Partnership schemes: Hulme City Challenge

What are partnership schemes?
These are funding mechanisms in which partnerships between inner city areas and the private sectors are formed to regenerate an area.
-It is competitive in nature as areas bid against each other by presenting 5 year plans to central government

Note: should funding be allocated according to competitive advantage or according to need?

E.g. City Challenge 1990s

Hulme City Challenge
Hulme, an inner city of Manchester faced many characteristic problems associated with urban decline.

The background to the decline:
-In the mid 19th century Hulme was one of the most deprived slums in UK with its population density being about four times that of the rest of the city
-The terrace housing was unfit for human inhabitation and was designated a clearance area
-Many communities were moved to periphery estates- 'overspill estates'

In the 1960s plans were put forth to regenerate the area (part of the 1960s slum clearance programme)
-The flagship part of the plans were 4 crescent shaped apartments as modelled on the terraces of Bath
-They wished to develop more open spaces and pedestrianize large areas
-The population was reduced from 130,000 to 12,000

These plans proved disastrous
-The crescents were poorly constructed and residents faced problems like pest infestation and damp
-The deck access flats were hard to police and crime rates were high
-By the 1980s the area had degenerated and the flats were largely home to single people or couples, it deemed unfit for children
The 80s also saw the development of a bohemian counter culture which sought to make Hulme 'acceptable'

Thus the plans which were proposed in the 90s to again regenerate the area had to be sensitive to the existing population
-The Hulme area was provided with £37 million worth of funding
-Partnerships were formed with the a local civil engineering company, the City Council and Bellway homes
-It was vital that the residents felt consulted

The redevelopment plans saw the building of new homes (3000)
-These were more traditional in style with balconies and courtyards
-They were designed to be more energy efficient
-Open spaces were maintained but were better landscaped and provided with new pitches and play areas
-A new community centre was established
-The new developments encouraged investment, e.g. a new Asda, providing 350 new jobs
-There were new office developments in partnership with Manchester University
 -The Hulme Arch is a landmark of the areas development
-The areas reputation has greatly improved and is now an attractive settlement for students, being only 10 mins from the city centre

Have there been failures?
-Students have moved into the area but are seen as not contributing to the community
-There is still a level of crime and gang networks
-House prices have risen
-The area now requires a more complex management system

Suburbanisation MEDCs

Suburbanisation in MEDCs has been a historical process

Suburbanisation - Mumbai

The population of Mumbai has recently reached 23 million.

Mumbai has been effected by the process of suburbanisation to large degree.

What is suburbanisation?
The outward movement of a city. The periphery extending, increasing the size of the urban sprawl

In LEDCS like India the urban sprawl is not kept in check by policies such as 'green belts', the process is more unplanned/out of control.

-The first movement of suburbanisation was Northwards along traffic corridors
-Now it is spreading eastward in direction with the building of the Vashi bridge across Thane Creek - the number of lanes the bridge has is set to double to 12 lanes of traffic

Now less than a third of the population lives in the 'island' city.
The centre of population has now shifted to suburban area of Salsette
-Commuter traffic is now less 'one directional', it not only flows into the CBD, movement in the opposite direction is substantial
-Few suburban residents seek the markets at the South of the city and Southern universities and schools are facing dropping numbers of students
-The suburbs are becoming 'edge cities', increasingly self supporting

 

Management strategies: How can we reverse the detrimental effects of 'hyperurbanisation'?

In Mumbai, a US trained architect Mukesh Mehta has proposed a £2 billion redevelopment programme for Dharavi slum which would entail the building of parks, gardens and new apartment blocks.

This rehousing project has faced major criticism.
-The envisioned apartments would be 14 storeys high and offer only 25m2 of space per family.
-There are concerns that the plans to only rehouse citizens who had settled pre-2000 will displace many families.
-The community spirit and informal sector would be threatened. There is little hope that the small pottery and textile workshops would be catered for.

Surely there are alternatives?
-There are proposals for local scale development
-For example the extension of existing buildings is a possibility: an extra floor with a 14ft window would ease overcrowding in households and reduces dependency on ventilation (reducing electricity needs)
-Surveys have suggested that small scale developments like improvements to drainage would be favoured
-Young Architects have proposed the idea of having 'spaceways in the sky' these are wide corridors connecting homes, replicating the streets. These would provide space for traditional crafts and maintain community spirit

-Many say the approach in Brazil is far more sustainable, with their site and service schemes provided in the favelas - there is provision of breeze blocks and materials for plumbing

Effects of 'hyper' urbanisation: Mumbai

Exponential rates of urbanisation in LEDCs have led to the development of illegal squatter settlements around urban agglomerations.

Dharavi slum in central Mumbai exhibits the symptoms of the gross rate of urbanisation that has been effecting LEDCs in the past century.

It is located near the central business district [only heightening the perception of social polarity]
Located the Mahim Creek system meaning its land is vulnerable to flooding - the extent of the urbanisation is such that people must resort to such low quality land.

The population estimates vary but it is widely believed that up to 1 million people live within 1 sq mile in Dharavi. There are no census records - the development of the settlement is unregulated.
-This also means that making ones way around the unplanned settlement is near impossible.
-There are 12 neighbours joined only by winding narrow passages. There no maps or roads.
-Thus we wonder, how can this settlement be developed with modern infrastructure like street lighting and waste collection?

The rate of urbanisation has been such that the formal economy cannot support the influx of migrants, thus a thriving informal economy has established
-150,000 single room factories
-There is a booming recycling industry [a sustainable future for Dharavi or a major risk to health as people sort waste by hand?]

The growing population size cannot be supported by the fragile infrastructure.
-Water must therefore be rationed, only being available for 2 hours a day
-500 people share one latrine
-Many people resort to using Mahim Creek as site for defecation but also use the river for washing purposes leading to the rapid spread of disease, for example typhoid. 4000 cases of the disease are reported daily.

Then again, the community spirit in Dharavi is second to none.  
-People graft together
-85% of the slum population are employed
-The crime rate is exceedingly low
-There is a high tolerance for religious diversity

Urbanisation in a LEDC City: Mumbai

A case study of HYPERURBANISATION
Where is Mumbai?: Western Coast of India, located on the coast of the Arabian Sea

Important Background information:
-Mumbai was previously known as Bombay
-It was colonised by the British in the 1600s
-Populations growth was half that of Europe in the 19th Century
-Could this have been due to the British rule... the import of grain from India to Europe?
-It led to scarcities and famines... restricting the development of the country
[Another example of the link of economic development and urbanisation]
-The climate is tropical exacerbating the problems within the slum areas
-It gained independence in 1947 [the rate of urbanisation increased to 5%]
-The Suez Canal encouraged the growth of the booming cotton trade
-It was known as the 'Manchester of the East'... *N.B. the city is now diversifying into IT services

Mumbai should be known as 'a city of contrasts'- that is, it is highly polarised.
-Its successes economically are paralleled by the growth of slums around its periphery

It has developed economically and yields politically/cultural influence:
-Bollywood - Hindi language film industry
-Rents are higher than in New York and London!
-40% of India's foreign trade is channelled through Mumbai
-Growing middle class: 3 million

This is contrasted by the dire poverty:
-60% of Mumbai's population lives in slum conditions
-The slum provide little taxes as the informal sector dominates
-150,000 single room factories or 'cottage industries'- wages can be $40 a month or lower

Wikipedia: Sourcing information on Causes of Urbanisation

Urbanization occurs as individual, commercial flight, social and governmental efforts reduce time and expense in commuting and transportation and improve opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and transportation. Living in cities permits the advantages of the opportunities of proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition. However, the advantages of urbanization are weighed against alienation issues, stress, increased daily life costs, and negative social aspects that result from mass marginalization. Suburbanization, which is happening in the cities of the largest developing countries, was sold and seen as an attempt to balance these negative aspects of urban life while still allowing access to the large extent of shared resources.
Cities are known to be places where money, services, wealth and opportunities are centralized. Many rural inhabitants come to the city for reasons of seeking fortunes and social mobility. Businesses, which provide jobs and exchange capital are more concentrated in urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the ports or banking systems that foreign money flows into a country, commonly located in cities.
Economic opportunities are just one reason people move into cities, though they do not go to fully explain why urbanization rates have exploded only recently in places like China and India. Rural flight is a contributing factor to urbanization. In rural areas, often on small family farms or collective farms in villages, it has traditionally been difficult to access manufactured goods, though overall quality of life is very subjective, and may certainly surpass that of the city. Farm living has always been susceptible to unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or pestilence, survival may become extremely problematic.

In a New York Times article concerning the acute migration away from farming in Thailand, life as a farmer was described as "hot and exhausting." "Everyone says the farmer works the hardest but gets the least amount of money". In an effort to counter this impression, the Agriculture Department of Thailand is seeking to promote the impression that farming is "honorable and secure".^[16]
However, in Thailand, urbanization has also resulted in massive increases in problems such as obesity. City life, especially in modern urban slums of the developing world, is certainly hardly immune to pestilence or climatic disturbances such as floods, yet continues to strongly attract migrants. Examples of this were the 2011 Thailand floods and 2007 Jakarta flood. Urban areas are also far more prone to violence, drugs, and other urban social problems. In the case of the United States, industrialization of agriculture has negatively affected the economy of small and middle-sized farms and strongly reduced the size of the rural labour market.

Particularly in the developing world, conflict over land rights due to the effects of globalization has led to less politically powerful groups, such as farmers, losing or forfeiting their land, resulting in obligatory migration into cities. In China, where land acquisition measures are forceful, there has been far more extensive and rapid urbanization (54%) than in India (36%), where peasants form militant groups (e.g. Naxalites) to oppose such efforts. Obligatory and unplanned migration often results in rapid growth of slums. This is also similar to areas of violent conflict, where people are driven off their land due to violence. Bogota, Colombia is one example of this.
Cities offer a larger variety of services, such as specialist services that aren't found in rural areas. Supporting the provision of these services requires workers, resulting in more numerous and varied job opportunities. Elderly individuals may be forced to move to cities where there are doctors and hospitals that can cater for their health needs. Varied and high quality educational opportunities are another factor in urban migration, as well as the opportunity to join, develop, and seek out social communities.
Urbanization also creates greater opportunities for women that are otherwise denied to them living in rural areas. This creates a gender-related transformation where women are engaged in paid employment and have access to education resulting in demographic implications in which fertility levels decline. However, women are still at a disadvantage due to their unequal position in the labour market, their inability to secure assets independently from male relatives and exposure to violence.

People located in cities are more productive than those working outside dense agglomerations. An important question for the policy makers as well as for clustering people deals with the causality of this relationship, that is whether people become more productive in cities due to certain agglomeration effects or are cities simply attracting those who are more productive. Economists have recently shown that there exists indeed a large productivity gain due to locating in dense agglomerations. It is thus possible that agents locate in cities in order to benefit from these agglomeration effects