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The Urban Divide is a challenge but it is also an opportunity.

Incidentally, the above title was also the theme of this year’s World Habitat Day. It aimed to raise awareness of the need to improve urban planning from the perspective of the new major challenges of the 21st century.
At present, more than 50% of the world population stays in the urban areas. Experts believe that very soon it will be 75%. That's becasue the developing world today is going through rapid urbanisation never experienced in any era before. And what better country than India to understand this. The number of people migrating from India's villages to its cities is increasing day by day.
This exodus is reshaping our towns and cities like never before and the impact is not just social but also physical and economical. It is a fact that most of our existing urban management policies and practices have not evolved along with changing circumstances.

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COMMENT   The lack of trained professionals to deal with issues like this is probably the most crucial at this stage. What we lack   1 Comments Read more comments »

The government in India has tried to adddress this critical issue by launching a number of programmes. Whether it is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched in 2005 or the Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP) & the Scheme for Affordable Housing in Partnership launched in February 2009, these programmes seek to upgrade and enhance the country's urban infrastructure considerably by the end of 11th Five Year Plan.
The schemes were launched with the objective of channelising the administration's attention and resources towards the issues of urban India.
What is important to note here that our industry too has realised that it can play a major role in bringing about the change. It also stands to gain. While there are challenges, the opportunities are equally good. There used to be a misconception that government schemes aimed particularly at
the under priveileged do not hold much for big business houses. On the contrary, if you look at some of the key names involved with the JNNURM scheme, you will realise why this is a big misnomer.
Construction Week India magazine urges the industry to get involved in such schemes on a continuous basis and in all earnestness. Urban planning and development issues have a direct and long-term impact on other infrastructure developments. There is much that our industry can bring to the table and gain in return.

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