The Dream of Delhi as a Global City DUPONT, VÉRONIQUE D.N.
International journal of urban and regional research,
20/May , Letnik:
35, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The ambition to develop Delhi as a global city is rooted in the liberalization reforms of the 1990s. Parts of the city region were integrated with the global economy, providing international firms ...with investment opportunities and outsourced services, while the metropolitan area emerged as a significant agglomeration of Export Processing Zones. The development of modern infrastructure, high‐end residential complexes and exclusive shopping malls, in line with the rise of consumerism and middle‐class ideology, has spectacularly transformed the urban landscape. This drive for global competitiveness involving image‐building has had negative consequences, especially for the poor, through ‘cleansing’ the city of slums and other alleged undesirable elements, and has exacerbated socio‐spatial polarization. Delhi's experience thus exemplifies the problematic implementation of a Western construct — the global‐city model — in a metropolis of the South characterized by strong socio‐economic inequalities as well as the ascent of urban entrepreneurialism and its translation into a ‘revanchist city’. Although Delhi's trajectory is not unique in this respect, the magnitude of the informal sector combined with the increasing assertiveness of the social groups who have benefited most from the economic reforms provides a context in which the imposition of a new economic model and urban aesthetics generates particularly tangible tensions. What also makes the case of the Indian capital remarkable is the conjunction of structural factors — the overriding power of the state and the decisive intervention of the courts in urban affairs — with an international event — the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Résumé
L'ambition de transformer Delhi en ville globale est ancrée dans les réformes de libéralisation des années 1990. Certaines parties de la région métropolitaine se sont intégrées dans l'économie mondiale, en fournissant aux entreprises internationales des possibilités d'investissement et de services externalisés, tandis que l'aire métropolitaine apparaît comme une agglomération importante de zones franches. Le développement d'infrastructures modernes, de complexes résidentiels haut de gamme et de centres commerciaux élitistes, en conformité avec la montée du consumérisme et de l'idéologie des classes moyennes, a transformé le paysage urbain de manière spectaculaire. Cette course à la compétitivité globale, impliquant la construction d'une certaine image urbaine, a eu des conséquences négatives, surtout pour les pauvres, par le biais de ‘nettoyages’ destinés à débarrasser la capitale de ses bidonvilles et autres éléments jugés indésirables, et a exacerbé la polarisation socio‐spatiale. L'expérience de Delhi illustre ainsi la mise en œuvre problématique d'un concept occidental — le modèle de la ville globale — dans une métropole du Sud caractérisée par de fortes inégalités socio‐économiques, ainsi que la montée de l' ‘entrepreneurialisme’ urbain et sa traduction en une ‘ville revancharde’. Bien que la trajectoire de Delhi ne soit pas unique à cet égard, l'ampleur du secteur informel, combinée avec l'affirmation croissante des groupes sociaux qui ont le plus bénéficié des réformes économiques, fournit un contexte où l'imposition d'un nouveau modèle économique et d'une nouvelle esthétique urbaine génère des tensions particulièrement tangibles. Ce qui rend aussi le cas de la capitale indienne remarquable, c'est la conjonction de facteurs structurels — le pouvoir prépondérant de l'État et l'intervention décisive des tribunaux dans les affaires urbaines — et d'un événement international — les Jeux du Commonwealth de 2010.
Specific forms of urbanisation are evolving on the peripheries of the large developing metropolises. These processes of peri-urbanisation result in the formation of “mixed spaces”, midway between ...urban centres and rural spaces – transitory spaces subject to rapid and multiple transformations. Our initial hypothesis in order to understand these processes is the non-neutrality of location in the metropolitan areas. The urban peripheries do not constitute a simple framework of analysis, but a specific space whose use corresponds to diverse and often conflicting stakes indicative of processes involving a political and societal vision of the city and access to the city. The need for housing, especially by the poor, the maintenance of greenbelts and the development of new industrial zones, enter into competition. The arbitration and management of these coveted spaces are rendered problematic when they are situated beyond the administrative limits of the city in zones that are generally not recognised as specific entities of planning. The issues of conflicting stakes and governance in the metropolitan peripheries are examined on the basis of selected cases studies of large Indian metropolises, that aim to highlight the role of the various actors, traditional as well as emerging ones, in shaping peri-urban dynamics.
Indian cities are faced with an acute shortage in decent housing, which points to the double challenge of squatter settlement and slums, and forced evictions. The main strategies regarding squatter ...settlements, which comprise the provision of basic services, upgrading of housing conditions, relocation on alternative sites, and rehousing, addressed mainly the symptoms of housing poverty. But on the other hand, the many forced evictions without adequate rehabilitation programme have generated processes of exclusion and impoverishment for the evicted families. The debates about the role of the market in housing policies and rehousing programmes underline the divergences of views between those defending a neo-liberal agenda and those stressing the state responsibilities towards the weakest sections. The complexity of slum-related issues comes from the necessity to provide answers in the short and long-term. Different types of barriers to a better integration of the slum dwellers’ rights persist; in the Indian context, some are notably institutional, and other cultural and social.
The socio-spatial restructuring of Delhi was accompanied by large-scale slum demolitions that increased homelessness. This paper focuses on the people made homeless, and their struggle to assert ...their place in the city. First, it expounds the context of homelessness in Delhi and analyses the mechanisms behind its aggravation. Then, it examines a decisive moment in this struggle: a mobilisation campaign for the homeless’ right to shelter, triggered by a tragic eviction during the preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This research shows that the campaign’s success is due to the combination of long-term structural work at the grassroots level and the timely reaction of various connected actors in different spheres (civil society, media, justice) and institutional levels, and how the campaign for the homeless faces several challenges in sustaining its outcomes.
L’urbanisation à l’échelle planétaire et la conscience croissante des problèmes écologiques font de l’« urbain » un objet privilégié pour l’action publique et la recherche. C’est en effet grâce à la ...perspective urbaine que nous parvenons aujourd’hui à une meilleure compréhension des sociétés contemporaines et des milieux de vie. En articulant les dimensions sociales, écologiques, politiques et matérielles, les recherches actuelles apportent de nouvelles connaissances sur les théories et définitions de l’urbain, les populations urbaines et la production de leur cadre de vie. Les enjeux sont de taille. Ils touchent à la qualité de vie des citadins et à la forme de nos sociétés : diversification des populations, accroissement des inégalités, recompositions des flux, des échelles et des pouvoirs urbains, changements de l’environnement planétaire, etc. Le présent ouvrage, qui repose sur un important travail collectif sur les villes des Nords et des Suds, propose un panorama engagé de ces enjeux présents et, surtout, à venir pour la recherche urbaine.
An estimated 214 million women have unmet need for family planning in developing regions. Improved utilization of the private sector is key to achieving universal access to a range of safe and ...effective modern contraceptive methods stipulated by FP2020 and SDG commitments. Until now, a lack of market data has limited understanding of the private sector's role in increasing contraceptive coverage and choice.
In 2015, the FPwatch Project conducted representative outlet surveys in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC using a full census approach in selected administrative areas. Every public and private sector outlet with the potential to sell or distribute modern contraceptives was approached. In outlets with modern contraceptives, product audits and provider interviews assessed contraceptive market composition, availability, and price.
Excluding general retailers, 96% of potential outlets in Ethiopia, 55% in Nigeria, and 41% in DRC had modern contraceptive methods available. In Ethiopia, 41% of modern contraceptive stocking outlets were in the private sector compared with approximately 80% in Nigeria and DRC where drug shops were dominant. Ninety-five percent of private sector outlets in Ethiopia had modern contraceptive methods available; 37% had three or more methods. In Nigeria and DRC, only 54% and 42% of private sector outlets stocked modern contraceptives with 5% and 4% stocking three or more methods, respectively. High prices in Nigeria and DRC create barriers to consumer access and choice.
There is a missed opportunity to provide modern contraception through the private sector, particularly drug shops. Subsidies and interventions, like social marketing and social franchising, could leverage the private sector's role in increasing access to a range of contraceptives. Achieving global FP2020 commitments depends on the expansion of national contraceptive policies that promote greater partnership and cooperation with the private sector and improvement of decisions around funding streams of countries with large populations and high unmet need like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC.
This paper examines the development of secured residential enclaves in India, especially in Delhi. It expounds the conditions of their emergence and success: although gated communities are a market ...driven development boosted by economic liberalisation reforms, they are also embedded in indigenous traditions of residential segregation and enclosure as well as colonial practices. The Non-Resident Indians (NRI) have further played a significant role in the production of these new residential spaces. Significant appeal factors are explored: desire for security, retreat from failing government and the polluted city, search for exclusivity, elitism and social homogeneity. Tapping into the Indian diaspora market and the middle-class’ aspirations for social status, promoters have projected their residential enclaves as a way of “global living” in a healthy environment, reserved to a privileged cosmopolitan elite. Yet, gated communities in Delhi are not a mere exogenous Western production; rather, they are spaces in-between the global and the local. The findings are based on direct field observations in Delhi and a review of advertisements by real estate developers in various media. The analysis pursues an Indo-Chinese comparative perspective with reference to the research of Marie Sander (this issue) on gated communities in Shanghai.
•Secured residential enclaves in Indian metros are not a mere exogenous western production.•They are a market driven development boosted by economic liberalisation reforms.•They are embedded in indigenous traditions of residential segregation and enclosure as well as colonial practices.•Non-Resident Indians have played a significant role in the production of gated communities.•Appeal factors are good investment, desire for security and elitism, retreat from failing government and polluted city.
À partir de recherches menées à Delhi, cet article propose une réflexion sur les désignations des quartiers d’habitat précaire illégaux – les slums – et les interventions-expulsions qui les visent. ...Les variations de perception et du vocabulaire autour de l’expulsion reflètent la position du locuteur (urbaniste, magistrat, activiste du droit au logement, habitant), ses registres de référence et la visée de ses discours. La thèse défendue est celle d’un effet de la catégorisation des slums et de leurs habitants sur le traitement qui en est fait. Nous montrons comment des catégorisations majoritairement disqualifiantes sont associées à des mises en accusation de situations irrégulières et de criminalisation, l’ensemble fondant des projets d’intervention. L’examen d’une opération de rénovation en cours dans un quartier précaire permet d’illustrer la manière dont les différents acteurs perçoivent et qualifient une même intervention et de souligner les divergences, y compris parmi les résidents. La partie conclusive replace les démolitions de slums dans le contexte plus large des transformations urbaines et des modes de gouvernance privilégiés.
Based on research conducted in Delhi, this article offers insights and thoughts on the different designations of the illegal precarious settlements - the “slums” - and the interventions-evictions ...targeting them. The perceptions and the terminology around the evictions vary with the speakers and reflect their positions (whether urban planners, magistrates, housing rights’ activists, inhabitants), their reference registers and what their discourses aim to accomplish. The thesis defended is that the categorisation of the slums and their inhabitants impacts the way they are treated. We show how categorisations that are predominantly disqualifying go hand in hand with indictments for irregular situations and with criminalisation, and are the basis for intervention projects. The examination of a rehabilitation project currently underway in a precarious settlement illustrates how the different actors perceive and qualify the same intervention, and highlights divergences, including among the residents. The concluding part places slum demolitions in the broader context of urban transformations and of the preferred modes of governance.
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