DYSFUNCTIONAL
CITY-SYSTEMS
Urban Capacities and Resources
Urban Planning and Design
THE CHALLENGE
CITY-SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK
for Urban India Transparency, Accountability and Participation
Urban India is at various stages of malfunction and disrepair. An estimated 30% of India’s 1.3 billion people currently reside in cities. The rate of urbanization is a rapid 2.4% per year, thereby making it imperative that cities are equipped to handle the steadily growing influx of people. Currently, however, cities in India are found lacking in terms of adequate planning, infrastructure, public services and sustainable development. Most of urban India is overburdened and grappling with the consistent growth in population. Most people would agree that our cities need urgent attention – roads, traffic, garbage, power, water-supply, environment, crime, safety and the whole gamut of Quality of Life aspects that frustrate us daily as cityresidents. But these are only the symptoms. They are visible elements of a systemic failure in the governance and management of our cities. Any number of band-aids cannot prevent the malaise from spreading, unless the underlying structural deficiencies are treated. Figuring out a way by which the challenges of cities can be distilled into a frame of reference, will align action towards coherent change.
We call this our City-Systems framework and view the challenges of our cities through the lens of its four defining aspects. These four interrelated aspects are the building blocks for transforming our cities and creating a more sustainable future for growth. 1) Well-structured Urban Planning and Design 2) High levels of Urban Capacities and Resources 3) Empowered and Legitimate Political Representation 4) Transparent, Accountable, and Participatory Cities Quality of life is a direct result of the City-Systems that underlie each of the four themes – the invisible, complex and interrelated elements of laws, policies, institutional frameworks, and processes. To fix the quality of life in our cities and towns, we need to therefore fix our City-Systems.
Empowered and Legitimate Political Representation