Globalisation and the urban space
Though globalisation has influenced urban space formation in India, shaping of spatial structures of Indian cities by global forces has been little discussed, says Sameer Sharma
MCGEE and Watters have identified two features of the present version of globalisation increased integration of the national economies with the global systems of production, consumption, and distribution; and space-time contraction that is the effect of technological advances in transport, communication, and computer technology. And, cities are the primary spatial framework within which capital, goods, people, and information are concentrated; therefore, globalisation has influenced urban space formation in India. However, shaping of spatial structures of Indian cities by global forces has been little discussed in globalisation debates.
Before the British came, Indian cities were monocentric located around central market places (e.g., Delhis Chandini Chowk, Abid/Koti in Hyderabad). To the market centre the British added exclusive residential areas for civilians and the military (e.g., civil lines, cantonments). After Independence state housing boards and urban development authorities, to accomplish certain explicit and defined goals, added contrived centres to Indian cities, which led to the emergence of government-driven polycentric cities. Marketdriven polycentric cities have, in contrast, developed during the late 1990s and show three spatial patterns leapfrog development, fractured cities, and divided cities.
Revenues generated to meet external demands have provided funds to support production of locally-consumed goods and services in Indian cities. The market demand for retail products and housing has led to construction of malls, retail outlets, and apartment complexes, which has transformed the urban space within the monocentric city. As a matter of fact, tall buildings, shopping malls, corporate headquarters, prestige hotels, and hospitals were overlaid on the earlier built environment by a process of creative destruction, for instance road widening often left buildings unfit for use and developers would purchase a group of buildings to construct high-rise structures. Consequently, the core city space has become randomly marked with glass and steel structures as if development has leapfrogged from one location to another.
At the same time, several economic centres have developed in the periphery leading to polycentric cities. In the west these nuclei of economic activity are known by various names technoburbs (Robert Fishman), urban villages (Kenneth Jackson), middle landscape (Peter Rowe), and edge cities (Joel Garreau). In India global capital in search for the cheapest available land honed-in on the periurban space surrounding cities. Periurban areas in India are the rural-urban interface and a landing ground for rural residents migrating to cities. Polynucleation of periurban areas is spatially manifested in the form of office parks, malls, and apartments and single-family homes. Moreover, the core and periphery of Indian cities are now separated as if by a fault line and construction of expressways, ring-roads, bypasses has accentuated the fracture. State governments, by their excessive reliance on public health inspired zoning based on abstract pattern of standard streets, lots, and set backs, and commercial strips, have also contributed to the process of fracturing of Indian cities.
INDIAN cities have been divided by the desire of different types of people to live separately from other socio-economic groups leading to distance in urban space. This was observed by the Chicago School in the US and called spatial polarisation. Divided cities have arisen due to the exclusionary aspirations rooted in fear and protection of privilege and the values of civic responsibility…and the dangers of making outsiders of fellow citizens. Spatially, this has led to the construction of gated communities to wall out uncertainty, reduce different types of physical risk (e.g. personal safety) and social interactions (e.g. unwanted social exchanges). At the same time job creation in cities due to multiplier effects of external injections has attracted different types of people leading to diverse and plural cities, called mongrel cities by Leonie Sandercock.
How to plan to enrich human life in fractured, divided, and mongrel cities? Planning has two components the hard component (built environment) and the soft component. In turn, planning for the built environment is possible at two scales. At the macro-level regional level planning for transport, water supply, sewage disposal, and environment management is required. Simultaneously micro-level planning by using tools, such as neo-traditional models, is a practical possibility to retro-fit neighbourhoods.
In contrast to conventional development, neo-traditional development models aim to recreate the classic small town with its walkable streets, mix of land uses, and blend of buildings and open space. Orlando City in Florida has combined neo-traditional planning principles and public-private partnership frameworks to develop compact and walkable neighbourhoods, villages, and town centres with a jobs/housing balance; and clustered open spaces occupying more than 40% of the land. Noteworthy is the integration of principles of architecture, urban design, and planning at the neighbourhood level and planning looks at the built form (e.g. footprints of all structures), land use patterns (e.g. location and density of retail, office spaces), public open space (e.g. parks, plazas), street design (e.g. circulation systems), and pedestrian access (e.g. one-quarter mile access from shops).
The soft component is the management of the emerging new urban condition in which difference and otherness prevail. Establishing social consensus requires managing diversity by developing skills of listening, consensus-building, facilitation, negotiation, and securing effective public involvement, as opposed to mere consultation. The much-acclaimed municipal participatory budgeting in the Brazilian city of Porte Alegre is one example. Even though finances were scarce, people were involved in the budgeting process. The outcomes have demonstrated that ordinary citizens have the capacity to debate among themselves and to establish spending priorities and upscale their neighbourhood-level experiences.
(The author is an IAS officer. Views are personal.)