Doctoral Dissertation Research: Understanding Urban Policy Implementation

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1434019 Patrick Heller Jamie L. McPike India has recently entered a fundamentally new era of urban policymaking. For approximately 50 years the federal urban policy approach was largely hands-off until 2005 when the central government unveiled its most comprehensive urban policy to date, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM). Responding to pressures to address worsening urban problems while also promoting economic growth in cities, the central government designed NURM as a reform-based policy that proposes the restructuring of political and economic institutions at state and local levels. In exchange for funds from the federal government, states and cities must adopt a series of reforms for liberalizing urban economies, decentralizing authority to municipalities, and expanding services to the urban poor. For the first time in India's history, federal urban grants are tied to reforms, signaling that the central government is keen to transform historical forms of urban governance, which have been defined by the strong control of state governments over urban affairs. Through analysis of official documents, in-depth interviews with governmental and societal actors working on NURM, and observation of NURM project meetings in Bangalore and Chennai, this research will examine and seek to answer three main questions. First, how does the Indian government construct and attempt to implement its largest urban policy in history? Second, how do competing interests, jurisdictions, and political relations between governmental actors and agencies' at the local, state, and federal level?shape urban policy processes found both within and between Indian cities? Third, how do non-governmental actors work with governmental actors (at all levels of government) during policy development and implementation and how do these multi-level interactions structure urban policy processes found under NURM? The data collected from this dissertation research will contribute a number of empirical and practical insights to our understanding of urban governance in India and, more broadly, to our understanding of urban governance under contemporary globalization. First, this research will illuminate the processes behind federal policy implementation in Indian cities. Existing studies in India have examined policy processes and state capacity in sectors like education, health, and poverty reduction, but to date there has been no systematic analysis of federal urban policies and the complexities involved in their implementation. As cities become increasingly central to India?s economic growth and development, it is critical to understand the ways in which control of urban governance is structured and the opportunities for and limitations to change within Indian cities. Second, while control over urban affairs has traditionally been the responsibility of the state governments, NURM has created space for urban citizens and civil society groups to press for more locally accountable forms of governance. In this sense, India represents a fascinating case to explore how cities meet the diverse needs of their citizens while also attempting to build institutional capacity at the municipal level. Third, it is a common claim that urban governance becomes less accountable and democratic under contemporary globalization. A deeper understanding of the role of governmental and non-governmental actors in determining specific forms of urban policy outcomes is a critical step toward improving our understanding the local logics of urban governance under contemporary globalization and the ways in which cities can still be sites for inclusive politics.