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Post-pandemic cities: Will changes wrought by coronavirus outbreak on urban structures be the 'new normal'?

Will the Covid-19 crisis change the face of Indian cities?

Covid-19 might reignite the debate on the trade-off between densification and sprawl in cities among urban planners. Space in a rapidly urbanising India is a premium, resulting in the preference for compact city-planning models. Such cities are generally more productive, manageable and energy-efficient, but at the same time are also more vulnerable to contagion and more strongly exhibit socio-economic disparities.

On the other hand, urban sprawls may have greater liveability and wellbeing in such a crisis. Covid-19 will at least nudge planners to factor in mitigation strategies such as social distancing when conceptualising norms for all future planning.

Mumbai fared better than global cities against Covid-19: Experts

How COVID-19 can change urban planning in India

urban agglomeration/cluster, corridor all are possible with a population totalling around 30 lakhs to have good infrastructure like transport (metro/suburb, airport, BRTS), health (supersepciality hospitals) etc.


Urban Planning Issues

‘I will never come back’: Many Indian migrant workers refuse to return to cities post lockdown

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The rich now trusts the government most, while the less privileged experience an absence of the same

COVID-19 pandemic sheds light on urban inequality vs mobility needs in cities

COVID-19 exposes fault lines in peri-urban areas

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Urban Planning Suggestive Actions

Fighting COVID-19 in cities

Covid-19 is a wake-up call for India’s cities, where radical improvements in sanitation and planning are needed

Sustainable Housing Can't Slip Under the Radar Once the COVID-19 Crisis Subsides

It should be realised that a given land area can have many more smaller houses, therefore more number of people, than the number of bigger houses that would be possible in the same land area, having lesser number of people. Therefore, in the larger interest of justice and equality, it is numbers of people that must form the basis of the development strategy for land use and housing, and the concept of FSI should be discarded.

Sooner than later, it will become critical for various state governments to undertake comprehensive planning of slums land in their respective cities with a new parameter, based on density rather than FSI as a planning tool.

If each slum has to be rebuilt to accommodate all residents in it with adequate living space for everyone residing in that slum then idea is alright. But it can not be done with independent houses as slum density are high.

In case government involves private builders then builder also need some return on his investment and hence more floor space to cover his expenditure. That may mean construction of more floors resulting in increased pressure on infrastructure & environment.

It is high time that governments get out of such a failed arrangement and resort to undertaking the responsibility of promoting social housing.

If government has enough financial resources then it can do this.

But the best option is to generate employment opportunities in less populated tier-II/III cities and encourge slum dwellers (mainly migrants from these tier-II/III cities or nearby villages) to migrate back.

Why Covid-19 Is An Urban Health Crisis Resulting From Faulty Policy Priorities

Two, as road and public transport infrastructure are improved, cities must be allowed to grow vertically multiple-fold. This is the only way to give people more elbow room in their own houses, as raising floor space indices will reduce land prices dramatically, allowing more lower and middle class citizens to buy small homes.

Transit-oriented development is prefered. But before growing vertically we should know all problems involved with it. Not only road it requires additional water, power, drainage infrastructure. More people definitely contribute to more air/water/land pollution. Tall building trap air pollution and also heat.

Better to settle migrants in a city nearer to the place were they have now reverse migrated or else in their village itself by creating jobs there.

Covid-19: India needs a green economic stimulus | Opinion

... India’s EV trajectory need not replicate the rest of the world — most of the potential lies with two- and three-wheelers which make up a sizeable chunk of transportation in cities. An analysis by Carnegie Mellon with NITI Aayog shows how high upfront costs for electric two-wheelers due to the cost of battery packs can be reduced by domestic manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, under the Make in India initiative. ...

A post-pandemic design revolution | India Today Insight

Using AI for construction

The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is at a crossroads. For ages, the AEC industry has shied away from extensive use of artificial intelligence and software operating methodology. However, now the disruptive cloud computing technology, like Building Information Management (BIM) Development, is coaxing and guiding us all to be more collaborative, connected and transparent. The future of construction does not seem to be far from witnessing innovation, such as utilising the Internet of Things and leveraging 3D imaging to replicate the experience of a site, transforming the way the industry operates and functions.

—Anand Sharma, founder partner, Design Forum International

How effectively BIM can be used for achieving affordable housing sector goals? Whether in can be used for imposing inclusiveness criteria for sharing building resources? Whether building/land resources consumed by each person can be identified and taxed (property tax) accordingly?

Coronavirus Outbreak: Kerala's decentralised urban governance structure holds lessons for tackling pandemic

Decentralised urbanization is good but for other states not an easy task to achieve as Kerala depends a lot on expatriates and then migrant workers for local works. Anyway for inclusive growth of India we have to reduce dependency on a few tier-I cities. As Kerala's population is going down it has to encourage migrants for permanent settlement.

India should develop cost-effective, pollution-free and indigenous fuel option: Nitin Gadkari

Urban planning for the post-pandemic world

Learning about climate change from COVID-19 pandemic

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After COVID-19 India has to include migrant workers in urban planning

How to make Cities more Resilient post COVID-19

COVID-19 and its effects on Rail Transport Industry

Cities and COVID19: Preparing for Pandemics

Density is not necessarily a negative characteristic of urban space. A report on reshaping economic geography shows that density helps economies grow; the higher the density, the shorter the distance between workers, businesses, and parts of supply chains.

A dense city of infinite size can not have shorter distance of supply chain. If this is not so then whole India can be clubbed into a single city for maximal economic benefit. A good supply chain is one when city size is proportional to the availability of resources nearer to it instead of getting resources from far off places. Decentralized urbanization can also yield shorter distance (for walk-to-work, walk-to-shop) between workers, businesses just like decentralized CBD. Clustering size should be determined by availability of resources nearer to it. It is better if migrant workers get a job in an industrial cluster city nearer to their home village. And financial burden on the government will also be reduced as it is catering for needs of poors in an economically cheaper city. We will discuss more about this, specialization (domain of excellence or vertical of excellence), trade, inclusiveness, environment, resilience, population distribution, SDGs, doughnut model and other economy aspects in globalization x localization.

Opinion | The Great Decentralization that coronavirus has heralded

Covid-19 should also speed up decentralized urbanization (that is urbanization of tier-II/III cities). That is no tier-I cities exceeding a population limit. I prefer 100 cities of 20-40 lakhs population than 10 cities of more than 60 lakh population. A city with about 30 lakh population can satisfy density requirements along with environment goals (size & density requirements for having a performing transport infrastructure like airport, health infrastructure, social infrastructure etc). It may be preferable as posted earlier to develop urban corridors of smaller cities than a few mega cities to mitigate urban heat island 2 effects. What we need is cities of optimum size & density neither losing benefits of economic agglomeration nor facing effects of negative economic agglomeration. How much resource area available to each city in the vicinity is also an important factor to develop self-reliant regions with a optimal-sized city/corridor at the core feeding smaller cities and villages in the region and vice versa. The self-reliant regions don't rely on other regions for essential goods & services hence can be easily isolated from others during any lockdown crisis. (The region can depend upon other region for non-essential goods & services. Each core city/region can have its own specialization area of non-essential goods & services.)(The core city can have many areas of specialization, smaller cities of the region can also have their own area of specialization.). This region can suitably be planned for internal circular migration from/to the villages to/from the core city during non-harvest/harvest seasons (assuming the core city depend upon the villages for food & the villages depend upon the core city for other essential products - ignoring dependency structure of other smaller cities). Question is what should be the optimum size of self-reliant regions and how many of them we need and what should be ideal population of each region & its core city and what is the percentage of essential goods & services for which it can depend upon others (for example, each region need not manufacture medical equipments which are also essential goods) and what percentage of inter-regional migration is safe.

COVID-19: Here's what decentralised planning teaches us to curb pandemics

Urban development for the economically weaker section is less than 15 per cent, says Ranjit Sabikhi

From SMART to sustainable cities: Is COVID19 an opportunity?

Mixed use developments to see an upsurge; Here’s why

The development which is built around the concept of Live-Work-Learn-Play, is designed and planned in a manner so that one can ‘walk from home’ to all essential services including grocery stores, medical facilities, schools and work place. Apart from looking at essential services, the township is built with great detailing that caters to needs of all age groups and their convenience, like form entertainment, malls, sports facilities to open spaces like parks, walking tracks, etc. within walking distance. There are reputed schools within the integrated development to nurture students across the region. Most importantly, the smart city houses a business district that allows residents living and working in the locality risk free access during such testing times.

In my opinion, there will a rise of satellite offices in suburbs or extended MMR region as corporates prioritize employee health and wellness while ensuring business continuity as employees can walk from home to work and avoid dependence on public transport. HDFC Palava branch is a classic example of how offices will function in the future. Since a large number of its workforces stays in the smart city, the bank did not face challenge in business continuity. Employees could walk to work while the townships governance ensured sanitization protocols in the office keeping the safety of its employees as a priority.

Integrated Living Developments Will See Demand Post Covid-19

One such city, result of intensive urban planning, is the Palava smart city in the KDMC area. The township was integrally built on planning and governance to promote the Live-Work-Play environment. During the time of crisis, the self-sustained city was ahead of the curve and quick to implement precautionary measures. Each neighborhood at Palava has instant access to security, grocery stores, medical facilities, and schools within a walking distance. Moreover, for a development to provide end-to-end solution to its residents, it’s important to have strong governance in place. Due to the existing infrastructure and right governance, day to day activities in Palava post the lockdown have been seamless. The city is witnessing smooth operations with just 20% of its manpower. From security with the help of 700 + CCV cameras and dedicated command centre, , sanitation, electricity, water supply to every essential activities, have been taken over by smart systems and processes with minimum human intervention. It was possible to quarantine and sanitize the township due to the presence of its central government model and its smart infrastructure at the core. A systematic process of disinfecting all common areas and regular temperature check at all gates was mandated to ensure safety of over 1 lac+ residents.

Online community channels like ‘Palava TV’ have kept the citizens updated and educated on how best to deal with the ongoing crisis. While on the other hand, residents have been duly following the social norms still finding ways to engage and help each other during these tough times, thus inculcating a strong sense of community and ownership. Beyond essential services and connectivity, Palava is built with great detailing that caters to the needs of all age groups and their convenience. From entertainment zones, malls, sports facilities to open spaces like parks, walking tracks, the city has an elaborate host of offerings. Some offerings seem basic, but during such unprecedented times makes one realize its value. For Eg: Within no time social distancing measures around the essential services stores were effortlessly possible because of planned broad roads and footpath around the stores coupled with apt governance by the in-house team.

When slum dwellers also get such facilities?

IT professionals may move away from Bengaluru's tech suburbs

Kishore Jain, the Bengaluru president of real estate developer body Credai, said people would move into less congested areas only if the government moves to improve infrastructure there. For instance, on Kanakapura Road in the south of Bengaluru, the metro rail network is reaching beyond the city limits, and this type of transit-oriented development would benefit a large number of people, driving real estate investments as well, he added.

Instead let government focus on improving infrastructure in tier-II cities so that a few could move back to their dear native land!

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We also require 'Resources Sensitive National Design and Planning' along with 'Water sensitive urban design and planning'.

A post-COVID-19 plan for future of our cities

Strengthen Local Governments, Focus On Dynamic Urban Planning, Experts Suggest

Some key policy suggestions that came out in an online discussion of the findings:

• India needs a new urban agenda to focus on dynamic urban planning processes and empowerment of city governments.
• India must institute an urban job assurance programme as a longer-term policy option to address the looming economic crisis.

All is needed is decentralized urbanization by encouraging growth of tier-II/III cities. Urban job assurance scheme for tier-II/III cities of less than say 10 lakh will lessen migration to tier-I cities - A Job Guarantee Programme for Urban India. Only question is how Lutyens will manage without servents - they opt for DIY or home robot?

Coronavirus impact | Demand for multi-story urban warehousing facilities set to rise: Report

Warehouses for specialized products at supply points (near resources & manufacturing) and then multi-product warehouses at demand points (consumer locations) is fine. We need logistics hubs only for products for which we have failed to localize supply & demand due to specialization & trade benefits. We discuss more about this in globalization x localization.

Covid norms to shape Delhi’s next Master Plan

“Every city should have a plan to deal with pandemics, we can’t be caught unawares. The master plan should also focus on benchmarking health infrastructure,” said R Srinivas, senior town and country planner, Town and Country Planning Organisation -- an urban planning body under the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

COVID-19 pandemic – Eye opener for better Remote Sensing Policies in India?

Redrawing City Plans for Poverty, Welfare – First Cap Population Growth

Some of the urgent measures cities will have to consider are:[LIST][*]Urban plans will need to turn tables and plan for lesser people and cap populations like in Shanghai and Beijing[*]The traditional methods of planning will need to be replaced by livability as a criteria[*]Any kind of growth or reservations, which are anti-poor will need to be disincentivised[*]Poverty and welfare will need to be a top planning priority, with population surveys done[*]Change statutes to allow municipal corporations to plan for the entire city, even if the development of certain areas fall under parastatals[*]Enhance municipal budgets, and like South Africa and Brazil, bring in ‘equalisation grants’, or decentralise budgets from the central government to create adequate health and other infrastructure for the poor[*]Is it time that we start looking at measures like population capping and enhancing municipal budgets seriously if we want to build equitable cities.[LIST]

Will Lutyens allow Shanghai and Beijing norms in a democratic country?

‘equalisation grants’, or 'decentralise budgets' - any form of extra budget for cities of less than 10 lakh population to create opportunities for poor is always welcome along with urban job guarantee scheme.

Covid-19: Five lessons India should learn from the crisis to make cities more liveable for workers

Can Covid-19 finally bring a long-awaited Cycle Revolution in India?

Post-pandemic livelihood sustainability and central urban missions

Spatial distribution of Indian economy is top-heavy and dominated by big cities. ... However, economic growth in the cities had not generated labour intensive jobs in this age of outsourcing, contracting and automation. Research by World Bank economist Ejaz Ghani shows medium and large-scale manufacturing activities are also moving out of the big cities due to high land costs. Whereas, small scale informal sector trading and manufacturing are urbanising to take advantage of better infrastructure and business access. Livelihoods of the urban poor are almost entirely tied to the informal economy. Ejaz Ghani suggests the need to focus on small scale entrepreneurship to generate urban jobs.

Why small scale informal sector trading and manufacturing is not finding land costly in big cities? If jobs in big cities are not good for poor why they are not moving out along with medium and large-scale industries? Is it skill level? Or ancillary industries taking time to move out or prefering to stay in big cities?

Just because of population informal sector may be growing there to cater to their needs. I think everything will get readjusted. It is a matter of time. Some policy initiative may hasten the process. What are those policies? Infrastructure in small cities? I prefer poor from big cities to move out & find better jobs in tier-II/III cities.

Who wants poor to stay in big cities permanently? Lutyens? Lutyens media? For what? No doubt, thanks to Lutyens a migrant worker earning ₹200 daily in Delhi earns ₹700 daily in Kasaragod!

For me development of tier-II/III cities of regions from where slum dwellers migrated is more important than Central Vista development or slum developments in tier-I cities. Let us address root cause of migration rather than its consequences.

Developers, architects should be ashamed of creating slums: Ratan Tata

Migrant Exodus Result Of Failed Urban Planning, But Real Estate Can Revive Economy After COVID: K P Singh

"Whatever wrong has gone. You cannot set it right overnight. That is a different story. What I'm saying in future you can rev it up by reorienting, restructuring the entire real estate construction industry. If you do that, take it from me. It will have an immediate multiplier effect. migrant labourers will come back," Singh concluded.

Who influenced failure? Who benefitted from unplanned/uncontrolled real estate business in tier-I cities? How many builders have looked after their work force of migrants well and ensured contractors/subcontractors also look after them well? Why did all of them failed to look after migrants well? The statement "Migrant Exodus Result Of Failed Urban Planning" is 100% correct. Why did the government fail to develop non tier-I cities? Why did the government fail address regional inequalities?

Let us all pray to God that migrant labourers will never return to tier-I cities and ask him for regional parities.