Urban Development and New Localism: Urban Politics in Mumbai

The concern of the present work is to examine urban development and new localism with special reference to Mumbai. It views urban development in the present context as development taking place in the urban realm, with special emphasis on people-centred development (PCD) in Mumbai. The study traces the evolution of the concept of development from its growth-oriented approach to the present approach of PCD. In fact, development in general and urban development in particular, with emphasis on PCD, received scant attention in both the policy pronouncements as well as the programmes and plans made after independence. An effort is made in this study to develop the argument that urban development, of the people-centred kind, lends itself to sustainable cities, where government collaborates with the people through their civil society organizations to bring about change that is not only positive but also sustainable. It reiterates the relevance of the PCD paradigm in Mumbai and emphasizes the inter-connectivity between civil society actors and government at all levels. The theoretical frame is reinstated in terms of salience of civil society, state-in-society perspective, social capital formation and viability of new localism. The conclusion drawn from the two Mumbai-based case studies constitutes the core of the empirical component based on qualitative research that is aimed at validating the theoretical formulations and features of PCD and new localism.