Contested Spaces, Information Technology and Urban Governance

Transcription

1 Editor s EditorialIntroduction Contested Spaces, Information Technology and Urban Governance vii Environment and Urbanization Asia 2(2) vii xi 2011 National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) SAGE Publications Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC DOI: / Cities and towns in much of the world are in the midst of a major change, a transformation, perhaps even a turmoil if we account for the recent happenings in the Arab world, in the UK, parts of China and in India. In one way or the other, the changes, the transformation, or the turmoil whichever way we may want to see them suggest, specifically in the context of cities and towns, that all is not well with the way they are governed. There are large inequities and imbalances in the allocation of spaces between different interest groups and stakeholders. Spaces do not always carry equal weights. Some spaces are optimally used; others continue to be undermined by alliances of various kinds. Although globally, there is a shift away from government-sponsored and government-dominated planning and governance systems to more networked governance processes, and there is a larger recognition of the various actors including the non-state actors in urban governance, imbalances persist. Technology, notwithstanding the advances with e-based systems, does not necessarily bring about equitable distribution of benefits to different income groups. In this issue of Environment and Urbanization ASIA, we present a set of articles that bring to your table the results of IP-WOTRO project 1 titled Using spatial information infrastructure in urban governance networks: Reducing urban deprivations in Indian cities. It was a project on contested spaces: the power relations between the different actors in urban governance network and on the use of spatial information tools: how far these tools are used in decision-making and what these tools mean for urban governance processes. This theme forms the core of this issue of Environment and Urbanization ASIA. Let me elaborate. In the opening article Unravelling Governance Networks in Development Projects: Depoliticization as an Analytical Framework, Neeraj Mishra examines the role of governance networks in development projects and argues that while governance networks as compared to the state-led initiatives or market competition are better suited to deliver local public goods, such networks have had limited success in India. Politics and politicization constantly intervene and produce sub-optimal results when it comes to development projects. He suggests depoliticization as a strategy to enhance the effectiveness of development projects. Depoliticization, according to Misra, means that issues are relocated from the arenas of democratic contestation to the arenas of unambiguous and non-negotiable codes and procedures. Traditionally in urban India, different groups of citizens have used different channels to realize their social rights. With the coming in of e-grievance redressal systems, such traditional approaches are being constantly challenged. With e-systems becoming an accepted norm, those who are unable to access this system are facing the risk of being excluded from exercising their social rights. Jasper van Teeffelen and Isa Baud, in their article ( Exercising Citizenship: Invited and Negotiated Spaces In Grievance Redressal Systems in Hubli Dharwad ), examine the case of Hubli Dharwad (India) where an e-grievance redressal

2 viii system has recently been introduced. The authors establish that it is usually the middle and high-income groups who benefit from e-grievance systems, while the low-income groups are forced to utilize political society channels for realizing their social rights, which in any case, is flawed on account of limited response by the government. In the new e-based system, the space available to low income groups for such negotiated responses is further reduced. The authors imply that an e-based system may lead to a divide between sections of the society. They emphasize the need to re-look at these systems, ensuring that they provide an effective channel for low-income groups to be able to exercise their citizenship, and reduce differences in accountability towards various social groups inherent to traditional response systems. N. Sridharan s article ( Spatial Inequality and the Politics of Urban Expansion ) is about politics in urban expansion where, using Hubli Dharwad, Surat and Indore as case studies, he examines the various tenets of uneven spatial expansion and their consequences in terms of spatial, economic and social inequality. He concludes that the political economy equations within a state dictates the type of urban expansion, and that in turn, explains the nature of inequities that results from there. Preparation of digital property databases is booming across urban local bodies in India. Christine Richter raises an important issue in her article ( In-Tensions to Infrastructure Developing Digital Property Databases in Urban Karnataka, India ): how equitable are the benefits from initiatives such as the digitized property databases? Her research shows that urban information infrastructure development leads to conflicts in aligning end-goals of various stakeholders. She points out that the prevalent geospatial platforms for land and property mapping are rigid in nature and often are in conflict with flexibilities in urban land and property regimes. While geospatial technologies are employed to eliminate flexibility, land and property regimes pose a major problem of implementation at the time of digital recording. This implies that successful information infrastructure development in the long run may change current property and land ownership regimes with the potential of closing spaces of the city to some groups of people, especially those belonging to the economically and socially vulnerable classes. At the end, urban decision makers and managers need to take an informed decision on whose interests should the information infrastructure cater to. Building on the theme of equitable distribution of benefits from information infrastructure based solutions in urban local bodies, Javier Martinez, Karin Pfeffer and Tara van Dijk ( E-government Tools, Claimed Potentials/Unnamed Limitations: The Case of Kalyan Dombivli ) explore how e-grievance redressal system reflects self-expressed needs and examine whether there is a (mis)match between selfexpressed needs and deprived areas. Taking the case of Kalyani Dombivili, the authors seek an answer to the question as to how e-grievance redressal systems capture the needs of the most deprived. The main methods used by the authors are geo-coding and spatial visualization of the processed information. One of the key shortcomings of information infrastructure based solutions is that it limits inclusiveness. Such systems are usually rigid: citizens can engage on reporting complaints, but remain barred from engaging with more substantive issues as to whose interest and needs the policies and processes are oriented. The article Knowledge Production in Urban Governance Systems through Qualitative Geographical Information System (GIS), by Karin Pfeffer, Javier Martinez, Isa Baud and N. Sridharan, addresses an important question: how tacit knowledge and citizens preferences can be combined so that information infrastructure enabled urban governance is made both inclusive as well as efficient. Use of geographic

3 Editorial ix information system (GIS) platforms towards finding solutions to more efficient performance of administrative responsibilities is fast becoming the prevalent norm in urban local bodies. However, strong use of GIS in supporting strategic governance processes is hitherto unexplored. The authors of this article try to establish how a combination of GIS-based qualitative and quantitative approaches can make local embedded knowledge visible for inclusive urban governance. There are important lessons to learn from the four cities of Mysore, Hubli Dharwad, Kalyan and Mira Bhayandar: types of knowledge can be fruitfully brought into the arena within which elected representatives and bureaucrats can collectively discuss issues of local governance, thereby ensuring a more inclusive approach towards urban management. Resolving Land Use Disputes in China: An Analysis of a Method of Dealing with Citizen Complaints, by John Meligrana, Zhijian Li and Zhiyao Zhang, dwells on the theme of using grievance redressal for developing more inclusive planning and development approaches. The authors present a case from China where the State is establishing institutions and mechanisms to deal with increasing conflicts over land use change within the context of rapid urban growth and development, and use these to fostering greater public input in land use planning and development. Petitions have been the traditional form of grievance redressal on land administration in China for long. In China, the petition may be used across a range of issues including on government policies, regulations and laws, among others. John Meligrana and his colleagues argue that the existing petition system must be strengthened by developing new institutions or institutional practices in order to manage and facilitate effective mechanisms for resolving land use disputes. The article weaves through the existing land use planning system in China, drawing upon the evolution of policy and regulatory structures in the country. It presents the new challenges of petitions on land administration which particularly relate to grievances on compensation and resettlement of rural peasants whose lands have been acquired for promoting urban development. A presentation of existing challenges on learning from petition statistics is made followed by an outline of petition procedures and regulations. Learning from studying available petition information and how the state responses to these have been changing over the years, the authors present a set of characteristics of the present system. The authors conclude that the present system is inclusive and transparent, and it provides a tool for systematic diagnosis of key issues. The role of petition as an education (for cross-learning within government departments) and awareness building tool (creating awareness within citizens) is also highlighted. Drawing from their findings, the authors speculate that recent strengthening of the petition structure could be evolved into a more formal mechanism for mediating among competing interests over urban development and land use planning in China, for ensuring that views and opinions of those residents most affected by rapid urbanization are taken into consideration. The article Urban Form and Accessibility to Jobs: A Comparison of Hanoi and Randstad Metropolitan Areas by Pham Thi Hong Ha, Frans van den Bosch, Nguyen Ngoc Quang and Mark Zuidgeest looks at the relationship between land use and public transport system, suggesting that the extent and nature of relationship determines accessibility. They apply two accessibility measures to evaluate the level of integration between transport and land use in Hanoi Metropolitan Area (Vietnam) which has a typical monocentric urban form presently and which is seeking to move towards a polycentric form under its new Master Plan 2030 and Vision 2050 document, and Randstad Metropolitan Area (The Netherlands) which has a typical polycentric urban form.

4 x The authors set the context by using available literature to establish a strong correlation between urban form and travel indicating that more compact cities seem to generate less travel distances, thus providing more sustainable transport options. The article thereon seeks to explore this by evaluating the results of accessibility for Hanoi and Randstad using a comparative GIS-based accessibility analysis. Based on the findings of this evaluation, the authors suggest that Hanoi can benefit substantially by investing in improving levels of accessibility while moving towards a polycentric urban form. Pushpa Pathak s article ( The Challenge of Governing a Post-Conflict City: Kabul, Afghanistan ) on the challenge of governing a post-conflict city is important, in part, for reasons that little is known about urban governance issues in Afghanistan and how Kabul has designed its governance strategy. Good governance and efficient service delivery is a challenge to any developing country, and more so in a postconflict country. As Kabul emerges from the throes of the armed conflict, it faces a number of challenges namely, very high urbanization, large proportions of the city developing informally overnight, poor service delivery and weak institutions unable to deal with the challenges of reconstruction and development. Kabul also suffers from the challenges of massive damages to infrastructure due to war and repeated insurgencies forcing Kabul residents to choose a way of life that has made the task of achieving sustainable urban management outcome a hugely challenging task. Responding to this substantial challenge, a set of multi-lateral and bilateral agencies have extended support to Kabul Municipality; Pathak s article is based on learning gained by her through her engagement with a series of development projects and working with the Kabul Municipality. Preparing a national vision for development that includes a strong focus on sustainable urban development is a critical first step. In Kabul, it has meant commissioning of a comprehensive urban development programme along with several other development programmes. Strengthening urban governance and management structures is the second step where Pushpa Pathak presents a set of 12 critical steps that charts out a sustainable urban management agenda for Kabul. These include, among others, formally clarifying roles, responsibilities and institutional authorities of key institutions; holding local government elections; strengthening the municipal revenue system; and ushering in active public participation in local government decision making. As Indian cities rapidly urbanize, researchers try and categorize the Indian urbanization experience into a single phenomenon and then seek solutions to promote inclusiveness in city development. The article on the Networks of Urbanization in Two Cities by Tara van Dijk presents a different perspective on this theme. Using examples of Kalyan Dombivli and Mira Bhayandar, the author demonstrates that the key processes that determine urbanization in cities are not homogeneous blocks of one type which can be handled by one mode of operation, but which are involved in different, and at times contradictory, approaches to urbanization. Tara van Dijk indicates that the instruments of service provision from state to citizens in cities differ in means and modes across different socio-economic collectivities and differently urbanized spaces, a characteristic which is often overlooked in discussions on making the city inclusive where a city is taken as a homogeneous entity. Giving examples from these two cities, Tara demonstrates that the levels of access to services and levels of deprivation differ according to various collectivities, which refer to groups with common vested interests. She indicates that different collectivities also demonstrate heterogeneous clientelism characteristics. She concludes by stating that while some stakeholders are common to different collectivities, the nature of relationship differs across these groups. This has a bearing on how urbanisation should be viewed for future planning.

5 Editorial xi For some time, as the readers of this journal know, we have been aiming at bringing out thematic issues of Environment and Urbanization ASIA; this issue signals that we are beginning to reach that aim. I would urge the readers to suggest themes that interest them so that efforts to secure articles on those themes can be directed. I would especially urge the readers to begin a debate on issues and themes that they consider important to the overall aims of the journal. Success of the journal is very much in your hands. Distinguished Professor of Urban Economics National Institute of Urban Affairs Acknowledgements In the preparation of this issue of Environment and Urbanization ASIA, I have received editorial assistance from Satmohini Ray and administrative assistance from Usha Mathur. I would like to thank both of them. Note 1. The partners in this project are the University of Amsterdam; Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; and Institute of Geo-information service and Earth Observation, the Netherlands.