Wither open spaces?: a politico-economic analysis of open spaces provisioning in Bangalore, India

Abstract

The world is in the midst of a massive urbanization process, with large growth of urban population in developing countries. India is no exception to this, having second largest urban population in the world after China. The urban population of India is expected to raise to 42.5 % by 2025 from 27.8% in 2001. The unplanned and uncontrolled growth of large cities has had negative effects on urban dwellers and their environment. Open spaces, comprising of both functional (parks etc) and natural spaces (forests, wetlands etc) are vital ingredients for sustainable urban communities, performing significant ecological, economic, aesthetic and even social functions in urban landscapes. Despite compelling economic and environmental rationale for conservation and development, open spaces are under pressure. Given the imperative of open spaces for livability of cities, this study examines the questions as to whether there is adequate provisioning of open spaces in Urban areas and the key drivers and processes of open space provision in Urban areas?, with a case study of urban planning and its impact on open space outcomes in Bangalore. The results of the study indicate that despite an urban planning process of 4 decades, availability of open spaces in Bangalore has declined over time. The land use intensity under open space has declined from 7.9 % in 1961 to 2.8 % in 2003, as against planned provision of 13.8 % and mandated norm of 15 % in new developments. Percapita availability of open space has declined from 7.4 sq. mts in 1961 to 2.82 in 2003and is now just 1/3rd of the WHO norms for open spaces. Within the jurisdiction of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike where 75 % of Bangalorians live, availability of publicly accessible open spaces is not only low at 1.73 sq. mts per capita (median value of 0.63 sq.mts.), but highly mal-distributed, with 70 % of the population having access to less than 1.0 sq. mts per capita of parks and playfields. The inverse correlation between population density and per capita park space suggests that poor people may have very low access to publicly accessible open spaces. Analysis suggests that the declining provision of open spaces is due to failure to translate the plan vision into reality. Failure to create new open spaces, regulatory failure in terms of implementation of subdivision regulations, failure to preserve existing open spaces such as lakes etc due to a largely development oriented functioning of public agencies characterize the plan outcomes. Resource constraints, low priority for this facet of urban environment which has large negative externalities, a greater fascination with developmental values of land of key public agencies, low institutional capability of the key agencies, unclear property rights, a growing but still highly nascent citizen demand for open spaces characterize the environment for provisioning of open spaces. The results of the study unearth the inter-linkages between various aspects of urban systems i.e., housing, land markets, demography and open spaces. The study finds that open space outcomes are creation not just of plans and policies but of a larger political economy comprising of regulators, private individuals, land owners, land seekers, developers, political system - that seeks to capitalize on the values of the land as they perceive it. Inherent in the process of decision-making on use of urban land by different interests is their perception of benefits and costs. These perceptions are moulded by the institutional structure of policies and processes but also the way the regulations are implemented.