Land Use - Question of Cities

Overturning a burden: Privatisation of land and city building

From the ideological framework that determines how land is acquired, held and distributed to people’s access to housing and amenities, land use is the most critical aspect of urbanisation. It is the motherboard on which urbanisation unfolds. After the liberalisation…

Reforms in Hyderabad: From World Bank to land bank

The erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh was the World Bank’s first sub-national loan experiment. The eventual privatisation of the public sector and projects also meant de-collectivisation of land as the state acquired it for ‘development’. Financial markets used land as…

Mumbai’s contested land use and the jostle for space

The pattern of land use in India’s commercial capital has meant that it is among the most dense cities in Asia. This is Mumbai’s reality – visual reality with tall towers packed so closely that breeze does not move between…

Public housing calls for governments to regulate land prices

High land prices in our cities, which do not follow the supply-demand equation, determine how land is used, what kind of houses are built and in which areas, what amenities and infrastructure are accessible to whom. There’s no way that…

‘Private interests accumulate land through force or power. That’s a big problem’

If governments want equitable, sustainable and inclusive cities, they should understand how policies and planning can influence land use and the creation of the ‘public realm’, especially for the marginalised. “Governments seem to valorise the idea of private interests because…

The making and unmaking of Goa’s unique alternative urbanity

Back in 1986, Goa had put in place land zoning plans which ensured that its agricultural lands, ecological systems, and historical sites had protective cover from the fast-expanding land market. It gave the state an alternative urbanity. However, this will…

Bengaluru’s water math is badly failing as ‘zero water days’ loom large

This year’s summer is a trailer for a bigger water crisis in a city which once boasted of great weather and good life. Now, authorities acknowledge they cannot bring more water to the city. Nearly half its population surviving without…

Cities must reclaim urban land as a collective good beyond private accumulation

Real estate is now the major mode of capital accumulation in our cities. The planning system is expertly manipulated to ensure the profitability of the real estate sector so that if property developers do not get enough, the city gets…