Government of India unveiled sustainable Urban Development strategy for next 20 years on 3rd October 2016 intending to give a big push to use growing urbanization for rapid economic development.
Cities need to be made efficient, productive, inclusive, safe and sustainable. The focus will be ensuring economic growth and productivity, improving quality of life and importantly, addressing issues of inclusivity, sustainability and climate change.
It will be achieved through elimination of barriers to the flow of factors of production like capital, land and labour, development of rural and urban areas in a synergetic manner adopting a ‘regional planning approach’, promoting inclusivity by ensuring urban services to all, sustainable urban planning, empowering municipalities to improve governance and deal with exclusion issues, housing for all urban poor and ensuring social justice and gender equity.
The outcomes of new urban agenda based on sustainable urban planning would include reducing water and electricity use by 50% from that of normal use, enabling over 60% of urban travel by public transport, generating half of power from renewable sources, promoting walking and cycling for last mile connectivity, compact and cluster urban development, promoting natural drainage patterns, reducing waste generation of all kind, promoting greenery and public places etc.
New urban missions launched over the last two years marked a paradigm shift in the country’s approach to urban development and were aimed at promotion and development of urban human settlements as inclusive and sustainable entities.
