Urbanisation is a natural consequence of economic changes that take place as a country develops. At the same time, urbanisation helps to contribute to the growth process at large. This is manifest in the increasing contribution of urban sector to national income. The positive role of urbanisation is often overshadowed by the evident deterioration in the physical environment and quality of life in the urban areas caused by widening gap between demand and supply of essential services and infrastructure. This results from increasing population, pressure on urban centres, most of which are financially and organizationally ill-equipped to respond to infrastructural needs. Public investment in urban infrastructure has also been less than adequate. The challenge of reorienting the urbanisation process, thus, lies in overcoming the infrastructural deficiencies and taking the best advantage of economic momentum inherent in urbanisation. The broad objective of urbanisation policy should be to secure balanced development between large medium-sized and small industries and between rural and urban areas. Housing is an activity that is typically labour intensive and, therefore, fits in well with the pattern of development envisaged for India. The provision of shelter is a basic need which must be met. Housing construction also creates much-needed employment for the unskilled and, therefore, income for the relatively poor. Urban and housing policies have bee witnessing a continuous change since the launching of the First Five Year Plan in 1951, and particularly so since 1991. Part I of this work provides a detailed introduction to urban development and housing policies in India. Part II of the book presents edited extracts on the subject from India’s Five Year Plans. Part III contains select schemes of urban development and housing which are presently in operation.
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