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The Institute for Social &
Economic Change established the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs in
March 2014, keeping in view the growing challenges with more than half of
the world’s population starting to live in urban areas in 2007; this is a
unique part of the social and economic change taking place globally. CRUA
has been created at ISEC, recognizing the need for research on urban policy
so that they translate into tangible urban reform outcomes and for
integrated and interdisciplinary research to be conducted in the urban
context with the forthcoming challenges. The Centre focuses on understanding
the science of managing cities in the context of emerging challenges and
competition in new research to maintain innovativeness.
The Centre has expertise in the
field of urban development, regional policy and growth, urban environment,
urban finances, urban governance, with the faculty in the Centre having
extensively worked and published several books and papers on urban issues
and are internationally renowned.
Goal And Mission
The goal is to make CRUA a
centre of excellence in Urban Studies with the aim to develop sustainable
solutions to urban concerns and policy frameworks at various levels of urban
governance.
Research Perspectives
Keeping in view the overall
focus on Urban Studies, CRUA’s themes of focus are as follows:
Themes
We focus on certain themes
which are of policy relevance for urban and regional
development--urbanization and economic growth, regional and gender
disparities, urban poverty, evaluation of basic urban services such as
sanitation, urban governance, and urban environmental sustainability.
Cutting edge research has been published by faculty of the Centre as it
relates to land use regulations which has been extensively discussed and
debated in academic and policy circles in the country. Some proposed themes
to be focused by the Centre’s research are elaborated below.
Pioneering
work has been done by faculty of the Centre with internationally
well-renowned economists regarding the effects of urban planning in Indian
cities. Urban planning has impacts on urban form, as well as impacts the
city’s spatial size, both of which have been the focus of the faculty’s
research thus far. This has drawn the attention of policy makers
nationally and multilateral funding agencies such as the ADB and the World
Bank. Current work of the faculty focuses on understanding the urban form
of Indian cities and urban primacy.
Urban
environment aims to understand how human beings and environment can
coexist in human-dominated systems and help societies with their efforts
to become more sustainable. As studies in the Indian urban context are
limited, CRUA will focus on this theme with specific reference to water
and sanitation, waste management, climate change in cities with a view to
making them sustainable.
Extensive
research has been done by faculty of the Centre with respect to urban
finances, given the poor condition of city finances in India’s cities.
Research of the Centre on the role of land as a financing tool in India’s
cities, has been acknowledged in important policy documents of the
Government of India. Research of the Centre will continue to focus on this
important area, in view of the huge investment requirements of financing
cities in India and globally.
Under the
theme of urban governance we will focus on aspects related to urban
institutions, structures, programs, policies and related challenges such
as how policy applies differentially to gender in urban areas. We will
also address the issues concerning data availability and access, quality
of data to enable and identify the lacunas. This would aid in establishing
specific requirements in this arena and need for establishing databases
for better decision making. We will explore the role of technology in
improving governance with GIS, big data in the fore. We intend to work
closely with the government to understand their requirements so as to
influence policy decisions.
Contact:
Centre for
Research in Urban Affairs
Institute for
Social and Economic Change
Nagarabhavi, Bangalore - 560
072, India.
Tel. : 080- 23215468, 23215519
Fax : 080-23217008
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