The study focus on the urgency and relevance of debate on the subject in the context of (a) MDG 7 (b) Rangarajan Committee’s Report and (c) new versions of MDG and JnNURM on the anvil. The latest UN report (mid-2014) saying that one-third of the world’s extreme poor are in India is of serious concern.
Urban poverty, all over the globe, has many dimensions. It can be viewed from economic, spatial and social/cultural perspectives. Being multi-dimensional in its genesis and manifestations, it calls for multi-pronged strategies. In India, policy makers have concentrated on (a) planning and policy framework (b) in situ improvement of slums (basic services for the urban poor (BSUP); (c) affordable housing; and (d) improving skill and job opportunities of slum dwellers.
Interestingly, in a recent survey in 127 cities on the perceived constraints to inclusiveness, the highest tally was for failures of planning/policy framework and not the scarcity of funds. While emphasising the role of city governments in ensuring inclusiveness, the author relies on knowledge gathered by UN-HABITAT in ‘success cities’.
The urban divide can possibly be encapsulated in three D’s: dynamics of the divide (DD), characteristics of the divide (CD) and bridging the divide (BD).