A brief overview of the negative outcomes and environmental challenges of rapid urban growth using the example of Bengaluru, India. Also looks at means to solve these problems and secure a sustainable future.

1. THE GROWING PAINS OF
BENGALURU
The challenges of dramatic growth and the ways to address them

2. WHERE DID ALLTHESE PEOPLE COME
FROM? A BRIEF HISTORY
Urban expansion during British rule
(19th century)
City limits in the 16th century
Present day limits (2012)
Population growth 1881 to 2011Area growth 16th century to 2012
• Origins as fledgling settlement in 16th century during rule of Kempe
Gowda I.
• Population remained stable from the first all-India census of 1871
through the first half of the 20th century
• City’s rapid growth post independence (1947) as it became the
capital of Mysore State (later Karnataka State) and in the 2000s as
hub of IT and BPO industry in India.

3. BENGALURUTODAY - PROPHETS OF
DOOM
 Ranks poorly on Mercer’s Quality of
Living Index in 2017, at 146 out of 177
surveyed cities.
 Is at the bottom of Mercer’s Quality of
Infrastructure.
 Uninhabitable by 2025, according to
study by Indian Institute of Science.
 Rapid population growth is the root of
the problem.
Population
More waste
generated
Greater water
demand
Loss of
vegetation
Increase in
number of
automobiles

4. POPULATION ISTHE MAJOR UNDERLYING
PROBLEM
 Exponential population growth has made
it difficult for urban planning to keep
pace.
 Expanding built-up area at the expense of
green spaces and water sources.
 Vegetation accounted for 68% of land use
in 1973 and reduced to 16% in 2009.
Vegetation is an important carbon sink
and regulates temperature.
 Concrete and buildings in natural
drainage basins has destroyed catchment
areas.

5. PLANNING FOR PROGRESS – SOLVINGTHE
PROBLEM OF URBANISATION
 Cannot fight the tide of urbanisation. 60% of India is expected to live in cities by
2050.
 Therefore, it is important to plan ahead, specifically with respect to land use.
 Zoning and regulations must establish and preserve areas of vegetation and
protect water resources in the wake of increasing construction.
 There are three key areas of focus:
 Water
 Traffic
 Waste management

6. WATER - PRECIOUS AND POLLUTED
 Bangalore has no perennial water
source. Historically dependent on
reservoirs (known as tanks).
 Most tanks have been lost to
urbanisation. 262 lakes in 1961 down
to 18 in 2003.
 Lakes are polluted. Recent cases of
‘snow-fall’ of ‘toxic foam’ from
Varthur lake, and Bellandur lake
catching fire.
Not your usual bubble bath – foam fromVarthur
lake, May 2017.

7. WATER - A PIPE DREAM FOR MANY
• Piped water supply is brought from
Cauvery river, around 98Km away
from the city and at a lower elevation.
• Not sufficient to meet present
demand. 1300 million litres supplied
daily as of 2014 against a demand of
1400 million litres daily
• Many residents turn to purchasing
tanker water supply, tapping into
groundwater for supply.
• Has quickly become a lucrative
business leading to unregulated use
of groundwater for profit.
• Groundwater levels are depleting.

8. MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT – SOLVINGTHE
WATER PROBLEM
Total water supply is
limited and polluted
Water conservation
Large scale private and
public rainwater harvesting
Rejuvenation of historical
lakes- natural drainage
basins to encourage
groundwater
replenishment
Close illegal borewells
Water treatment
Invest in water treatment
plants to enable greater re-
use of water
Using treated sewage
water for non-essential
uses – ex. Gardens

9. TRAFFIC –WE’VE GOT JAMS AND WE’RE IN
A PICKLE
0.3 0.71 1.52 3.18
6.34 7.1 8 8.94
0
20
40
60
0
10
20
30
40
1980 1990 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013
NumberinLakhs
30k cars in 1980 to 8.9 lakhs in
2013.
2 wheeler Cars Autos Others Total
 A large increase in the number of cars
and vehicles of all types.
 City ranks among the worst in IBM’s
commuter pain and parking indices.
 One contributing factor to traffic
woes is citizen behaviour. Poor lane
discipline and disregard for traffic and
parking regulations in rampant.
 Public transport is inadequate
 Less than 50km of metro rail in
operation
 Bus network is aging and operating at
capacity.

10. Deepening and
expansion of
reliable public
transport and
pedestrian
infrastructure
Enforcement of
traffic
regulations
Integrated
multi-use real
estate projects
Reduced traffic
congestion
and associated
pollution
IT’S NOT ABOUT DRIVINGTESLAS –
SOLVINGTHETRAFFIC PROBLEM
 Metro to be expanded and cover over
300km of track by 2031.
 New urban renewal project is sequentially
modernizing pavements and ease of
pedestrian access across the city. More
citizens should walk and cycle.
 Newer private real estate developments
are fixing the problems of poor urban
planning.
 Multi-use developments are integrating
residential, office and lifestyle facilities
within the same area.
 Facilitating the growth of self-contained
satellite areas within the city. Reducing
the need for long distance commuting.

11. WASTE MANAGEMENT – IT’S ALL GARBAGE
 The amount of solid waste generated
is in excess of 5000 tons daily (c. 0.5kg
per capita)
 The city has struggled to keep up with
waste management:
 Limited segregation at source. Only
10% of waste is recycled.
 Illiterate workforce and the increasing
complexity of waste makes segregation
at collection sites inefficient and
unreliable.
 Around 60 illegal open dumping sites
which pose a health hazard.

12. MAKING A CASE FOR SEGREGATION –
SOLUTIONS FORWASTE MANAGEMENT
 State laws now mandate that waste be segregated at source into organic wet
waste, recyclable dry waste, inerts.
 Larger waste generators, which generate 40% of city’s waste now mandated to
manage their own waste.
 Approach has been to centralize waste disposal through large units of waste to
energy. Instead, decentralise and empower local communities to deal with their
own waste.
 All of the above to divert waste from landfills and increase the amount of waste
that is recycled.

13. NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM - SETTINGTHE
COURSE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
 Long term sustainable growth will be achieved through multiple, inter-connected
ways
 Immediate behaviour change can be propagated by reducing the costs associated
with adopting new behaviour, i.e make the alternative enticing or rewarding or by
introducing negative externalities to maintaining status quo.
 Behaviour can be modulated with citizen education and participation through
schools, media campaigns, forums.
 Public sector will need to invest in scientific and modern methods of waste
management, water treatment, urban planning.
 The need to engage citizens and empower local communities in sustainable
initiatives. Small changes by individuals can have a tangible impact.