City gears up for ‘smart growth’

City gears up for ‘smart growth’
The Times of INdia


Bangalore: Stop the slumber, let’s get smart. That seems to be the dictum guiding urban planners and bureaucrats vested with preparing Bangalore’s Vision Document.
Commissioned by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, it envisions the growth of Bangalore for the next 20 years. The document, being prepared by the urban development department in tandem with civic agencies, will be unveiled in a month. The document promotes ‘Smart Growth’ in a bid to reverse urban sprawl, which critics say is a result of haphazard growth.
The blueprint will identify a Central Business District to maximise smart growth. “There is no democratic set-up in Bangalore replete with an art and entertainment centre. Over the years, Delhi has established its Connaught Place, Mumbai a Nariman Point and Queen’s Necklace. There has been so much infrastructure growth in Bangalore but infrastructure investment over the years has become negative by 2% every year. Where is Bangalore’s CBD?’’ asked a government source.
The document declares that Bangalore would see an investment of Rs 30,000 crore until 2012 taking into account the mass rapid transport systems operational by then. Officials said, “We have been studying the growth patterns of cities like London and New York. In developed countries, infrastructure-related development is centric. Our problem is that growth is going to the peripheries without the city being prepared for it, which means increased travel time and transport problems.’’
The previous CDP hadn’t taken into account transportation while framing land-use regulations. To correct it, the document integrates Metro routes alongside planned layouts and townships. Its routes have been extended from the existing 33 km to 40 km in the first phase alone.
The document devotes a chapter to Bangalore’s Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP). “We were busy planning for 225 sqkm, at most 300. But the challenge of 741 sqkm for a city is huge; we rewrite everything to include all this,’’ officials said.
BANGALORE FORWARD
Bangalore Vision Document, commissioned by the CM, draws up city’s growth for the next 2 decades The city is pockmarked by urban sprawl; the document seeks to correct this by focusing on ‘smart growth’ Unlike developed countries where infrastructure development is “centric”, cities like Bangalore witness growth only in the peripheries