The process of urbanisation is now considered a necessary and unavoidable result of economic growth and more so of industrialisation.
More than 52 per cent population now live in cities worldwide; this percentage is much higher in OECD countries and Europe ranging from 80-100%. The rest of the world is also moving in the same direction as cities provide better infrastructure, transportation, health care, education, telecommunication etc. It is also a fact that urbanisation comes at a cost, in terms of environment and natural resources. The process of urbanisation, therefore, needs to be tempered with mitigating factors from the very beginning as shown by some of the western countries and also countries like Japan and Korea.
Urbanisation does not only mean that the population is shifting its economic activities from the rural areas to the urban centres. It also means that people find in the cities ease of living in its entirety. But the most important element of a good urban living is the creation of an overall healthy environment in terms of good infrastructure, air quality, art and culture etc. Some best practices undertaken by developed countries may be briefly touched for greater understanding. They have gone to develop the road infrastructure of high quality and extensively networked these with the interiors and outside of cities, the production centres and the hinterland. The areas around the roads are sought to be provided with green cover and landscape. Inside the cities the roads are mandatorily provided with pedestrian walkways and convenient points of safe pedestrian crossing at suitable distances. The entire city planning is supported with green landscaping and street furniture, so as to create a mix of concrete and green public spaces where citizens can stop for a while and relax. It strengthens community orientation and a feeling of belongingness that goes to build the spirit of a city. The idea is to have the top surface of the roads, pavements and public spaces either concretised or with grass top. This helps in preventing spreading of dust from open earth surface. The ease of safe walking is necessary for developing an efficient public transport system. After a commuter has completed his Metro/BRT/Bus journey, he or she may well complete the remainder journey by walking on foot to the workplace, market or home.
Urban centres necessarily have to provide solid and liquid waste management, which includes collection, transportation and disposal in appropriate manners. A good handling of this aspect ensures that the urban space is free from litter and is well-sanitised. The same policies are extended to keep the water bodies around the city cleaned and sanitised. Having fair amount of plantations around the road side, the public spaces and important facilities is another important feature in urban planning. All this helps in creating a healthy environment and a city ambience to the urban space. The regulations are covered through building Code and Bylaws that deal with not only floor area index but also other details relating to mandatory provisions of safety issues, symmetry, dimension, height, purpose of constructions etc. All this facilitates architectural uniformity, aesthetics in urban planning, promoting environmental concerns, optimising public services and so on.
Extensive use of private modes of transport clutters city space besides causing noise, air pollution and traffic-related accidents. These negativities are sought to be addressed by substituting private vehicles with public vehicles. So today the best cities of the world are those which have efficient and safe public transport system. The underground network of city rails, variously known as Metro, subway etc are the best transportation mode provided they are efficiently managed, are punctual and well-connected to residential and commercial areas. This automatically reduces public dependence on personal vehicles and is thus able to handle congestion etc besides bringing efficiency. Urban centres require concentration of other services, which need to be planned in great detail from the beginning — it is absence of this advance planning and their meticulous execution that leads to haphazard unplanned growth, crowding, and shabby surroundings of our cities.
While summing up, we may add that cities are not only concrete, grass and glass but the soul and spirit of that urban conglomerate. It is this element that is totally missing from our urban landscape across the country. And this is not something which can be engineered in months or two years but grows in many years through bonding and community participation. This contribution to quality of life of a city is as much from the hardware as from the software — unfortunately we are grossly deficient in soft skills — civility, care and concern, ie a general good etiquette towards others, women in particular and strangers in general. We need to cultivate this from early childhood through value education, good upbringing and training.