A Background Paper is given below:
We invite Papers to be presented in the Symposium on topics suggested in the Background Paper.
Those who would like to participate in this this Symposium may contact GIRD
SYMPOSIUM
‘ENGAGING URBAN POOR IN ENHANCING CITY ENVIRONMENT STANDARDS’
BACKGROUND NOTE
In the background of the upcoming event of the Commonwealth Games, concerns have been expressed by the Indian national leadership about presenting Delhi as a city of “international standards” before the large numbers of visitors expected to arrive in Delhi in connection with the event. In this context, Indian Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram lamented a lack of “proper behaviour” on the part of people living in Delhi. He advised Delhites: "We should seize the opportunity of the Commonwealth Games to change our behavioural pattern. We must behave as (residents of) an international city."
The problem that the government leaders have to be bothered about Delhi’s state of affairs are unclean and unhealthy surroundings; foul smell in the air emanating from garbage heaps, human refuse, public urination, noise pollution; difficulty in movements because of traffic snarls; unruly public behaviour; spectacle of unhealthy and emaciated people walking in the streets; boisterousness in public places (people talk very loudly in public places, inside public transport systems etc.) and “uncivilised” ways of interactions and conduct of sections of people. Incidents of crimes is also a very important aspect of a city’s profile.
Analysing the state of affairs of public behaviour, a view has been expressed that it is only natural for the people who are always busy with their concerns for livelihood activities to behave as they do and that they cannot be faulted for that reason. This view is especially true for a city like Delhi whose population is composed of both permanent residents and long-term and short-terms migrants and also those who are on transit. They also come from different socio-cultural regional and linguistic backgrounds. This composition of populations is also true about the highly urbanised suburban areas of Delhi, including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida.
It is only by recognising this composition of the populations of these highly urbanised places that solutions to the problems of city environmental health could be addressed and suitable solutions evolved and implemented.
Green Institute for Research & Development (GIRD) proposes to undertake an initiative to bring about a shift towards environment-friendly practices among the “urban poor” of select localities in the National Capital Region of Delhi, specifically covering locations in Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad through the spread of knowledge in science and technology among the target people.
GIRD proposes to hold a Symposium on the subject of ‘Engaging Urban Poor in enhancing City Environment Standards” on January 20, 2009 in Delhi (venue to be finalized later) to evolve specific areas of action in this regard.
Objectives of the Symposium
At present the problems facing city environments are generally known as unplanned and haphazard development of cities, lack of proper housing for a major proportion of population, lack of civic amenities for sanitation and drainage, vehicular and industrial emissions and lack of systematic management of waste manage and disposal. Often the permanent and established urban residents living in comfortable habitations are apt to accuse the lower class urban poor and migrants for the degeneration of city’s environmental standards. But, little effort has been made so far to understand the problems of the urban poor in conforming to a fixed standard of environment-friendly behaviour.
We need to know factors of life, habitation, work, employment, day-to-day habits and practices including food, personal hygeine practices, facilities available and constraints faced in conforming to environmental-friendly practices etc.
The present Symposium has the objective of assessing these factors of urban populations and their connection with city environment standards.
The Symposium will also explore issue in related areas of urban planning; role of civil society; responsibilities of commerce, industry and service sectors in managing urban poor and migrant responses towards maintaining better city standards. These areas are important because they are directly or indirectly responsible for the growth of urban poor and migrant populations. The symposium will discuss apportioning of responsibilities to each of these stakeholders in the management of city standards.
A final objective of the Symposium would be understanding the gap and the reasons for the gap in the practice of science and technology inputs among the urban poor and migrants and identifying potential areas of action for reducing this gap to the maximum extent possible. The idea in this regard is making science and technology available to the masses which in turn could contribute to improvements in city environment stands.
Specific Topics to be discussed
Issues involved in the subject matter of the Symposium would be deliberated under the following specific topics:
- Composition of urban poor and city environments
- Urban Development Planning for the Urban Poor and Migrants
- Role of civil society, commerce and industry in managing issues of urban poor and migrants
- Reaching science and technology to the masses for improving city environment
Symposium Participants
Participants in the Symposium would be representatives of stakeholders in managing city standards and, viz., Government departments, industrial establishments, especially hospitality and tourism sector industries, civil society leaders and activists concerned with city standards and environmental scientist community, activists and students as well as stakeholders in the affairs of the urban poor and migrants, viz., NGO representatives working in different fields for the welfare and development of urban poor and migrants, labour representatives from the organnised and unorganised sectors. Representatives from the field of science and technology, especially from the area of community science, would discuss the issue of innovative ways and methods of reaching and science and technology to the urban poor and migrants.
Benefits from the Symposium
Deliberations in the Symposium by those who are closely connected with the issues of city environment on the one hand and the urban poor and migrants, on the other, would evolve ‘common ground’ solutions for the seemingly dichotomous problem of urban poor-migrant versus city standards. Policy suggestions could be made for urban planning with respect of urban poor and migrant populations with the perspective of a standardised city environment. Symposium can also come up with viable formulations for harmonising commercial and industrial interests in the migrant labour force and the need for sustaining healthy city environments.
Symposium would also suggest specific areas of action for reaching science and technology to the urban poor and migrants to improving city environments and standards.
