Livable Cities and Human Well-Being

One of my friends was looking for a house and a broker was taking him to different places and was helping him choose the best. Most of the explanations of the broker were on the proximity of the houses with the hospitals, schools, bus-stand, banks, airports, national highway, etc. The argument of my friend was that these are not the places that I would like to visit every day, rather I need to look at the proximity to my workplace where I have to go every day. This is a real concern apart from the utilities one looks for in the nearby vicinity.

[PC: https://roselawgroupreporter.com/2014/09/money-ranks-gilbert-among-livable-cities-phoenix-among-best-bargains/]

While attending a conference on Livable Cities, I got to learn that there are three important components to assure livability, that are: place of stay, place of work, and ease of commuting between the two, i.e., facility of transportation and commuting time. For urban planning and for assuring better human well-being, I feel there are important interventions to be made by urban planners, state, architects, and civil society in that direction. In the time when around ten percent of world population resides in Indian urban cities, it becomes all the more important and challenging to discuss, design and develop cities with the kind of infrastructural support that can ease living and provide comfortable stay with easy accessibility for amenities of the kind that are going to lead our way to future.

The use of technology and artificial intelligence can help designers to propose a system which is future ready and is compatible with the climate change conditions. Green and clean technologies should find appropriate place in the cities of the future. In the times of digital assistants like Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Google Now, the houses and cities are to be made compatible so that the users of

tomorrow find it convenient.

In 2013, Charles Montgomery wrote a book entitled ‘Happy Cities – Transforming our lives through urban design’ which restarted the debate on building cities where happiness of residents is assured. This book has strong narratives on experiences of happiness and defends the science of happiness and its relationship with urban planning. Urban planners in India can learn lessons from this book.

Rural urban migration which is considered to be a sign of development has to be managed through providing urban amenities to rural areas as visualised and proposed by former Indian President Abdul Kalam in the name of PURA. It needs to be given serious thought so that the burden on urban cities is reduced. Better education facilities and health infrastructure has to be prioritised so that the villages are livable and primary conditions of living are improved. Road connectivity, electricity and water, sanitation and sewerage are some such areas which have to fall in place much before free wifi and the internet connectivity provision. The initiatives of the government in this regard are praiseworthy when it is focusing on housing provision for the poor, toilet provision, cleanliness, health schemes, green energy options, pollution friendly and effective fuel systems, etc.

India which still lives in villages has a long way to transition into a country which boasts of ideal villages and happy cities. Though we had two planned cities in the name of Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh which were conceptualised as model cities, we have seen their respective development in terms of infrastructure as well as administration. Chandigarh has surpassed Bhubaneswar by huge margin. Similarly adjoining Delhi we had two cities, Faridabad and Gurugram (erstwhile known as Gurgaon) which were initiated with allotment, allocation and approvals around same time, however Gurugram surpassed Faridabad in almost all parameters. The prime reason is their administration and state’s intervention. The experiences of these models needs to be revisited and the lessons learnt from them should be used to make better and practical plans for the future.

Physical infrastructure is an important bottleneck but what is more challenging is to revive better mental infrastructure and community living across geographies. The rat race for better material living has left the villages with poor thinking on community living and sense of togetherness. The fall in human values which is major cause of social problems, has to be looked into through provision of better primary education which teaches our young children of our rich past and rebuilds their value system, which teaches them to respect all faiths and learn good virtues from all corners.

Helping others in times of need and non-materialistic aspirations have to be nurtured in youth through sharing success stories of great people. The role of teachers in this regard is very important as they play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this great nation. There have to be role models for young children in all the fields whether it is medical profession, teaching or administration, whether it is technocrats, business leaders or politicians. They need to have people around them who can become their role models. In this environment the role of parents, elders, teachers is of greater importance as it is not through teaching that our young generation is going to be affected but by seeing good people around them and following their path.

Cities that provide better amenities and access, have to also ensure better governance and less control over day to day functioning. This is major learning from the development story of Gurgram and Faridabad or Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh. The role of the state should be reduced to be of watchdogs and regulators. India has to aspire to have honest and conscious leaders for whom nation and its citizens fall first. Political leaders have to set examples through their unbiased work towards governance. The message of less government, more governance has to be followed by all and it should not merely be left as a slogan.

The concept of The City Beautiful is as old as a motorable car on road originated through reforming North American architecture and effective urban planning adding to the monumental beauty of the city. Chandigarh followed it and tried to develop it in that way. We have example of a satellite city being developed as New Town surrounding Kolkata. New Raipur in Chattisgarh is being developed as a model city with all modern amenities and provisions. And there could be many more in the offing.

I think if we are able to reduce on the commutable time between the place of stay and the place of work, it shall be a great respite to all stakeholders and it shall allow us to breathe better. Residents would have more time with the family, fuel consumption shall be low, stress level will reduce drastically and work performance shall get a positive boost.

Livable Cities needs to be transformed into Happy Cities assuring better Human Well-Being.

[The author is a Professor in the Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110009 and can be reached at vkshro@gmail.com]

<published in March 2018 issue of SME World>