PLANNING FOR OPTIMUM HOUSING WITH INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISIONS: BHOPAL CITY

Abstract

A house is essential to realize the diverse interlocking human needs. Unplanned and inadequate housing in the urban system, leads to urban crisis. Cities of developing countries are witnessing housing shortage as the most pressing problem. More than one billion of the world's city residents live in inadequate housing, mostly in the sprawling slums and squatter settlements, especially in the developing countries, and India is no exception to it. A good number of studies observed that population explosion, improper planning and implementation, and inefficient socio-economic policies of the government, etc., play a major role for creating this ugly situation in the developing and the underdeveloped countries. An integrated approach in planning is very much essential for the proper fimctioning of the urban system considering all the sub-systems, which include physical, social, economic, ecology, environment, infrastructure and institutional aspects. All the sub-systems of the urban system are not only interconnected, but also interdependent on each other. Having the aforesaid knowledge, Bhopal city, which is the capital of Madhya Pradesh State, India, has been considered in this present Investigation. Housing developments along the major transportation routes in the fringe areas of Bhopal city have been focused in the study. An attempt has been made to analyze the present scenario of housing sector along with infrastructure provisions, and to undertake an in-depth study of all the sub-systems of the urban system, to evolve an integrated development plan for the housing sector. Survey research methods have been employed to carry out the present Investigation. Primary survey of households was conducted at the grassroots level to collect relevant data and suitable statistical and forecasting techniques are employed for identification of the control parameters, and for estimating the demand and supply of housing with infrastructure for the year 2031 A.D. The study concludes with a set of policy guidelines and plausible recommendations for minimizing the housing problems and to achieve integrated development of the housing sector with infrastructure provisions in the study area.