Question 1

What are the roles of a Planner?

Answer

Cities are constantly evolving and Urban Planners are trained to take up roles that involve
understanding the social activities within the institutional framework and contribute to the growth and
change of cities. Urban Planners are trained to accommodate the externalities of an economy as a
planned solution. Urban Planners are supposed to influence the people in power to execute what is
best for the city or region. Some roles of planners have been listed below-

 Creating a Shared Vision of the city

A vision will set the goal for a city. It will dictate the amount and scale of developments that
will be taken care of within a particular frame of time. It will give an idea of major changes
happening in the city and the extent of expansion. It will provide information on where to
expect what kinds of development. The vision for a city changes from time to time as per the
circumstances prevailing in the city. Also, its important to have a Shared Vision ( where the
planner, the authorities and the end users are on the same page implying that they
understand and support the vision).

Development Plan 2021 for Ahmedabad is a kind of an example of a Vision of Ahmedabad

which shows us the limits of newer areas coming within city limits. It shows us the scope of
development in a given region within the city. Similarly, the walled city of Ahmedabad being a
Unesco World Heritage Site was once a Vision for the city.

 Value assessment of Developments and their future projections

A major difference between an Architect and a Planner designing a neighbourhood can be felt
in the understanding of Values attached to the land and providing a common ground for all
the end users to agree upon. The architect would plan and design the neighbourhood
beautifully but the end users might not be happy with the outcome as their land area would be
deducted for services to the land. The planner on the other hand would provide the end user
with a detailed assessment of how much land they originally had, how much land is being
deducted, what was the original price of land, what is the expected price of land after
development takes place and the expected increase in value of their land in percentage. This
provides a satisfaction for the end users that they are benefiting from all the development that
takes place and the deductions that they face. It becomes a win-win for the end users as well
as the authorities.

The very basis of Town Planning Schemes is based on value assessment of the land after
deduction which makes the land owner agree on the deductions and a new layout for the land
he owned previously. He is ready to shift to the new area decided for him by the planner
because he has his share of profit from the overall process of development. The planner
helps him realise the potential of his land through the process of value assessment.

 Encourage certain developments and control others

Planners understand the dynamics of a region / city and have the tools and techniques that
provide them with results of what seems good for the city and what is not. They are able to
take a stand whether to appreciate certain developments and control others. They understand
the concepts of encroachments and legal infrastructure and the phenomenon that guides
them. They also have a know-how of what would be the probable result of certain
developments as compared to others. They understand the city from an economist’s
perspective too. If the city spans more then what people are able to pay for transportation, the
Transforming Cities- Assignment 2 | Forum Shah
 results are slums developing in the proximity of work areas. Planners measure a city in terms
of multiple dynamics that are evolving constantly and are unpredictable. Their understanding
makes them a go-to person to learn whether certain developments are to be encouraged or
controlled.

The Central Park, New York, is an example of a kind of development that was a result of the
need of people to escape the noise of the city and spend some quality time in the nature.
People had started going to cemeteries because they were the only open spaces available to
them in the proximity. Later, awareness campaigns by Poet William Cullen Bryant and
Landscape Architect Andrew Jackson Downing catalysed the process of birth of a space in
the centre that served as lungs to the city. These movements were encouraged as they
provided the wholesome good to the area while knowing that there were people who opposed
these projects. We have the very popular Central Park gloriously blossoming in the middle of
New York City because it was backed by a nod from planners to be carried forward. It was
also the pressure from people due to awareness campaigns that instigated the very project to
start taking its shape.

 Influence Governance

Diplomacy in Planners could help them influence the people in power of how certain
developments could benefit the region / city. They have the graphs that talk numbers and the
maps that talk current lifestyle. They project these data to generate an understanding of how
certain developments are beneficial in the long term. They combine all these details to
influence the authorities of how the city should be expanded

For example, Cheonggyecheon Stream has been transformed into a 10.9 km modern public
recreation space in downtown Seoul. And it an excellent example of how people in power can
be influenced explaining them the values and assets of certain development and convince
them to execute for the benefit of everyone, the people in power and the end users.

Another example is the Redevelopment of the Eastern Port of Mumbai which was essentially
a property in the city limits of Bombay with ownership in the hands of Central Government.
Had the government not been influenced, the project would have seen a great deal of delay in
terms of passing from one authority to other.

1000 words

Question 2

Describe key problems faced by Planners in India and how can they be addressed.

Answer

Planners in India have many opportunities as well as problems. Some of them are listed below-

 The people in power change after a particular frame of time and most urban projects
exceed that time frame

Transforming Cities- Assignment 2 | Forum Shah

 Urban projects are huge and designing and execution of these projects require longer periods
of time. Governments change from time to time and it becomes difficult for planners to
convince everytime of what the project holds for the city. Some get convinced while the others
are not. There are chances that the project is put on hold or it’s funds are diverted to other
areas, etc. Or the project is called off.

The development of C.G.Road, Ahmedabad saw many such obstacles. First, lack of funds,
followed by changing governments and internal politics which had put the project rest on
papers and not being executed. Much later, did the authorities realise how the project could
benefit everyone, them and the end users that they agreed upon it’s execution provided that
the project became financially independent from authorities.

We can see that the chances of success of a project planned is more if a separate committee
is formed to look after its execution and works related to it. That reduces the chances of the
project being effected by the changing powers in authorities to some extent. It also ensures
that the project is completed on time and meets the quality standards as envisioned. The
financial account of the project is also more transparent if a separate body is responsible for
the entire process of development.

 Too many problems and way less means to cater to those problems

The city is comprised of different spectrum of people with different lifestyle. For someone
better roads for automobiles is important while for others pedestrian friendliness becomes
important. Every area will have some problem or the other. And, it is to be understood that not
all problems can be solved. What holds for the larger better must be accommodated while
others can be addressed in future if at all there are surplus resources.

In the case of Redevelopment of Eastern Port of Mumbai, the first thing prioritised was the
street network. We can achieve all that we visualise for an ideal neighbourhood but the first
and foremost thing to do is leave some space as streets that can be developed in the future
with what is required as and when the market around demands. Here, the priority was to
leave space for development in the first go so that once the ownership is privatised and the
market demands a cycle track for instance, we don’t have to ask people to cut down from
their property as we have some space with us to accommodate the demands of market.
Similarly, if the market demands an wider pedestrian ways, we have enough space to
accommodate them without hindering the traffic.

It should be noted that when two demands are clashing with one another, the planner has to
take the call to prioritise one of them in case the available resources are limited. As the case
of Ahmedabad is, it was realised that having a proper street network throughout the city is
way more important that having cycle tracks in some areas of the city. The cycle tracks can
be a future additions to the streets, after the street network that is the need of the hour been
laid out.

 Rise in Urban Population and limited resources to cater them is a challenge

People are migrating from rural to urban areas in search of better opportunities. This trend is
experiencing an exponential increase. With more number of people, more infrastructure would
be required to cater to their needs. But, there is a scarcity of land resources in an urban area.
Accommodating them is a major challenge. Either one of increasing the densities in the urban
areas or urban sprawl in the outskirts is not proving to be enough.

For example, the DP 2021 of Ahmedabad has accommodated increased densities as well as
well as urban sprawl in the Plan catering to the expected increase in Urban Population. If only
one of it would have been executed, it wouldn’t have been enough. The DP laid out how the
development could take place. It will wait for the market to respond to it before making a new
Transforming Cities- Assignment 2 | Forum Shah
 DP that would guide further developments and so on. The process is back and forth. The
growth of a city is a result of market dynamics and is mostly unpredictable. Hence, DP is a
way of setting up a basic framework and pattern for developments to take place where
markets play their roles and create demands and supplies. The framework help to control
haphazard developments but gives enough freedom to market to play its cards. Then,
patiently markets are to be observed before setting up a new DP.

809 words

Question 3

What are the common implementation challenges and how can they be tackled?

Answer

India is a growing economy. It holds a lot of potential for Urban Planners to execute their Plans to
overcome challenges that the country faces currently. However, there are various implementation
challenges that one has to face as an Urban Planner before Plan gets executed. Some of them are
listed below-

 Government is skeptical on using limited financial resources on new developments as

they are expensive.

Limited financial resources, ever increasing demands for new developments, increasing
population and inability to bias towards smaller group problems, Authorities are always
sceptical of investing in Urban development projects. Authorities want developments but they
don’t want to spend on developments, which is fair as there is a limited amount of financial
resources. In such cases, Authorities can partner with Private Sector and build capacities,
expand resources and enhance revenues thereby implementing improvements in Urban
Managements. Self-financing projects are becoming the new favourite of the authorities as its
not making a hole in the pocket and is improving the lifestyle of people. It’s also earning them
brownie points for being the authority that catalysed and supported new developments and
work towards social infrastructure.

Example is CG Road’s self-financing mechanism which allowed Ahmedabad Municipal

Corporation to generate revenue and sustain itself. AMC collaborated with a Private company
to look after the developments and financial resources required while giving them the
advertisement boards of the stretch for a particular period of time which the private company
could use to recover the finances and make further profit. The government was happy as they
didn’t have to pay money and were getting good infrastructure built in their tenure of power.
The private company was happy as it was investing in the infrastructure that would yield him
good profits in the future. The people were happy as they had the new hot spot in the city that
spoke of their pride in being a resident of the city.

Sabarmati riverfront Project on the other hand created land in the bed of the river that could
be sold and made profit of that would aid the government to recover a part of the money they
spend on the project. Basically, due to constraints in use of economic resources spent by
the authorities, the planners have to be creative not only in designing but also in terms of how
the project can finance itself.

 Demand and Supply of Projects and Developments

Transforming Cities- Assignment 2 | Forum Shah

 What is more important for the City/Region currently, a cycle path throughout or catering to
the unorganised growth happening at the outskirts, is what needs to be decided upon. Priority
should be focused on the outskirts and cycle tracks could be laid down at a later stage where
other major problems have been solved. In a country like India, demand is always much more
then what can be supplied in the form of Development. Prioritising the current need of the
hour is what should be ideally done. The population boom and urban migration is creating a
larger demand for the developments to take place but the resources remain limited and hence
there is a serious gap in the demand – supply of developments across the country.

We could complain, for example, of how the curbs and sidewalks that cater to the physically
challenged people present in the western context are not seen anywhere here. But it is
important to understand that first let’s make the city pedestrian friendly and then make it
physically handicapped friendly. It’s easy to compare and criticise but wise to know the facts
and plan accordingly.

 It’s not as easy to acquire land as is regulated in Land Acquisition Act

Land has an emotional value attached to it along with its economic value. Many a times,
people are not easily ready to give up on land and it is a tiring process to get hold of that land
and eradicate people of it. Instead an alternate method of DP-TP scheme should be
implemented whereby no single person is kicked out and a little from every person share is
deducted for services and developments of the region. Thereby, we cater to everyone’s
needs and benefit the end users as well as the authorities.

The whole of Ahmedabad, for example, is a result of DP-TP scheme whereby every person
got his share of land after deduction. Also, even after deductions, the land value increased for
the given area provided the infrastructure that came up or is proposed. So, the end users
benefit with rising values of their land. The authorities benefit because there is development
happening around the city with little or no cost from their limited resources. Also, AUDA has
the largest land banks amongst Indian cities which it can lease out to private stakeholders for
developments and earn money. Basically, everyone benefits from the system. There is a
revenue generated out of the development that helps it be self-sustaining.

Sometimes, planners fail to convince the authorities of how a particular planning will prove to be
beneficial and so they merely remain as ideas that are not implemented. Instead, it would be
appreciated if planners made plans that are wise and minimal because that makes the plans
easily resonate with people and authority. It’s important to have everyone on the same page for
the implementation to be a success.

880s words

Transforming Cities- Assignment 2 | Forum Shah