Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements & Housing

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Document Type General
Publish Date 11/08/2010
Author Anupam Sunil
Published By Anupam Sunil
Edited By Arslan Hassan
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HOUSING AND URBAN POLICY IN FIVE YEAR PLANS

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Document Type: General
Publish Date: 2010
Primary Author: Anupam Sunil
Edited By: Arsalan Hasan
Published By: Anupam Sunil

Today the majority of world‟s population lives in urban areas viz. cities and their surroundings & the inflow of humans from rural to urban centers is increasing progressively. This urban growth has largely been spawned by economic development initiatives and improved dwelling conditions; the resulting success has put a tremendous strain on infrastructure of our cities. Indian cities are growing organically with no outlook and many cities are at a breaking point as their infrastructure is not able to sustain this rapid growth of population. A new approach towards planning and policy making engaging direct citizen participation along with inclusive urban planning is vital. A coordinated approach is required to prevent imbalanced growth streaming from the competition among cities in trying to attract investment and human capital. It‟s required to move from traditional technical solution involving statistical estimation and forecasts to finding tailor made solutions to urban planning problems while taking cognizance of history, culture and ecology of the region. India has urban population of 285 million (28% of total population),one-third of which is concentrated in 35 metropolitan cities of more than one million. Housing is an activity that is typically labour intensive and therefore fits in well with the pattern of development envisaged for India. The provision of shelter is basic need which must be met for the increasing population of India. The development of housing sector has always been articulated as visible output of urban and rural development. The National Housing and Habitat policy 1998 emphasized on “housing for all” by the end of year 2007,together with service, social infrastructure, strong public-private partnership and the role of co-operative and corporate sectors. Housing in India varies greatly and reflects the socio-economic mix of its vast population. Housing varies from palaces of erstwhile maharajas in Rajasthan to swanky apartment buildings in big cities to tiny huts in far-flung villages. There is tremendous opportunity for growth in India’s housing sector as urban population and housing need is increasing.

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