rotated as a collaborative venture between the participating institutions and the IUDI. We believe that such an exercise which is the first of its kind in any discipline would go a long way in fostering the mutual development of all involved institutions. The proceedings of this seminar including presentations by the students will be published by the Institute for further dissemination. The seminar will comprise of 2 power point presentations of thesis work from each of the 6 colleges to be presented by students and guide/faculty together. IUDI and RVCE are inviting 5 eminent experts from different parts of India apart from other professionals, to deliberate upon the issues thrown up by the students in a joint panel. We are pleased to invite you to participate in the forthcoming IUDI_National Urban Design Thesis Seminar_2009 to be held at RV College of Architecture, Bangalore on 10th October 2009. You may also forward this to anyone else who would be interested to attend. The Seminar Brochure and Registration forms are attached herewith. It would be appreciated if your registration forms could be submitted well in advance before the last date (30th Sept 2009). *We look forward to receiving a confirmation at the earliest.* With Regards, Organizing Committee IUDI National Urban Design Thesis Seminar 2009 RV College of Architecture Bangalore -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090925/ae6eb8e4/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IUDI_NTS_Registration Form_General.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 19709 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090925/ae6eb8e4/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IUDI_nts_Brochure_Oct_2009_General.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 1420327 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090925/ae6eb8e4/attachment-0003.pdf From umesh_varma at yahoo.com Sat Sep 26 11:21:44 2009 From: umesh_varma at yahoo.com (Umesh Varma) Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:21:44 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Model Real Estate Act Message-ID: <684518.62724.qm@web95409.mail.in2.yahoo.com> The ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has prepared a draft model Real Estate (regulation of development) Act and released it on its official websitewww.mhupa. gov.in inviting comments from state governments, stakeholders and experts within 45 days. The draft act aims to establish a Regulatory Authority and an Appellate Tribunal to regulate, control and promote planned and healthy development and construction, sale, transfer and management of colonies, residential buildings, apartments and other similar properties, and to host and maintain a website containing all project details, with a view to protecting, on the one hand the public interest in relation to the conduct and integrity of promoters and other persons engaged in the development of such colonies and to facilitating on the other the smooth and speedy construction and maintenance of such colonies, residential buildings, apartments and properties and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The draft has seven different chapters which deal with regulation of development of colonies and promotion of construction, sale and transfer of residential buildings, apartments and other similar properties, role of promoter, Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Appellate Tribunal, Offences and Penalties and Miscellaneous items such as court jurisdiction etc. Connect more, do more and share more with Yahoo! India Mail. Learn more. http://in.overview.mail.yahoo.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090926/4353f470/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Model+Real+Estate+Act.doc Type: application/msword Size: 280064 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090926/4353f470/attachment-0001.doc From rahulks7 at gmail.com Wed Sep 30 07:39:51 2009 From: rahulks7 at gmail.com (Rahul Srivastava) Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:39:51 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invitation to Participate: URBZ MASHUP, Mumbai, Oct. 29 - Nov 1, 2009 Message-ID: URBZ MASHUP Mumbai OCT 29 – NOV 1, 2009 Sites: JJ School of Art and Architecture, Wilson College Neighbourhood, Chowpatty, Khotachiwadi, Crawford Market. The MASHUP is an opportunity to visualize Mumbai’s oldest neighbourhoods afresh. This is important not only because these constantly evolving spaces are changing at a fast pace, but also because a little bit of imagination can help them do so without disrupting their spirit and the lives of their old and new residents. Your photograph, photo-shopped image, graphic, painting, poem, rendering, essay or anything else that you choose to express yourself with, will go a long way in giving direction to the ongoing make over of this part of the city. The MASHUP will work with Mumbai’s student and resident population together with international participants. We will explore these neighbourhoods, archive ongoing transformations, introduce thoughts, ideas and images from elsewhere and help visualize the future in a manner that does justice to both, the history and aspirations of these spaces. Why leave this important task to politicians and the development lobby? Come – join the fun and take charge! The MASHUP activities cover the oldest neighbourhoods of the city. Girgaum, where Khotachiwadi – the much threatened and celebrated trophy heritage habitat exists, just a stone’s throw away from Chowpatty beach, another historic space for demonstrating free expression. A fifteen minute walk takes you to Crawford Market – Mumbai’s oldest and favourite shopping destination, facing its own challenges. In between lies a maze of dense streets and bazaars that testify the ability of the city’s numerous communities to make the city what it is, a city of shops, markets, factories, docks, artisanship, dreams and collective aspirations. In this maze lie opportunities that provide newer definitions of what it means to be a Mumbaikar, through the many languages the city speaks in, the many cultural practices it invents, its changing and evolving built forms, its bazaars and markets that are as vital and dense as the air Mumbai breathes – making the question of its identity richer than anything the city officially celebrates. Way richer than the imagination of its political leaders and deeper than the possibilities framed by its most conscientious citizens. For more info, please visit http://mashup.urbz.net/mumbai and www.urbz.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090930/bf97ea5e/attachment.html From ramolan at gmail.com Wed Sep 30 09:13:39 2009 From: ramolan at gmail.com (Ramola Singru) Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:43:39 +0800 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Static walls of Bengalooru..... In-Reply-To: <79e82f610909250206n7f15133t2aec8e9fff0a64b9@mail.gmail.com> References: <79e82f610909232251o7baa3df8s8114fb469f416beb@mail.gmail.com> <79e82f610909250206n7f15133t2aec8e9fff0a64b9@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Rohan, Though I am a strong opponent to such beautification drives in the name of ‘globalising’ a city, I feel this initiative by BBMP is an educative and creative endeavour that maintains city walls that too often turn into grimy pan-splattered displays of civic disregard for public property. I remember the proposal by Charles Correa in the early 90’s to remove the bill-boards that completely camouflaged the scale and proportion of architectural heritage down D.N. Road. If after almost 20 years one can begin new ways of reading and rendering the image of a city, it is a laudable effort. While I understand the argument that an urban narrative is dislodged through the apparent fixed montage of historical/mythological paintings, I think it generates a new way in which young citizens could start interacting with Indian culture. It’s almost like reading an Amar Chitra Katha comic painted to a large scale. Each tableau has a story behind it and a lesson to be learnt. The walls can be the key to change as the new canvas for budding artists and could even be used as innovative out-door galleries displaying unexpected talent a-la John Pugh. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1187338/Off-wall-The-astonishing-3D-murals-painted-sides-buildings-trompe-loeil-artist.html In Mumbai, many a billboard painter’s skill has been rendered obsolete due to the technological changes in the advertising field. This loss of livelihood could be rechanneled and put to creative use in the city of flyovers! Ramola Naik-Singru Adjunct Professor, Center for Development, Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines PhD (candidate) Urban and Regional Planning Department of Geography & Environment London School of Economics & Political Science, U.K. _____________________________________________ E-mail: ramolan at gmail.com; r.n.naik-singru at lse.ac.uk 2009/9/25 Rohan DSouza > Hi All, > The city corporation of Bangalore has recently gone on a wall beautifcation > drive in the city aimed supposedly at 'bringing down defacement of public > property' (http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article19884.ece) > This has resulted in the walls of the city being painted by artists, > displaying various themes, ranging from the mythological to the cultural, > heritage etc. > > While passing by these newly adorned walls, one gets the impression that > despite the colours and attempted vibrancy of the paintings, this has > changed their essential character. These walls which have a dynamic nature > by being notice boards of cultural, political, social and even economic > activities in the city, have now morphed into static snapshots of the > tourism department. > > Walls in Bangalore have, like most other urban centres, been sites of > announcement of new movies, political rallies, job opportunities and in some > places graffiti as well as adornments of pan, tobacco etc. As movies change, > political rallies and gatherings come and go, social circumstances change, > the walls respond to these ebbs and flows with an ongoing narrative of urban > life. The new initiative by the city corporation, in the name of > beautification, is changing these walls of urban commentary into lifeless > and single dimensional paintings, that will stay as 'they used a special > weather-proof paint'! > > Rgds, > Rohan > > > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urban Study Group: Reading the South Asian City > > To subscribe or browse the Urban Study Group archives, please visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090930/9157cc3c/attachment.html