A New Model of Urban development

Why in news?

At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, PM called for reimagining of urban planning and development to make cities healthy and liveable after COVID-19.

Why the new urban planning is needed now?

• The fragile infrastructure in urban areas aided the virus spread quickly in cities.
• In the first hundred days of the pandemic, the top 10 cities affected by virus worldwide accounted for 15% of the total COVID cases.
• There was Rapid transmission in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai due to densification and inability to practice distancing norms.
• Whereas in Dharavi, which is one of the world’s highest slum densities, experienced low viral impact due to screening and herd immunity.

What should be the new urban planning based on?

• Good, affordable housing is the necessary for a sustainable and healthy city.
• Unlike speculative housing investments, well-designed rental housing is key to protecting migrant labour and other less affluent sections from virus spread.
• Mumbai is estimated to have added only 5% of rental housing in new residential construction (1961-2000), and that too led by private funding.
• The Centre’s Affordable Rental Housing Complexes scheme should  focus on building new houses on the lines of the post-war reconstruction in Europe, Japan and South Korea by coordinating with states.
• The laws on air pollution, municipal solid waste management and water quality should be strictly enforced to make urban mobility comfortable.
• Cholera, plague and global flu pandemic a century ago led to change in sewerage, waste handling, social housing and health care which helped in controlling the disease.

Source: The Hindu