Increasing urbanisation and rising economic inequality are concomitant in India. Though studies have examined the level, pattern and trend of urbanisation in Maharashtra, no attempt has been made to examine the level of well-being across local bodies in urban India. Using data from the Census of India 2011, this paper examines the variations in community and household well-being in the Municipal Corporations of Maharashtra. Two composite indices of well-being, namely, Community Well-being Index (CWI) and Household Well-being Index (HWI) are used to depict the state of well-being at the community and household levels respectively. Results suggest large variations in HWI and CWI across the Municipal Corporations of Maharashtra. The correlation coefficient of HWI and CWI was 0.51. We observe varying patterns of CWI and HWI. Malegaon, Solapur, Nanded-Waghala, Akola Municipal Corporations are deprived at both CWI and HWI. Chandrapur and Parbhani Corporations, have higher HWI compare to CWI. The Kalyan-Dombivli Corporation ranked first while Parbhani Municipal Corporation ranked the least in CWI among all 27 Corporations in Maharashtra. Similarly, Panvel Corporation with a HWI value of 0.97 ranked first and Bhiwandi-Nizampur ranked least. Corporations that perform poorly in HWI and CWI should be accorded priority in the State’s plan and policies.

In this paper the key channels through which urban governance promotes economic growth are investigated, taking Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. The following questions are answered:

1. What is the urban planning framework in India? Does metropolitan governance of cities take into account multiple governments and agencies, and if there are coordination mechanisms across these governments and agencies?
2. How restrictive is zoning, and what is the ease with which agricultural land is converted to non-agricultural uses?
3. What are the effects of urban planning, governance and land use on transport?

The typical Indian city takes into account peri-urban land uses in its perspective and spatial planning, zoning and other policies, in principle, but may not account for these areas in practice, which leads to haphazard development without planning and leapfrogging. While there is a certain specified procedure for zoning and conversion of land from agricultural to non-agricultural uses, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) is one where at least clear timelines are mentioned in the conversion process, unlike Bengaluru (Karnataka), as found in this paper.

Given Bengaluru’s travel time, Ahmedabad’s land pooling is one best practice which has worked, from which Bengaluru and other Indian cities can learn.

There is no region in India that is completely safe from seismic hazard. While rapid and unprecedented urbanization unfolds across India, it has been observed that during the growth of cities, the urban sprawl especially peri-urban areas lack effective urban governance structures and infrastructures for supporting the rapid growth. Deficiencies in the building construction process in India results in an average of 2665 deaths per year due to building collapses. It is the responsibility of the local government to enforce building codes in India. Recognizing the critical role of disaster risk governance at local level, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction necessitates an increase in the number of local disaster risk reduction strategies by the year 2020 to substantially reduce disaster risks. A scrutiny of proactive approaches to disaster risk governance by Urban Local Bodies is found to be essential in disaster risk science. Such an endeavor would help to identify pathways for improved disaster risk management. The study draws upon and compiles globally practiced methods to arrive at a seismic risk management checklist. It would aid any urban local body in India for proactive seismic risk management in a coordinated and integrated project management approach.

With increasing population density and businesses, urban areas have become more susceptible to the impacts of natural hazards. Tremendous loss of life and economy is incurred with the occurrence of natural disasters in urban areas. Although in India, relief and response mechanisms are well established, there is little consideration for reducing the disaster risks altogether. With a recent paradigm shift in the policy of disaster management in India, from disaster relief to disaster risk reduction, efforts are being made to work towards disaster prevention and mitigation. This policy originates from the belief that investments in mitigation are much more cost effective than spending on relief and rehabilitation. This study focuses on reviewing disaster risk reduction from the urban planning perspective, by means of a literature review. The category of literature reviewed, inter alia are global studies in disaster risk reduction and independent processes of disaster management authorities in India, urban development schemes, policies and statutory documents. The study attempts to identify salient urban planning principles from theoretical research which can impact disaster risk reduction significantly and then relate them to current planning practices in India to identify gaps prevailing in integrating and mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in the planning process.

Delhi’s one-third population lives in sub-standard housing, which includes slums and JJ (jhuggi jhopdi) clusters. The government agencies have taken up slum resettlement measures in order to address the issue but people in the resettlement colonies find life worse than what it was in the slums. This paper, drawing upon fieldwork in Bawana resettlement colony, seeks to explore complex interface between marginality and urban citizenship in India’s ‘global cities’. Basic amenities such as roads, hospitals, schools, street lights, and sewer lines are still inadequate. Slum dwellers, even after experiencing a long period of resettlement, find themselves marginalised. At the same time, they unmistakenly appear as actors struggling for recognition and entitlement, claiming their rights to the city. Their various modes of political action- from negotiations in everyday life to resistances- along with the state action and civil society interventions significantly contribute towards articulation of urban citizenship.

As the contemporary world becomes increasingly urbanized, the role of designers in planning new settlements that can accommodate diversity, of both the human population and non-human life, is of paramount significance. This is especially true in rapidly urbanizing countries of South Asia where very little space is allocated for natural processes in urban contexts, and very few successful examples exist that do not have segregated community enclaves based on caste or religion. Bhilai, in central India, is a 20^th century planned industrial township that this article examines to extract lessons for how human diversity and ecological diversity can be incorporated in the planning of Indian settlements. Whether it is the inclusion of and interaction between biodiversity or human diversity in settlements, this article examines Bhilai’s spatial planning to argue that urban planning must prioritize and cue in to the nuances of the socio-cultural fabric. In Bhilai, interaction within the diverse human populations and with non-human life is achieved through several physical planning principles that are underpinned by existing socio-economic and cultural interdependencies inherent in the Indian context. Socio-economic and cultural characteristics can thus provide entry points for incorporating spaces for human and non-human biotic diversity in towns in developing countries.

Subject paper evaluates aerotropolis policy evolution facets against the backdrop case of Jewar Airport’s proposed greenfield development by private sector. This is a standalone large project with regional implications, entails colossal irreversible capital investment and draws upon demand from surrounding areas. Jewar airport led growth could advance an inevitable urbanisation pattern in the region. Primary question put forth is whether or not to channelize prospective organic development into an aerotropolis form. Paper presents policy parameters, revenue enablers and links to overall financial viability as opposed to single airport’s sustenance. Such need is for wider territorial impacts alongside parallel augmentation of policy initiatives, projects and complementary infrastructure. It can lead to integrated, inclusive and sustainable development for planned infrastructure.

Study is based on secondary research and comparative cases approach. Challenges and future issues that will arise policy forethoughts are presented. Paper concludes that projects with regional impacts to be developed in spatial and fiscal tandem for a tenable approach.

The essence of government and administration at local levels is to ensure effective service delivery to the people at the grassroots. By constitutional designs and norms, governance at this level draws more closely on the needs of the people. Effective dispensation of this responsibility depends on the capacity, knowledge and expertise of the existing institutional structures and actors. Nevertheless, service delivery at this level of governance is highly deficient because of low knowledge and capacity of the officials and staffs. However, recent studies have shown that there is a close link between knowledge networking, capacity development and efficient service delivery (World Bank Institute, 2009). Therefore, there exists a close relationship between the three variables (Wang Zhongtuo, 2011; World Bank; UNDP; MoUD) and it becomes important to establish this relationship for further research and development. The paper intends to prove that “with Knowledge Networking and Capacity Development, Service Delivery mechanisms for cities will improve”. For this, a statistical analysis is adopted to test the significance of variables. It is interesting to note how individual cities with different performance level (Surat, Pune, Coimbatore and Gurugram) are affected by these variables. With the help of bar graphs and graded matrix, a comparative study was conducted for all the cities.  The result is encouraging and the statistical model proves useful in that knowledge networking and capacity development in close association do improve the municipal service delivery mechanisms.

The production of handicrafts forms an important part of the informal economic sector and is the main mode of sustenance for many artisans in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both men and women have played a vital role in preserving the culture and traditions of the state through this form of labour. However, economic and technological shifts in recent decades, have initiated vast changes, not only in the lives of artisans but also in the demand and supply of crafts. Handmade crafts are now, overwhelmingly being replaced by machine-made crafts.  . In this paper we argue that the handicrafts sector has suffered greatly due to the introduction of modern machines. Further, in regards to the welfare of artisans, we highlight the lack of concrete steps taken by the government to alleviate their sufferings, and to address some of the economic problems trapping the informal sector of Jammu and Kashmir in cycles of debt and poverty.

People relocate to cities in the hope of better living. In this context arise the need of Urban Observatories, to observe the statuses of cities and to analyze data, for creating yardsticks which could be used to construct a comparable framework between different parts of the world and to serve as tool and decision support, making the information more authenticated and updated. Though the data is to be collected, stored, and analyzed through technological tools, but such exercise must be guided by law and policy. The present work sets the context by building a relationship between technology and governance. Then, it elaborates on how urban observatory exhibits the interface between technology and governance. Further, the work charts out the laws and policies related to an urban observatory in India. Conclusively, it identifies the gaps available in the legal or policy framework which requires attention for synergy between technology and governance.