Workshop on Inclusive Cities in India – IIHS - Indian Institute for Human Settlements

Urban Employment and Livelihoods - Arbind Singh, Bharati Chaturvedi, Jayashree Vyas, Martha Chen

Opening Remarks - Sam Sharpe, Renana Jhabvala, Aromar Revi, Dr. Roberto Zagha

Vision and Policy Landscape for Inclusion - R. Gopalakrishnan, Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Dr. Jessica Seddon, Aromar Revi

Urban Planning and Inclusion - Bimal Patel, Dr. Dinesh Mehta, Manali Shah, Prof. Smita Srinivas

Government Programs and Inclusion - Aruna Sundarajan, Dr. Patricia Annez, Bijal Bhatt, Amar Nath

Vulnerability, Unintended Consequences and Safeguards for Promoting Inclusion - Aromar Revi, Dr. John Blomquist, Dr. Renu Khosla, Marco Ferrario

Summing Up - Aromar Revi, Dr. Roberto Zagha, Sam Sharpe, Renana Jhabvala

India is one of the fastest growing and “urbanising” economies in the last decade, with an estimated 65 per cent of its GDP concentrated in urban areas. In the coming decades, this urban-led economic growth is expected to be accompanied by rapid urbanisation and a potential deepening of poverty in some regions. The Indian government, across all levels, has introduced a number of policies, programmes and schemes to promote “inclusive” and “slum-free cities” referring broadly to the inclusion of the poor in urban growth processes. But inequality and exclusion remains, if not become more severe.

To deliberate on the multiple facets of this exclusion, a workshop on ‘Inclusive Cities in India’ was jointly organised by SEWA, IIHS, World Bank and DFID, UK. The main objectives of this workshop were to understand what exclusion means in an urban context; begin to develop a “vision” of inclusive Indian cities; examine the “inclusion and exclusion” impacts of existing urban development policies and programmes; and understand potential policy directions to inform urban inclusion in government policies and programs in the XII Plan.

Here are the presentations from this workshop held in New Delhi on 7th & 8th June 2011. Click here for a detailed agenda.

Day # 1: Inclusive Cities Agenda
10:00 – 11:00	Inauguration and Setting the Stage: Opening Remarks — Aromar Revi, Director, IIHS, Sam Sharpe, Country Director, DFID, Dr. Roberto Zagha, Country Director, World Bank Urbanization, The Poor and Inclusive Growth – Renana Jhabvala, National Coordinator, SEWA and Chairperson, SEWA Bharat
11:00 – 11:15:	Tea break
11:15 – 13:00	Vision and Policy Landscape for Inclusion: Chair: Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Chairperson, NTDPC Government of India (GOI) Vision for Inclusive Cities – R. Gopalakrishnan, Additional Secretary, PMO The Changing Policy Landscape for Urbanization – What does it mean for Inclusion? – Aromar Revi, Director, IIHS and Dr. Jessica Seddon, Head Research, IIHS Open Discussion Remarks from the Chair

13:00 – 14:00	Lunch
14:00 – 15:30	Urban Planning and Inclusion: Chair: Dr. Dinesh Mehta, Emeritus Professor, CEPT Future Directions for Urban Planning – Bimal Patel, Architect and Planner Indian Urban Planning and Informal Economy Workers (Focus Street Vendors) – Manali Shah, Coordinator, Urban Union, SEWA Indian Urban Planning: Challenges to Inclusive Growth and Governance – Prof. Smita Srinivas, Prof. Urban Planning & Director (TCLab), Columbia University, jointly with Champaka Rajagopal Open Discussion Remarks from the Chair
15:30 – 15:45	Tea Break
15:45 – 17:00	Urban Employment and Livelihoods : Chair: Jayshree Vyas, Managing Director, SEWA Bank Urban Employment and Livelihoods – Trends and Trajectories – Prof. Martha Chen, Professor, Harvard University A Stake in Waste: Perspectives from the Ground – Bharati Chaturvedi , Director, Chintan Membership Based Organisations of Street Vendors – Arbind Singh, Coordinator, NASVI Open Discussion Remarks from the Chair
Day # 2: Government Programs and Inclusion in Habitat
10:00 – 11:30	Government Programs and Inclusion: Chair: Aruna Sundararajan, Joint Secretary & Mission Director, RAY, MHUPA Chair to present a brief overview of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) program City Government Experience: Delivery of Basic Urban Services to the Poor – Bijal Bhatt, Chief Coordinator, Mahila Housing SEWA Trust Strategy for Upgrading Delhi’s Slums – Amar Nath, CEO, DUSIB Discussants : Dr. Patricia Annez, Urban Advisor, World Bank and Aruna Sundararajan, Joint Secretary (RAY), MHUPA Open Discussion Remarks from the Chair
11:30 – 11:45	Tea Break
11:30 – 13:30	Vulnerability, Unintended Consequences and Safeguards for Promoting Inclusion: Chair: Aromar Revi, Director, IIHS Delhi Vulnerability Study – Dr. John Blomquist, Lead Economist, World Bank Urban Resettlement and Savda Ghevra Experience – Marco Ferrario, Co-Founder, Micro Home Solutions Community Level Perspectives on Vulnerability and Safeguards – Dr. Renu Khosla, Director, CURE Open Discussion Remarks from the Chair
13: 30 – 13:45:	Workshop Summing Up : Looking forward to the future
13:45 – 14:30	Lunch