What should be the basis for evaluating urban renewal in India? The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has been "renewing" urban India. What should be the questions to evaluate its success at renewal? Summary of a presentation to the School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Parisar at Yashada.

1. Evaluating Urban Renewal in India
JNNURM Projects
Anupam Saraph

2. Urban Renewal?
urban renewal
noun
: a construction program to replace or restore substandard
buildings in an urban area
Examples
an area undergoing urban renewal
an urban renewal plan/project
First use: 1954

3. Urban Regeneration?
Initiating comprehensive political, financial and technological strategies
for an environmentally enhancing, restorative relationship between cities
and the ecosystems from which they draw resources for their
sustenance.
Urban Renewal is conventional city development and one that has
resulted in the massive urban mess we are confronted with.
Before formulating the JNNURM, did the Ministry of Urban
Development compare city development models that are relevant to
address the challenges before urbanization?

4. City Development Models
Conventional
• Little or no
consideration to
environmental
impact of the design
• Designs aim to meet
minimum
compliances for
lowest price
• Often dubbed
"green" if EIA is
documented
Sustainable
• Does not challenge
current methods and
activities that have
negative
environmental
impact
• Attempt to minimize
energy use, pollution
or waste
Regenerative
• Sees human habitat
and culture as part of
ecosystems
• Seeks to create or
restore capacity of
ecosystems and biogeo chemical cycles
without human
management
• Designs appreciate
and build on diversity
of each city
• Sees the design
process as ongoing,
indefinite and
participatory

5. Regenerative City Principles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Small ecological footprint
Compact urban development
Energy sufficiency
Renewable energy supply
Zero emission transport
Waste water recycling
Circular metabolism
Biodiversity in landscape design
City embeded in farmland
City contributing to carbon sequestration and eco-restoration

6. JNNURM
Jawaharlal
Nehru
National
Urban
Renewal
Mission
Project of the Ministry of Urban Development to
• encourage reforms and
• fast track planned development of identified cities.
Focus is to be on
• efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms,
• community participation, and
• accountability of ULBs/ Parastatal agencies towards citizens.

7. Evaluating the JNNURM
•
•
What reform has happened?
What proportion of the Development Plan has
been fast tracked?
•
What efficiency in urban infrastructure and
service delivery mechanisms has been
achieved?
What community participation has happened?
What accountability of ULBs/ Parastatal
agencies towards citizens has been
established?
•
•

8. Evaluating the Focus of JNNURM
Focus
•urban renewal?
•efficiency or sustainability?
•urban infrastructure: what
infrastructure to renew the
city?
•what service delivery to
renew the city?
•what mechanisms were
created for community
participation?
•what accountability was
exercised by ULBs/
Parastatal agencies towards
citizens?
Before JNNURM
After JNNURM

9. 9
Example of evaluating JNNURM projects:
• Otta market in Baner
• Storm-water drain project in Pune

10. Overlay JNNURM projects on
the DP, highlight the violations
and the fast track
implementations of DP
projects
Otta Market in Amenity space when
Otta Market
other locations were marked on DP for
other locations
Otta Market
Otta Market
Entire natural
stream made into
made into
gutter and sewage
canal through
storm water drain
project
Entire natural
Entire
stream made into
stream made into
gutter and sewage
gutter and sewage
canal through
canal through
storm water drain
storm water drain
project
project

11. Highlight on DP projects
where community participation
did not happen or local body
failed to be accountable to the
citizens
Otta Market in Amenity space built
Otta Market
without community participation and
without community participation and
without ULB showing any
without ULB showing any
accountability to the citizens
accountability to the citizens

12. Highlight on DP projects
where community participation
did not happen or local body
failed to be accountable to the
citizens
Entire natural streams across
Entire natural streams across
Pune made into gutter and
Pune made into gutter and
sewage canal through storm
sewage canal
water drain project without any
water drain project without
accountability to the citizens;
accountability to the citizens;
ULB Acts counter to every
ULB Acts counter to every
request.
request.