Midweek Musings 29, 24.06.26

 Designated areas for cultural centres, recreation areas, convention halls and mass gatherings should be planned, honey

Once infrastructure is planned, Human development falls in place.

By Malini Shankar

Digital Discourse Foundation

Land use planning is critical to Smart City Governance or for any civic administration. Land has to be used for living quarters, economic sustenance, transport infrastructure health services, agriculture, vet care, disaster preparedness, civic administration, green quotient, (parks, urban wildlife, lung spaces etc) scientific and research establishments, industrial estates, traffic corridors, highways, water supply infrastructure and so on.

These areas for primary usage cannot be mixed with bandstands, clubs, cultural centres, theatres, auditoriums, restaurants, indoor games stadia, entertainment of any sort etc. Areas for such human usage have to be earmarked under the recreation areas zonation. Such structures should under no circumstance be located in parks.

Parks are meant to be green lung spaces converting CO emissions into pure pristine oxygen. And these green spaces are also meant for other creatures great and small that inhabit the planet… birds, urban wildlife, water bodies, water birds, aquatic plants … imagine if their peaceful habitat is disturbed by urban lights, music scores, insensitive footfall, - it can lead to human wildlife conflict. Imagine if a human is attending a concert in a bandstand in a park and a snake has laid its eggs somewhere in the park. Disturbed by footfall if it bytes a passing human.

Or if the vibrations from multiple drums will unseat a bird nest full of eggs from a tree.

Well the park should not have a bandstand and no live orchestra or concert. If this cannot be helped then, lets plan and construct a Primary Health Care Centre that dispenses snake venom as first aid.

That is why it is essential to undertake fool-proof land use planning. A bird’s eye view of land use planning and management falls on the bureaucracy and legislators. Arterial roads and Central Business District (CBD) land use planning should be prioritised so that pro rata land allotment can be made for the population. The key is planning.

Similarly stadia or auditoria cannot be sited next to critical care hospital of say neuro sciences…

Planning for resource allocation, natural resource management, and 33% green cover are sustainability mandates. It most certainly affords planned economic activities including meeting the daily needs of the entire populace as Gandhiji said.

CBD planning has to necessarily plan for land use: political seat of power, Judiciary and Executive, High end medical care for human and animals / livestock, educational set up, roads and transport infrastructure,  supply chains, trade centres and commerce hubs, industrial corridors / estates, must all be located in different dedicated bands equidistant from ring roads and CBD.  

Arterial roads and feeder roads should be so planned that there should be dedicated lines for ambulance services, public road transport, multiple modes of public transport,  cabs and last mile connectivity especially to resident areas. Infrastructure planning must include accessibility to differently abled, frail and infirm.

Planning is critical in the day and age of sustainability. State of the art technology and AI should be deployed to curb corruption. Corruption should not be sustained, it is planning that sustains a stable society so corruption should be eliminated, not planning.