Open Access Research Article
URBAN RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE: A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CONSCIOUSNESS IN URBAN PLANNING STRATEGIES IN INDIA
Published Paper
Article Details
URBAN RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF
CLIMATE CHANGE: A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CONSCIOUSNESS IN URBAN
PLANNING STRATEGIES IN INDIA
AUTHORED BY - SINDHU S.S.K.[1]
5th year, B.COM.,
LL.B. (Hons.),
Saveetha School Of Law,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Chennai -77
CO-AUTHOR - ARUN
KARTHICK V.A.[2]
5th year, B.A., LL.B. (Hons.),
Saveetha School Of Law,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Chennai -77
ABSTRACT
India is one of the most
populated countries in the world with a rich history of having a structured
drainage system in the Indus Valley civilization and around 5000 years ago
India had a foremost town planning. environmental or natural aspects, economic
and people’s needs should be focused on while making urban planning as
urban planning plays a major role in urban development. But in recent times we
could see that due to poor urban planning without considering climate
resilience, we face serious problems due to
climate changes throughout the year. This research focuses on urban planning with climate change consciousness under India's
urban planning concept. This research paper seeks to
analyze existing urban planning strategies in the face of climate change
challenges in Indian cities. The objective of this research is to examine urban
planning assess the effectiveness of existing strategies and explore the
regulatory compliance with environment law in Indian cities. The research paper
aims to identify the mitigation and adaptation measures to be incorporated into urban planning strategies
in various Indian cities and evaluate their legal implications. The Doctrinal
Research method followed in this research paper. It deals with secondary
sources of data and various secondary sources are collected from books,
journals, articles and case studies relating to the research topic. This research contributes to the evolving
sustainable urban development by providing planning for climate
change-conscious urban planning strategies. The findings not only enhance our
understanding of the climate changes that
affect urban cities but also offer practical recommendations to bring urban
resilience and sustainability in the face of an ever-changing climate.
KEYWORD: Climate Change, Sustainability, Urban Planning, Urban
Resilience, Mitigation Measures.
INTRODUCTION
India is a vast country
with a unique and diverse landscape and climate which varies from region to
region. Recently India has seen a large number of urbanization due to its dense
population but most of the Cities that are
urbanized have not equipped with urban infrastructure which focuses on climate
change resilience. The concept of urban resilience to climate change is an
important topic to be considered for sustainable growth and development for
future urban planning. The urban places always require a high standard of
living compared to other places, so they put pressure on the environment and
society to meet their demands[3]. The
climate changes in urban areas affects many millions of people due to high
population in urban areas, densely built buildings and lack of green covers and
compromises on water bodies led to various extreme climate change and weather
events like intensive heat waves, cyclones, drought especially seen in recent
years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also made many
reports warning India to face climate change consequences in upcoming
years. Climate-resilient infrastructure
is designed to handle extreme weather conditions like floods, storms, and
heatwaves. For example, bridges and roads are built to withstand heavy rainfall
and prevent flooding. Every government should focus on this climate resilience
urban planning to handle extreme weather conditions like floods, cyclones, rise
in temperature, etcetera. So that they could bring an climate resilient city
across India.
OBJECTIVE
·
To know the problems faced by the cities with poor
urban planning with reference to several cities in India.
·
To Investigate the urban planning strategies adopted
by Indian cities, focusing on their integration of climate change consciousness
and resilience-building measures.
·
To compare International Best Practices that promote
urban resilience in the face of climate change, drawing lessons applicable to
the Indian context.
·
To suggest some idea to create/improve a climate
resilient urban city in India.
HISTORY
- ANCIENT INDIA:
Historically, India's
urban places have undergone dynamic transformations, responding to demographic
shifts, industrialization, and changing environmental conditions over years. In
ancient times we had a rich planning strategy to adopt all kinds of climatic
and geographic aspects. When we focus on ancient civilization in India, The
Indus valley Civilization gives us an understanding of the advanced urban
planning system and Cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa gave a well-planned
grid of streets, advanced drainage systems canals and carefully designed houses
which built on forecasting for all the climate conditions. This shows the
utilization of the natural resources with well-structured urban layout which
gave environmental sustainability which protected the urban development without
damage due to climate changes which would be a good example for climate
resilience infrastructure to urban planning.
The ancient Indian
architectural treatise like Vastu sastra gave some principles on how to make a
town planning through the harmonization with the nature like sun, wind, soil,
etc., and optimal utilization of land and the structure in the urban areas are
built on considerations with climate conditions. The best example we could
quote is the ancient city of Jaipur in India, designed according to Vastu
principles which reflects these ideals with its grid layout and meticulous
attention to spatial organization.
- COLONIAL ERA - BRITISH PERIOD
AND POST INDEPENDENCE:
After Britishers colonized India, the Britain style planning has been influenced in shaping
urban planning in India which mostly neglect the indigenous knowledge in
sustainable urban development. Cities like New Delhi were designed with the
British ideology and neglect the indigenous knowledge in sustainable urban
development. During the 1950's, India witnessed rapid industrialization which
increased the requirement for urbanization and led to unplanned urban planning.
This made people to follow western pattern planning where they started
forgetting the indigenous knowledge of urban planning
PROBLEMS WITH POOR URBAN PLANNING WITHOUT
THE CLIMATE CHANGES CAUTIOUSNESS: CASE-STUDY
As India is rapidly
urbanizing, it makes a lot of developmental threats like Lack of urban planning
with climate change resilience results in intense heat waves, drought in summer
season, floods during monsoon season and extreme coldness in winter season. The
residents of these urban communities suffer due to reduction of trees and water
bodies due to urbanization, poor drainage network and water storage
infrastructure and these are all due to poor urban planning without climate
resilience. When we see Chennai, the
climate is like 6 months of summer with high heat waves during March to June
each year and 6 months of rainy season with more rainfall happening around
October to December each year. Poor
sewage and water management making our natural lakes like Puzhal Lake, Korattur
Lake, Chembarambakkam Lake, etc. and rivers like Cooum River, Adyar River and
Kosasthalaiyar River which are natural flood buffers remain perennially full of
sewage and wastewater, wastewater disposal from industries also pollutes those
water bodies with chemical effluence causing the water bodies to froth. Also,
the poor solid waste which has been dumped in those water bodies and drainage
pipes causes clogging and this results in flooding each year. Also due to the unplanned urban planning
which encroached the water bodies in and around the city, there is no place in
water bodies to store the excess storm water from heavy rain so that goes back
to sea which makes harder to recharge the groundwater so during summer season
Chennai is facing huge challenges relating to water scarcity every year which
results in drought. As in case of Bangalore,
the city has high fresh water usage, they over rely on far away rainfall
sources of water resources as Bangalore draws most of the fresh water from Kaveri river which is located 100 km away and
water needs to be further pumped up for a height of 300 meters to supply water
to the city which requires a huge energy supply. Also, they take water from
groundwater but fail to recharge it as Bangalore receives less rainfall as
groundwater is limited resources and if not recharged then it will run out
which results in drought. Bhubaneshwar,
Indore and Jodhpur highly suffer from heatwaves and drought due to high levels
of concrete structures built which increases the heat level in the cities. In
many cities Poor building designs mainly through cutting trees for construction
additionally causes overheating due to lack of adequate ventilation. This
increases the needs for air conditioners and increases greenhouse gasses
emission. Some cities lack green cover
by urbanization planning. There is a high level of air pollution as there is nothing
to keep air pollution in balance and this leads to various problems.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR COMBATING
CLIMATE ISSUES IN URBAN PLACES:
Government policies and
schemes help to shape climate resilience in urban planning. These governments
develop a climate resilient urban city with help of strategic
planning and guidance from the global climate changes reports, creating legal
framework, allocating resources and funds and making community engagement and
awareness. They make plans by integrating with the global climate agenda.
Climate change became a
global issue and increased around the world, the government made the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) in 2005 aimed to renovates the urban infrastructure and
enhance resilience and to bring improvements in already existing services
through this initiative the cities already established are given opportunity to
improve their basic infrastructure to be climate resilience[4]. The National Action Plans on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlines 8 national
missions, one of the missions in that 8 mission is National Mission on
Sustainable Habitat which was approved by the Prime Minister’s Council for
Climate Change in June (2010) where the urban cities should formulate a
development plan which focuses on mitigation and adaptation strategies for
climate change[5].
Initiatives like the National Smart
Cities Mission (2015) aim to merge the technology and to provide a
sustainable climate resilient urban planning, reflecting a paradigm shift
toward climate resilience like environmentally friendly public[6]
transport as the smart city helps in waste management which helps to protect
the environment. The Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) Made a rule that each project proposed should have an
environmental impact assessment. The Disaster
Management Act, 2005 focuses on the mitigation and preparedness for urban
planning to make urban cities climate resilient.
CURRENT TRENDS ACROSS INDIAN CITIES:
The Global Climate Risk
Ranking Index of 2021 said that India is also one of the risk prone Country for
climate hazards in upcoming years due to extreme weather events[7]. So,
whether Indian cities have made any policies or steps towards climate
consciousness for urban planning and development? Currently, India is dealing with the impact
of climate changes in several cities all over the country and to reduce that,
various cities made some policies for urban development on consciousness of
climate change to overcome climate change impacts. Delhi electric vehicle policy reflects the major trends to reduce
carbon emission and air pollution as this policy as this government gives
?5,000 per kWh of battery capacity till 31st December 2023[8]. The Sabarmati Riverfront
Development Project in Ahmedabad
helps in the sustainable development by reducing the flood and erosion and
safeguard the city and also focuses on the sustainable development and also
acts as a sewage diversion system which carries untreated sewage to the sewage
treatment plant[9]. Mumbai’s Coastal Road Project helps the
city from erosion of coastal seawalls and also protects the city against the
floods and storms surges which signifies a holistic approach to urban
resilience[10]. Chennai grappling with water scarcity
and flooding, exemplifies a city incorporating climate-conscious planning, The
Chennai River Restoration Trust focuses on reclaiming water bodies and
improving water management[11] to
combat the northwest monsoon which happens around October to December each year
which brings cyclones to the city as the city is surrounded by lots of lakes
and rivers. Surat has highest sewage
water treatment facilities (100%) followed by Haridwar (79%) and Mumbai
(78%) in India[12]. These projects in Indian cities showcase the
integrated climate conscious solution in urban development and have embraced
climate-resilient strategies. Cities such as Pune are exploring innovative solutions like urban forests and
green belts to mitigate the urban heat island effect.
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER NATION:
Globally, cities account
for 70% of carbon emission as buildings and transportation are the 2 largest
contributors for Co2 emissions[13].
Cities around the world are adopting various methods in their urban planning
with climate resilience under different names
- Paris, France, Prof.Carlos Moreno, an urban planner and Professor at
Sorbonne University in Paris came up with the concept of the 15-minute
city in 2016. Global warming is the core problem for the emergence of this
concept. In this plan there is a
physical separation between motor vehicles and cycles by relocation of
road space to pedestrians and cyclists to encourage people to use cycles
and investing in nature-based solutions is a must.
- Green Roofs in Singapore focus on nature-based solutions
to provide heat resistance as this country is situated near the Equator
(as the climate will be hot). They have made many green spaces in walls,
roofs, roadside, etc.[14]
- Tokyo, Japan’s Flood Water System consists of massive tunnels where the
storm waters are stored and protects the city from flooding as the city is
flood prone. Similarly, Roskilde, Denmark also has made a stormwater storage
solution as these tanks serve as both storage purposes and later this
stored water is used for other usage.
From this we came to know
that investing in the
nature based
solution will help urban cities and future planning urban cities to come up. We
could also incorporate some of the best methods like Japan's Flood water storage tank system in India's flood prone area which later used for other needs like
gardening, cleaning,etc,.
METHODOLOGY
The research method
followed here is Doctrinal Research. It deals with secondary sources of data
and various secondary sources are collected from books, journals, articles and
case laws from Indian courts.
FINDINGS FROM THE CASE STUDIES
The Indian cities are
facing challenges like rising population and demand for infrastructure which
fails them to meet climate changes. The urban cities in coastal areas are
affected by extreme cyclonic winds causing several damages economically and
environmentally. Hilly Urban cities like Dehradun,
Srinagar etc. are exposed to
landslides the most. For the last 10 years unpredictable floods due to extreme
weather have happened in Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and other coastal regions. This also gives a clear view that
despite the government's efforts to make urban cities climate resilient, not
all cities have 100% coverage on the basic infrastructure like drainage system,
stormwater drainage and storage and solid waste management as we could clearly
see that they have floods during rainy seasons and water scarcity during summer
season.
Each Government should
give importance to the climate resilience agenda for urban development. Cities
need to study their geography and should identify the vulnerabilities and build
the cities climate resilience but mostly they fail to do so. The government
should bring policies to all the urban cities to regulate the energy
consumption, wastewater/stormwater management, and pollution control of the
cities. But from this research, it is found that the government, while planning an urban development, only focuses on the population
and industrialization in that place but completely or partially ignores the
concept of climate resilience which should be adopted in urban planning and
development. This could be clearly seen in the case of Chennai.
Urban planning without
climate change consciousness in many cities is leading to climate hazards in
urban cities like heat islands, reduction of green covers and forestation,
flash floods, depletion of groundwater, drought, landslides, etc. which is also
mentioned in the IPCC Report. Government mainly focuses on population and
industrialization where they mostly ignore building a climate resilient city.
Due to this, during any natural disaster (like flood, drought, heatwaves, heat
island, etc.) occurs and creates economic and
life loss which impacts the growth of the country.
From this research, it is
also found that the indigenous knowledge of the people who resides in that place
is mostly ignored in urban planning and development, this could be clearly seen
in the case of Himachal Pradesh where
they face flash floods and landslides in mountain ranges.
SUGGESTION
·
My suggestion is to have climate resilience
infrastructure like a Stormwater/ drainage system or green covers across cities
which could withstand the impact of changing climate in-build as the urban
planning for cities by the government could make policies to allow sustainable
development.
·
Most urban growth takes place in less developed
regions where urbanization is mostly unplanned and increases in poor informal
settlements. So before making an urbanization plan for an area we first must
focus on the climatic aspect and geological factors of that place for better
living of the people of that area.
·
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992 allows
governments at local level to perform town planning so they could also have the
local communities' ideas in planning to make the area climate resilient by
identifying the issues faced by the area. Localized climate actions by
government through the governments at the local level as the cities across
India should question themself that they are prepared for the climate issues
coming around the year.
·
The indigenous knowledge should be used in urban
planning and usage of local indigenous resources for building infrastructure
should be encouraged. For example, Traditional structures are super durable in
earthquake prone zones in Himalayan regions which are built by interlocking and
load bearing walls which use stone and wood (Kath-Khuni).
·
Increase the level of tree shade like including tree
canopy where urban areas heat related problems would reduce which would also
decrease greenhouse gas emission. Greenies also help in recharging groundwater
by providing permeable surface that allows rainwater to seep into the ground.
·
Rejuvenating the water bodies where surface water
bodies like rivers and lakes act as natural flood buffers and potential sources
of fresh water while water scarcity. This also helps to recharge the
groundwater and reduces the chance of flooding.
·
Improving solid waste management makes sure that the
water bodies are not clogged, which will go a long way in restoring our
waterway and ensures water doesn't sweep out.
·
The Stormwater can be stored with effective planning
and used for gardening or flushing toilets which could reduce the usage of
groundwater by doing this the less wastewater is directed to rivers or lakes
ensures minimal risk of floods and maximum usage of rainwater this can also be
used when the city faces water scarcity.
·
Increasing permeable roads and pavement can help in
increase in absorption in rainwater and recharge of ground water. Also need to
have better managed pipelines and storm water drains so that the city does not
floods every-time it rains
·
Exposure to vulnerable climate changes differs each
region as the geographic, demographic, environmental factors differ from each
region so the government should conduct examinations on that particular place
to make them climate resilient like in Chennai we need different drainage systems
for different places inside Chennai itself as some places will be lower
compared with nearby areas.
CONCLUSION
Urban planning with
Climate resilience will see less risk by climate changes like flooding during
heavy rains. Government Investing in properly designed urban planning with
climate resilience is the best way to adapt to climate change. It will reduce economic losses and enhance community safety. This
also creates long term sustainability and environmental conservation. If we
want to fight against climate change, we have to transform our cities
accordingly with urban planning which should be climate resistant in nature. As
urban planning and urban governance both plays a major role in urban
development, they also have to apply the indigenous knowledge in urban
planning.
This study concludes that
the Indian cities do not provide 100% of climate resilience and the expansion
of urban population and increase of industries in the geographical areas which
are often affected by the natural calamity and also increases the vulnerability
of populations and infrastructure in those areas. Besides, lack of climate
resilience infrastructure causes flash floods and water scarcity as rainwater
couldn’t enter the ground. So, by combination of policy makers, Urban planners
and the local community, we could achieve a climate resilient urban landscape.
So each developing/under-planning cities needed to be studied independently as India has
different types of land so that they could forecast the climate changes and safeguard
themselves.
[1] S.S.K.SINDHU, 5th
year, B.COM., LL.B (Hons.), Saveetha School Of Law,
Saveetha University (SIMATS), Chennai -77, Contact Number : +91 91760-10550,
Email ID : sindhussk.1924@gmail.com
[3] Nirupam Bajpai and John Biberman, CSD
Working Paper Series: Towards a New Indian Model of Information and
Communications Technology-Led Growth and Development, ICT India Working Paper
#62, (December 2021) <https://csd.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/docs/ICT%20India/Papers/ICT_India_Working_Paper_62.pdf> Accessed 02 December 2023
[4] Parikh J., Jindal P. and Sandal G.
Climate Resilient Urban Development: Vulnerability Profile of 20 Indian Cities
(IRADe, 2013)
[5] Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), (01 December
2012)<https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2021/dec/doc202112101.pdf> Accessed 03 December 2023
[6] Bajpai, Nirupam; Biberman,
John (2021) : India's Smart City Program: Challenges and Opportunities, ICT
India Working Paper, No. 62, Columbia University, Earth Institute, Center for
Sustainable Development (CSD), New York, NY
[7] International environmental think tank
‘Germanwatch, The global climate risk index 2021, <https://www.germanwatch.org/sites/default/files/Global%20Climate%20Risk%20Index%202021_2.pdf> accessed 05 december 2023
[8] Alok K N Mishra, Delhi govt
extends EV policy till December 31, <https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/delhi-govt-extends-ev-policy-till-december-31-101697910912316.html> accessed on 07 December 2023
[9] Sabarmati River Front
Development Corporation Limited, <https://sabarmatiriverfront.com/environmental-improvement/> accessed on 08 december 2023
[10] Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai,
Coastal Road Project, <https://www.mchi.net/pdf/MCGM-Presentation-21-July-2017.pdf> Accessed on 06 December 2023.
[11] Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust, Government of
Tamilnadu. <https://www.chennairivers.gov.in/> Accessed on 07 December 2023.
[12] Parikh J., Jindal P. and Sandal G.
Climate Resilient Urban Development: Vulnerability Profile of 20 Indian Cities
(IRADe, 2013)
[13] United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change <https://unfccc.int/news/urban-climate-action-is-crucial-to-bend-the-emissions-curve > accessed on 09 December 2023
[14] Discover how sweltering urban heat islands are being
cooled down (19
August 2022)<https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/ways-to-cool-cities-and-avoid-urban-heat-islands/>
Article Information
URBAN RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE: A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CONSCIOUSNESS IN URBAN PLANNING STRATEGIES IN INDIA
Authors: SINDHU S.S.K., ARUN KARTHICK V.A.
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/03/27
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
All research articles published in International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis are open access and available to read, download and share, subject to proper citation of the original work.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis.