A proposal for a vertical neighborhood in Delhi is long on height but short on insight, according to Greg Randolph of the American India Foundation. Is Delhi ‘poised to repeat the public housing mistakes of the West’?
“Like many neighborhoods in Delhi,” writes Randolph, Govindpuri “developed organically, outside the formal planning regime, and faces problems of infrastructure.” Poor sanitation, lack of access to potable water, and few standards for the structural safety of housing all suggest the need for redevelopment with community consultation, a standard adopted in 2009 by the national Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
A new proposal from the Delhi Development Authority, however, forgoes community consultation to envision a high-rise solution to slum redevelopment: 5,000 housing units ascending 17-stories, a vertical neighborhood disruptive of the long-established patterns of economic and social transaction occurring at the street-level in Govindpuri. Such a proposal, which Randolph cites as being environmentally and economically unsustainable to boot, is said to set a perilous precedent for slum redevelopment across India in ways that may sound similar to those familiar with the outdated urban renewal schemes undertaken in the West.
Rather than seek a comprehensive quick fix, Randolph urges Delhi and the DDA to become more immersed in solutions to slum redevelopment that “have evolved out of a decades-old dialectic between governments, communities, and designers,” and to let community consultation lead the way toward a “world-class” urban form.
FULL STORY: Delhi choosing high-rise over consultative planning despite national consensus on slums

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie