Infrastructure Growth & Real Estate: How to prevent clusterization?
India’s real estate sector is expected to touch a US$ 1 trillion market size by 2030, accounting for 18–20% of India’s GDP. This boost in real estate development, confluent with infrastructure growth, has brought forth exponential opportunities for progress and economic simulation. In this realm of urban development, the interplay between infrastructure growth and real estate should be a critical concern for city planners and policymakers, as it brings forth the potential for clusterization.
Urban cities like Mumbai and Delhi are witnessing a paramount increase in the construction of commercial complexes, residential towers, and transportation networks. While all of this promises to improve living standards and boost economic growth, clusterization can stifle balanced urban development. And Government of various states including Maharashtra are infact incentivising and promoting clusterization .
The famous American urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs challenged prevailing theories of urban planning and emphasised the importance of a diverse neighbourhood in her book ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities.’ Her ideas in the book claim that for a healthy urban environment, one should discourage clusterization by fostering social connections, vibrant street life, and inclusive public spaces.
But what is clusterization, and why is it looked down upon by some experts?
Clusterization is the process by which similar sectors concentrate within a limited geographic area. Establishing specific industry clusters, commercial hubs, and exclusive residential places surely seems appealing from an economic standpoint. They’re definitely more efficient and convenient for establishing a dynamic market. However, this can undermine the social and secular fabric of the nation, increase disparities, and compromise social cohesion. To prevent this from happening, we must approach city planning in a multidimensional manner that encompasses spatial distribution, inclusive communities, and sustainable development.
Here’s how we can prevent clusterization:
Planned Urban Development:
By harmonising the residential, commercial, and recreational spaces with planned infrastructure development and an extensive transportation network, we can mitigate the risk of clusterization and foster a sense of community in the city. Through integrating the three sectors, we also facilitate equal access to various amenities. This holistic development requires investments in what I call the three P’s to prevent clusterization. However challenges of available land for successful implementation of this will always remain in cities such as Mumbai and Hong Kong.
The 3 P’s are:
- Public transportation systems.
- Pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.
- Preservation of parks and open spaces.
Common Economic Vision:
As urban economies move to a higher stage of advancement with regard to overall social and political economy, each city pursues specialised development by relying on its own specialised resources. This can cause different cities to develop differently from each other. However, with a common economic vision, they can effectively complement each other. This, in tandem with technological evolution, can combat clusterization through data-driven insights and planning that is adaptive to generic behavioral tendencies. The planners will have to marry this dream with practical ground situations.
Public-private partnerships:
A convergence of capabilities and consensuses between government entities and private players for more organic growth in social infrastructure, affordable housing, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions would pave the way towards a more integrated and interconnected urbanisation narrative. This approach works because it engages potential residents in community organisations, fostering a sense of responsibility in both individuals and governmental organisations, so that they can act in concert to reduce clusterisation of both resources and opportunities.
In conclusion, while navigating through quick infrastructure growth and real estate development, one must embrace a strategy that embodies a more holistic and inclusive mindset for a more broad-based trajectory of growth with regard to urbanisation. Cities are our present and future, and it is entirely up to us, on how we manage, preserve, nurture and enjoy them.
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