Plotting, squatting, public purpose and politics - Robert-Jan Baken

Since independence in 1947, India has undergone a phase of rapid urbanization. New planning laws have been passed, new organisations established, public policy documents and discussion papers prepared and a host of land and housing schemes have been implemented. Still, however, the vast majority of urban expansion is an unplanned process that takes the form of squatting and illegal or semi-legal land subdivision. - - By looking in detail at two rapidly growing cities in Andhra Pradesh (Vijayawada and Viaskhapatnam) this book explores cultural, physical-spatial, political and economic determinants of the allocation of urban land and of urban growth in India in historical context. It focuses on the interplay between the government, i.e. the law, programmes, policies and the organisations in charge of their implementation, on the one hand, and the private sector on the other. Special attention is given to the housing and living conditions of the urban poor, with the changes in their socio-economic conditions, as well as those affecting the quantity and quality of land and housing options available to them. In doing so, the book describes and analyzes basic issues and problems of governance in relation to urban land delivery. It traces these back to their historical origins and subsequent articulation.