Page 6

# **Ahmedabad**

# **More but Different Government for “Slum**<sup>**2**</sup> **Free” and Livable Cities**

# **I. Methodology and Context**

The purpose of this work is (i) to gather basic information necessary to prepare a broad assessment of feasibility for immediate actions to improve key public services and environmental conditions for all households in low-cost informal housing; and (ii) to prepare an assessment of impediments to supply of housing across the income spectrum and recommendations for actions that will make that supply more responsive to increased demands as population and incomes grow. Such measures would reduce pressure on prices and make decent and dignified housing more widely affordable.

The objective is to mobilize support at the city, state and federal levels of government and within the local community for a program of short and medium term actions and investments based on a commonly shared and credible set of data. As such, the study focuses on working with reliable, available data to the extent possible rather than seeking to prepare a definitive research analysis that would take years to develop. .The focus of the study is its city-wide perspective—taking a comprehensive look at the entire market and infrastructure network and examining what it would take to provide minimum shelter standards for all. It does not pretend at this stage to present the most precise and detailed information on each topic—which must be left to the responsible agencies. We sought a level of accuracy that permits us to make a quick assessment of what a comprehensive program would entail. Should there be agreement on moving forward with the approach, full feasibility and design studies would be required.

We have chosen to illustrate the city level approach in Ahmedabad, because many parts of the envisaged program of investment and reform have already been successfully piloted here. For the purpose of data gathering and analysis, we have taken the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) as extended in 2006 to represent the city of Ahmedabad. This area captures virtually all of the built up area in the agglomeration.

Consultations as the work progresses have been an integral part of the study. Likewise, the study includes documentation of the methodology used in preparing the assessment to illustrate how other cities wishing to take a similar approach might proceed.(Annex 5).

# **II. Introduction and Background on Factors Driving Demand for Housing in Ahmedabad**

Ahmedabad is a fast growing city in one of India’s most dynamic and rapidly urbanizing states. Table II.1 shows that Gujarat, at 42.6 percent is well over the all-India urbanization average of 31.2 percent as measured in the 2011 Census. Likewise the speed at which urbanization in Gujarat is taking place is considerably more rapid than in all of India, which changed less than 2 percentage points over ten years. The average annual growth rate of urban population in Gujarat

> 2 Throughout this study, when we refer to slums, we are referring to any underserviced substandard informal housing area. This may include chawls/challis that have conditions similar to slums, even through ownership arrangements and administrative treatment of slums and challis may differ. Our emphasis is on providing basic neighborhood improvements to areas that do not have them. As such, an underserviced chawl is not that different from a slum. There is of course considerably variability among different slums and challi areas, which must be taken into account when detailed investment plans are drawn up.