Our earlier article, “ In the Master Plan for Delhi 2041, a chronicle of chaos foretold ” has been kindly received. This encourages us to s...
Our earlier article, “In the Master Plan for Delhi 2041, a chronicle of chaos foretold” has been kindly received. This encourages us to set out our view of how the urban planning and implementation process should be conducted.
Values
First, we need a declaration of the values that underlie all further work on the Master Plan. This is a statement of intent in broad terms. But it is important to avoid value statements with which no one can disagree. These all point in one direction: skyward. They take us nowhere. We need more practical, horizontal signposts that point in this or that direction, to be preferred over all others. The first and most fundamental characteristic is that the values, and the subsequent goals derived from them can be disputed. There exist alternatives over which the declared values and goals have been preferred.
We might say for example that we want a more egalitarian society with equal access for all to housing. Sizes will vary of course but housing will be made available to all income groups in proportion to each income group’s share of the total population, with perhaps a larger share for the lower income groups to make up for deficiencies in the past. Similarly there will...