Urban Planning in Vernacular Governance
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The London School of Economics and Political Science Urban Planning in Vernacular Governance --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Land use planning and violations in Bangalore Jayaraj Sundaresan A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Environment of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, December 2013 1 of 3 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 102,973 words. I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Amit Desai and Dieter Kursietis at various stages. 2 of 3 Abstract Using a relational state-society framework, this research examines the relationship between land use violations and the urban planning process. This thesis seeks to answer how and why land use violations in the non-poor neighbourhoods of Bangalore are produced, sustained and contested in spite of the elaborate planning, implementation and enforcement mechanisms present in Bangalore. Land use violations are identified as a key geographic site to empirically examine power and politics in urban planning practice in Bangalore. Critiquing the simplified representations often used to explain informality and illegality in the cities of the developing south as deviation, implementation failure and corruption; I propose that violations in Bangalore are an outcome of the planning practice rather than a deviation. In the process, I highlight how particular planning institutional systems operate when located in specific socio-political and governance contexts where vernacular networks of association transform the ‘governmentalised’ state into one that is amenable to specific interests through forging various forms of alliances. Providing evidence from ethnography of planning and violation networks in operation, this thesis argues that planning practice in Bangalore is inhabited by a variety of public and private interest networks. These associational networks, I argue, capture planning power, and prevent the possibility of a planning authority. Various case studies of plan violation, planning for violation, neighbourhood activism along with planning practice narratives, documents, and court cases form the extensive data set analysed in this thesis. 3 of 3 Table of Contents List of Contents-----------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Acknowledgments-------------------------------------------------------------------------6 Glossary of Acronyms-------------------------------------------------------------------11 List of Tables and Maps-----------------------------------------------------------------13 Chapter 1: Introduction 1. Introduction : The site of planning violations in Bangalore-----------------14 1.1. From law enforcement to self-governance----------------------------------17 1.2 Research question---------------------------------------------------------------------18 1.3 Understanding planning violations : Violations and everyday life ---------22 1.3.1 Violations across history and geography----------------------------------24 1.3.2 Violations as a site of law making-------------------------------------------26 1.3.3 Violations and local contestation--------------------------------------------26 1.4 Planning and violations --------------------------------------------------------------27 1.5 Planning in Vernacular Governance –---------------------------------------------29 Main arguments and the dissertation outline. 1.6 Conclusion -----------------------------------------------------------------------------34 Chapter 2: Conceptual approach and theoretical framework 2.1 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------35 2.2 Violations as deviations: informality, implementation failure and corruption 2.2.1 Violation as informality, illegality, irregularity--------------------------37 2.2.1.1 Informal Sector--------------------------------------------------------38 2.2.1.2 Informality and the state of exception ---------------------------39 2.2.1.3 Informality as a practice---------------------------------------------40 2.2.2 Violation as implementation failure----------------------------------------42 2.2.3 Violation as corruption--------------------------------------------------------45 2.2.4 Interim conclusion-------------------------------------------------------------48 2.3 Re-conceptualizing violation-------------------------------------------------------49 2.3.1 From ‘the state’ to ‘governmentality’ to ‘culture of --------------------51 1 governance’ (State in practice) 2.3.1.1 The state-----------------------------------------------------------------51 2.3.1.2 Governmentality ------------------------------------------------------53 2.3.1.3 Cultures of governance-----------------------------------------------54 2.4 Governance networks: towards an understanding of Vernacular Governance--------------------------------------------------------------57 2.5 From planning as decision making to planning practice and outcomes ----------------------------------------------------------67 2.6 Re-conceptualizing planning and violations: from violations as plan deviations to violations as outcomes of planning practice-----------------------------------69 2.6.1Planning, public interest and private interest networks -----------70 2.6.2Planning power in governance networks--------------------------------74 2.7 Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------------------------79 Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------81 3.2 Research question and research process-----------------------------------------82 3.3 Motivations, situated-ness, reflexivity and insider-outsider status--------85 3.4 From problem-based ethnography to theory and cases 3.4.1 The problem ------------------------------------------------------------------90 3.4.2 Discovering culture of governance and emergence of conceptual directions-------------------------------------------------------92 3.4.3 Identification of specific cases for study--------------------------------98 3.5 Data identification, access, collection and analysis---------------------------100 3.6 Research ethics----------------------------------------------------------------------115 3.7 Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------------------------117 Chapter 4: The process architecture of land-use control in Bangalore 4.1 Introduction. The land-use planning system or the planning apparatus of command and control in Bangalore---------------120 2 4.2 Urban planning and the state in Karnataka: The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act 1961. --------------------123 4.3 Organizational structure and practitioners------------------------------------124 4.3.1 The Bangalore Development Authority: the Planning and Urban Development Authority----------------125 4.3.2 Local government: The BBMP---------------------------------------------130 4.3.3. Other para-statal organizations ------------------------------------------132 4.3.4. Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority -------134 4.3.5. Structure of administration and governance--------------------------136 4.4 The instrument: Comprehensive Master Plan---------------------------------139 4.4.1. BDA and Master planning--------------------------------------------------140 4.5. The process and procedures------------------------------------------------------150 4.5.1 Master Plan adoption--------------------------------------------------------150 4.5.2 Plan Implementation--------------------------------------------------------151 4.5.3 Flexibility in the implementation of land use regulations: change of land use and conversion of land use-------157 4.5.4 Plan enforcement-------------------------------------------------------------159 4.6 Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------------------------165 Chapter 5: Land-use planning and practice of private interest networks 5.1 Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------168 5.2 Urban morphology and land-use change in Koramangala ----------------170 5.3 Plan violations 5.3.1 Violations by individual property owners---------------------------181 5.3.2 Private layouts ------------------------------------------------------------186 5.3.2.1 Edwardian Estates---------------------------------------------187 5.3.2.2 Revenue layouts------------------------------------------------194 5.4 Planning for violation-------------------------------------------------------------200 5.4.1 Section 14-A Change of Land use----------------------------------------201 5.4.2 Master plan 2015 process-------------------------------------------------204 5.4.3 Regularization