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Tales of many cities

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.

Name game Jeb prefers to call slums urban villages

Jeb Brugmann came with his family to Bangalore and stayed in Koramangala overlooking shacks the migrants stayed in. The Canadian author of “Welcome to the Urban Revolution — How Cities are Changing the World” (HarperCollins, Rs. 399), says “Bangalore has become a space for both affluent and poor. and the former has laid claims to the city.”

On the question of whether an urban revolution comes with both positive and negative connotations, Jeb says: “A revolution is a massive and chaotic transformation of society and economy. It is difficult to determine the strategic outcome. Migrants move with self interests.” He goes on to say that no one really wins in this situation. “But urban strategy is to align these self-interests for the common good, looking into poverty, equity and environmental sustainability.”

Having worked for 10 to 15 years in urban development in 49 cities in 21 countries, Jeb says that as a participant and stakeholder, he has been determining the outcome of urban strategy. So what happens when a Mumbai aspires to be Shanghai and a Bangalore, Singapore? “Mumbai has its own competition, but setting targets of so-called world-class cities like Shanghai is not a good idea. Large-scale building solutions denote capitalist and high-cost factors. Developers get a profit with massive subsidies, leaving a burden on the city.” He feels that the city loses its identity with high condominiums, sky-rise buildings, single-unit apartments and shopping malls. “It becomes a fast-food city that is commodified. With the economic crisis, it will eventually prove to be a burden on financial resources.”

Jeb points out that the informal city grows faster than the formal city. “They develop their own legal, criminal and government systems parallely.” He says that competing power groups have not understood this. Relocation to suburbs and low-quality housing would result in disease, public health care centres would be absent. Disease is more prevalent and centres of public health care, absent. “The economic viability of State-built districts and residential housing is crucial. One cannot miss one hour of work due to commuting as it equals one day’s income.”

Jeb acknowledges the similarities between the local migrant to a city from a rural area and the immigrant to another country.

“The difference is that they are different phases of migration. “The local migrant when he comes to an urban settlement imparts his traditional knowledge, and then builds a network of other urban centres.”

He feels that development projects ought to take into consideration all levels of income populations. “If it has a narrow vision, then it becomes a neo-colonial school.” So Europe becomes a model in that sense, embodying local forms of development, being efficient and green.

Claiming road spaces for different modes of transport, as in the West, Jeb says is democratic. “Here is when people from different economic strata are able to exercise their values and economic sense.”

Talking about how the film “Slumdog Millionaire” recreates how Mumbai and India is represented on the global map, Jeb says: “A significant population of Mumbai lives in urban villages (he prefers to call slums urban villages). If we are affronted, then we are rejecting our identity. The informal sector is large and features entrepreneurial innovation. Rather than give them eviction notices and go on demolition drives, we should empower slum dwellers with land titles.”

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