[Town Planning] Main Aims of Urban Planning in India

Main Aims of Urban Planning in India

        India’s urban centers are experiencing rapid population growth, especially in the post-independence era. The main reason for the growth is that industrial progress has led to an increase in urban and urban population density. Therefore, the merger of the population has brought additional pressure on urban land. Industrialization, the rise of new factories, offices, or service centers, in turn, led to the development of residential areas, market areas, and entertainment centers, leading to congestion and congestion.

        No matter what measures are taken, there is a lack of space in urban areas. Therefore, the development of many cities has exceeded the legal limits, because, for every densely populated area, development has exceeded the limits of towns. 

        It is expected that this example will cause some undesirable changes in urban land use inside and outside the city. However, people have not yet fully understood the intensity of these land-use changes and the resulting increasing relationships.

        The massive increase in population and the process of urbanization have led to a rapid increase in the demand for land in urban settlements. The main factor in the increase in demand is the increase in urban life and related needs, such as the development of transportation and communications, and other infrastructure. The mode of urban infrastructure, development, and its spatial structure or planning depend on various social, historical, economic, and ecological forces that affect urban land use.

        The improper use of urban land can cause serious problems for the entire country, as the supply of surplus land is restricted and subject to competing requirements. Dissatisfaction with the emerging urban form is almost universal. 

        Therefore, the correct planning of urban land use conditions is essential for the scientific and effective development of urban areas. A plan must be made to maximize the use of available land. Planning means using every inch of land for human benefit. The objectives of urban planning should be as follows.

1. Clearance of slums.
2. Reserve public places for industries, parks, and cemeteries.
3. Rearrange the city where people of all ages entertained.
4. Provide a sanitary environment for towns, cities, and surrounding areas.
5. Allocate space for shops, marketing centers, playgrounds, parks, etc.
6. Reschedule medical services.
7. Provide proper housing for the people with basic facilities such as electricity and water supply.
8. Organize and improve transportation and communication methods.

        However, sometimes there will be a mismatch between land demand and supply. This mismatch between land supply and demand leads to the degradation of open space, the degradation of primitive agricultural land, the occupation of threatened areas, and the impact on cultural resources, uncontrolled population growth and insufficient infrastructure will cause irreversible losses. Poorly managed development can also have a negative impact on excessive housing, energy consumption, and quality. Converting major agricultural land to urban use may increase costs.

        In India, the growth of the urban population has led to a rapid increase in land demand for housing, industry, and commerce, as well as public buildings and infrastructure. Overall, India’s urban density has increased over the past 20 years, although in some cases this growth has been overshadowed by the expansion of its territory. 

        For example, in Mumbai in 1951, the density per unit area was 25,579 per unit area, and now, in 2001, its density is 119,676 per unit area. As a result, people often see a lot of scramble for urban land, which leads to an increase in land prices.

        The increase in population has also affected the availability of infrastructure. For example, in 1951, 80% of the 185 cities with 20,000 cities in India, and 80% of the cities with a population of over 50,000 in India, had 80% public electricity supply.

        In addition, it is estimated that about 80% of the urban population does not have sewage treatment facilities. In these cities, there were only water supply facilities in the areas identified from 1950 to 1951. Due to the increase in the population of these towns and the expansion of the area, the cities still lack these basic facilities.

        The percentage distribution of households grouped by per capita floor area and urban population size is usually explained as follows:

In cities below 15,000, the proportion of households with a per capita floor area of ​​100 square feet is 47%; among cities between 15,000 and 50,000, 39%: 47% in 50,000 and 00,000 cities; in cities above 10,000 In the four major cities, this proportion is 53%: Therefore, the urban population of all India is 46%.

      For example, Mumbai and Kolkata are two of the four major cities. According to these urban surveys, 93% of households in Mumbai have a per capita floor area of ​​100 square feet, while 63% of multi-member households in Kolkata have only 40 square feet of room. The location of each person. In other cities, the survey also showed more traffic congestion.

        The characteristic of today's urban environment is that the hard surfaces (such as buildings, roads, etc.) in these areas occupy several acres. Slow rain or other tap water flows from natural vegetation (such as forests and fields), causing it to sink to the ground.

        In contrast, roads, terraces, parking lots, and well-manicured lawns all provide hard, impervious surfaces that prevent rainwater from seeping into the bottom. Since too much rain or tap water cannot enter the bottom, it will accumulate, so the storm will enter the sewers and waterways.

        The water entering the sewer has not been treated by the local waste plant. But city dwellers do not know this fact. As a result, they dumped or inactivated pollutants in these storm drains. As a result, storm drains to take away a lot of pollution, away from urban areas, and mix with more rainwater.

        Street trash, pets, and yard waste, motor oil, antifreeze, household hazardous waste, and paint are a large number of pollutants that enter rainwater drains. This water flows from storm drains to local rivers, ponds, and lakes, and finally to local rivers and streams.

        The greatest risk of soil resource loss in urban areas is during construction activities. Later, if there is no designed rainwater management system, floods and soil erosion will become a drag. After cleaning up all the vegetation development sites, the world is now at risk of losing 70 tons of soil per acre.

        These sites were abandoned after the beginning, which also caused erosion problems. Every household site protected by erosion can lose a lot of soil by one or two dumpers.

        Off-site damage is usually heavy. Blocked drainage methods, rivers full of silt, reservoirs full of silt, damage to nearby landowners, all of which require environmental and economic costs.

        The more water that flows from the land, the faster the construction of houses, shopping centers, and roads. Areas that were once obscured by floods are now vulnerable to flooding.

        Urbanization also puts pressure on the land, which is a secondary impact. For example, sand and mineral aggregates excavated to develop urban housing account for about 20% of all land lost due to urbanization.