SOCIETY
5. Urbanisation, their problems and their remedies
Urbanization
Urbanisation can be prevented from turning ugly not by keeping people away the cities but by taking
cities to where people already
live.
Urbanization in India is a slow but sure death for her villages and villagers. - Mahatma
Gandhi
Data - India’s public transport needs are likely to grow rapidly as the country urbanizes at a fast clip. As per
Census 2011(the population of India is 1.21 billion), India is about 31 per cent urbanized and cities contribute
almost 66 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. It is expected that by 2030, 40 per
cent of population will call cities home and are also expected to contribute to 75.01 per cent of the GDP.
Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. Urbanisation occurs
because people move from rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (towns and cities).
Causes of Urbanisation: Various reasons have led to the growth of cities. They are as follows:
i. Industrialization: Industrialization is a major cause of urbanization. It has expanded the employment
opportunities. Rural people have migrated to cities on account of better employment opportunities.
ii. Social factors: Many social factors such as attraction of cities, better standard of living, better educational
facilities, need for status also induce people to migrate to cities.
iii. Employment opportunities: In rural sector people have to depend mainly on agriculture for their livelihood.
But Indian agriculture is depending on monsoon. In drought situations or natural calamities, rural people have
to migrate to cities.
iv. Modernization: Urban areas are characterized by sophisticated technology better infrastructure,
communication, medical facilities, etc. People feel that they can lead a comfortable life in cities and migrate to
cities.
Rural urban transformation:
It is an interesting aspect that not only cities are growing in number but rural community is adopting urban
culture, no longer rural communities are retaining their unique rural culture. Rural people are following the
material culture of urban people. Urban rural transformation can be observed in the following areas.
Spread of education: The literacy rate has increased among the rural people. They have become more
modernised. i. Change in Dress habits. ii. Adoption of modern Technology iii. Enlightenment of women. iv.
Modern transport and communication. E.g.: Cell phones have become common even among rural people. v.
Active involvement in politics. vi. Growth of infrastructure like Banks, Post office. vii. Awareness among rural
consumers. viii. Increasing demand for sophisticated products like cosmetics etc. Thus it can be noticed that
there are significant changes in the life style of village people. Indian villages have adopted urban culture and
urban style of living. However, all villages in India are not transformed. Only certain villages situated close to
,the cities have been transformed.
Effect of Urbanisation: With a high rate of urbanization significant changes have taken place. The effect of
urbanisation can be summed up as follows:
Positive effect:
i. Migration of rural people to urban areas.
ii. Employment opportunities in urban centres.
iii. Transport and communication facilities.
iv. Educational facilities.
v. Increase in the standard of living.
Urbanization can yield positive effects if it takes place up to a desirable limit. Extensive urbanisation or
indiscriminate growth of cities may result in adverse effects. They may be as follows:
i. Problem of over population: Concentration of population is a major problem of cities. It has resulted in
accommodation problem, growth of slums etc.
ii. Disintegration of Joint family: Joint family can’t be maintained in cities on account of high cost of living:
People prefer to live in the nuclear type of families.
iii. Cost of living: High cost of living is a major problem of cities. In Metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore etc. it
is very difficult for lower income groups to maintain a decent standard of living.
iv. Increase in Crime rates: Urban centres are known for high rate of crimes. Theft, Dacoity, Murder,
Cheating, Pick pocketing, rape etc. are common in urban centres.
v. Impersonal relations: Urban centres are characterised by highly secondary relations. The concept of
neighbourhood, community life are almost absent in cities. Urban life is highly monotonous. This may have an
adverse psychological effect on individuals. People are often self centred and they have no concern for the
fellow human beings.
vi. Problem of Pollution: In industrialized cities pollution is a major problems. It may be caused by industries
or by excessive movement of vehicles.
viii. Stress: Urban life is characterised by stress which may even strain family relations. In cities employment
of women is almost inevitable to meet the increasing cost of living. Changing role of women in the family
creates stress in the family which may result in divorce or strained relations.
The Challenges
India’s cities need to address five systemic challenges in order to deliver better quality of life to citizens in a
sustainable manner –
Lack of viable spatial planning and design standards for public utilities – India has 1 urban planner per
400,000 people compared to UK’s 148 for the same
Weak finances, both in terms of financial sustainability and accountability– more than half of the
municipalities do not generate enough money to pay their salaries, 70% of the cities’ budget vary by 30%
Poor human resource management – 35% average staff vacancy
Powerless mayors and city councils, severe fragmentation of governance – multiple civic bodies,
parastatals – multiple civic bodies with frequent change of toothless mayors, commissioners. Local
, government has the least amount of capability, quality of delivery and poor processes that are being
followed. Most of the laws and policies that they are following are archaic.
Total absence of systematic citizen participation and transparency – Only two cities have ward
committees
Steps taken by govt
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission, the objective of which is 100 per cent open-
defecation-free India and 100 per cent solid waste management; to be achieved through a multi-level,
multi-stakeholder model, where the Union government works in close partnership with state
governments as well as civil society and the private sector. While a key objective of the Mission is to
build adequate sanitation infrastructure, at its core it is about a behavioural change in the mindset of the
average Indian.
The PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) or Housing for All attempts to fulfil a dream common to all Indian
citizens: Owning a house of their own. Significantly, the ownership title will be solely or jointly in the
name of the woman of the house, a step that has already provided a great fillip to gender empowerment.
Two key factors prevented Indians from this basic need:Callous urban management led to the creation of
slums that were at the mercy of vote-bank politics; and a corrupt builder-politician nexus cheated home-
buyers of their money.Under the PMAY, the government is committed to building affordable homes for
this entire section of society, allowing them to live a life of dignity. By categorising housing as
“infrastructure”, lowering rates under GST and providing credit-linked subsidies, the government has
mobilised the real estate industry to supply housing for low-income and economically weaker sections.
The Smart Cities Mission brings a fundamentally different outlook to urban planning, management and
finance. It is participatory in nature and citizens define the choices and decisions made by the city. The
Mission establishes an integrated approach where all departments of a city’s administration work
together to offer holistic solutions by using information and communication technology, by bundling
projects that can be executed together in the same area and making best use of the funds available from
different sources, public and private.
AMRUT Scheme: Aims to provide urban infrastructure for universal coverage of piped drinking
water, sewerage, and green spaces
Explain the phenomenon of urban sprawl. What are the problems associated with urban sprawl in
India? Discuss.
Urban sprawl is basically another word for urbanization. It refers to the migration of a population from
populated towns and cities to low density residential development over more and more rural land.The end
result is the spreading of a city and its suburbs over more and more rural land (i.e. dispersed outgrowth of
areas outside the city’s core, engulfing many villages around it).
Now, taking a look at the effects of urban sprawl since these mostly lead to problems, some these problems
include:
1) Increase in Public Expenditure - They can actually play a part in the increases in public costs because
these changes in infrastructures and buildings must actually be paid by taxpayers’ money.
5. Urbanisation, their problems and their remedies
Urbanization
Urbanisation can be prevented from turning ugly not by keeping people away the cities but by taking
cities to where people already
live.
Urbanization in India is a slow but sure death for her villages and villagers. - Mahatma
Gandhi
Data - India’s public transport needs are likely to grow rapidly as the country urbanizes at a fast clip. As per
Census 2011(the population of India is 1.21 billion), India is about 31 per cent urbanized and cities contribute
almost 66 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. It is expected that by 2030, 40 per
cent of population will call cities home and are also expected to contribute to 75.01 per cent of the GDP.
Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. Urbanisation occurs
because people move from rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (towns and cities).
Causes of Urbanisation: Various reasons have led to the growth of cities. They are as follows:
i. Industrialization: Industrialization is a major cause of urbanization. It has expanded the employment
opportunities. Rural people have migrated to cities on account of better employment opportunities.
ii. Social factors: Many social factors such as attraction of cities, better standard of living, better educational
facilities, need for status also induce people to migrate to cities.
iii. Employment opportunities: In rural sector people have to depend mainly on agriculture for their livelihood.
But Indian agriculture is depending on monsoon. In drought situations or natural calamities, rural people have
to migrate to cities.
iv. Modernization: Urban areas are characterized by sophisticated technology better infrastructure,
communication, medical facilities, etc. People feel that they can lead a comfortable life in cities and migrate to
cities.
Rural urban transformation:
It is an interesting aspect that not only cities are growing in number but rural community is adopting urban
culture, no longer rural communities are retaining their unique rural culture. Rural people are following the
material culture of urban people. Urban rural transformation can be observed in the following areas.
Spread of education: The literacy rate has increased among the rural people. They have become more
modernised. i. Change in Dress habits. ii. Adoption of modern Technology iii. Enlightenment of women. iv.
Modern transport and communication. E.g.: Cell phones have become common even among rural people. v.
Active involvement in politics. vi. Growth of infrastructure like Banks, Post office. vii. Awareness among rural
consumers. viii. Increasing demand for sophisticated products like cosmetics etc. Thus it can be noticed that
there are significant changes in the life style of village people. Indian villages have adopted urban culture and
urban style of living. However, all villages in India are not transformed. Only certain villages situated close to
,the cities have been transformed.
Effect of Urbanisation: With a high rate of urbanization significant changes have taken place. The effect of
urbanisation can be summed up as follows:
Positive effect:
i. Migration of rural people to urban areas.
ii. Employment opportunities in urban centres.
iii. Transport and communication facilities.
iv. Educational facilities.
v. Increase in the standard of living.
Urbanization can yield positive effects if it takes place up to a desirable limit. Extensive urbanisation or
indiscriminate growth of cities may result in adverse effects. They may be as follows:
i. Problem of over population: Concentration of population is a major problem of cities. It has resulted in
accommodation problem, growth of slums etc.
ii. Disintegration of Joint family: Joint family can’t be maintained in cities on account of high cost of living:
People prefer to live in the nuclear type of families.
iii. Cost of living: High cost of living is a major problem of cities. In Metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore etc. it
is very difficult for lower income groups to maintain a decent standard of living.
iv. Increase in Crime rates: Urban centres are known for high rate of crimes. Theft, Dacoity, Murder,
Cheating, Pick pocketing, rape etc. are common in urban centres.
v. Impersonal relations: Urban centres are characterised by highly secondary relations. The concept of
neighbourhood, community life are almost absent in cities. Urban life is highly monotonous. This may have an
adverse psychological effect on individuals. People are often self centred and they have no concern for the
fellow human beings.
vi. Problem of Pollution: In industrialized cities pollution is a major problems. It may be caused by industries
or by excessive movement of vehicles.
viii. Stress: Urban life is characterised by stress which may even strain family relations. In cities employment
of women is almost inevitable to meet the increasing cost of living. Changing role of women in the family
creates stress in the family which may result in divorce or strained relations.
The Challenges
India’s cities need to address five systemic challenges in order to deliver better quality of life to citizens in a
sustainable manner –
Lack of viable spatial planning and design standards for public utilities – India has 1 urban planner per
400,000 people compared to UK’s 148 for the same
Weak finances, both in terms of financial sustainability and accountability– more than half of the
municipalities do not generate enough money to pay their salaries, 70% of the cities’ budget vary by 30%
Poor human resource management – 35% average staff vacancy
Powerless mayors and city councils, severe fragmentation of governance – multiple civic bodies,
parastatals – multiple civic bodies with frequent change of toothless mayors, commissioners. Local
, government has the least amount of capability, quality of delivery and poor processes that are being
followed. Most of the laws and policies that they are following are archaic.
Total absence of systematic citizen participation and transparency – Only two cities have ward
committees
Steps taken by govt
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission, the objective of which is 100 per cent open-
defecation-free India and 100 per cent solid waste management; to be achieved through a multi-level,
multi-stakeholder model, where the Union government works in close partnership with state
governments as well as civil society and the private sector. While a key objective of the Mission is to
build adequate sanitation infrastructure, at its core it is about a behavioural change in the mindset of the
average Indian.
The PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) or Housing for All attempts to fulfil a dream common to all Indian
citizens: Owning a house of their own. Significantly, the ownership title will be solely or jointly in the
name of the woman of the house, a step that has already provided a great fillip to gender empowerment.
Two key factors prevented Indians from this basic need:Callous urban management led to the creation of
slums that were at the mercy of vote-bank politics; and a corrupt builder-politician nexus cheated home-
buyers of their money.Under the PMAY, the government is committed to building affordable homes for
this entire section of society, allowing them to live a life of dignity. By categorising housing as
“infrastructure”, lowering rates under GST and providing credit-linked subsidies, the government has
mobilised the real estate industry to supply housing for low-income and economically weaker sections.
The Smart Cities Mission brings a fundamentally different outlook to urban planning, management and
finance. It is participatory in nature and citizens define the choices and decisions made by the city. The
Mission establishes an integrated approach where all departments of a city’s administration work
together to offer holistic solutions by using information and communication technology, by bundling
projects that can be executed together in the same area and making best use of the funds available from
different sources, public and private.
AMRUT Scheme: Aims to provide urban infrastructure for universal coverage of piped drinking
water, sewerage, and green spaces
Explain the phenomenon of urban sprawl. What are the problems associated with urban sprawl in
India? Discuss.
Urban sprawl is basically another word for urbanization. It refers to the migration of a population from
populated towns and cities to low density residential development over more and more rural land.The end
result is the spreading of a city and its suburbs over more and more rural land (i.e. dispersed outgrowth of
areas outside the city’s core, engulfing many villages around it).
Now, taking a look at the effects of urban sprawl since these mostly lead to problems, some these problems
include:
1) Increase in Public Expenditure - They can actually play a part in the increases in public costs because
these changes in infrastructures and buildings must actually be paid by taxpayers’ money.
