RUrbanism - transformation in India

There are a number of plans, in various states of preparation and implementation, for new cities to be developed on principles that establish new levels of sustainability performance. Just as important is how to improve the performance of existing cities.

This is not new, but new to me: an archived post on WorldChanging brought to my attention by a colleague, about RUrbanism. This essay about the Goa 2100 Project suggests a way for existing cities - particularly, but not exclusively in developing countries - to transform themselves to perform more sustainably. This planning project for the capital city of Panjim, in the Indian state of Goa, addresses the relationship between growing urban centres and their rural hinterland.

RUrbanism is a design framework that offers a new way to look at "everything from urban form, to resource flows, to the mix of paid work and unpaid community engagement that comprise a vital community. It also offers powerful, quantitative methods for planning that transition, from finding the optimal size and shape of built infrastructure to financing the process of rebuilding over several decades."

The project looked at things like optimum densities, principles for infrastructure design, use of local materials, and design that is adaptable (and ultimately recyclable). After extensive modelling, the project concluded that the city of Panjim could be sustainably transitioned - affordably - within a period of 30 years. No mean feat, considering the lifecycle of urban infrastructure.

But perhaps the most important challenge that Goa 2100 identified was the transformation of current institutions and systems of governance. The sustainability transition clearly new values and ethics: sufficiency, equity, and the ethic of using a minimal throughput of matter, energy and information with the least impact on nature society and future generations. These were identified as key goals for the project, and they require changes in how a society like Goa governs itself.