Managing Complexity of City Growth in India – A Planner’s Dilemma (Draft)

Abstract

Indian cities are experiencing accelerated suburbanization with increasing informality and declining accessibility. To address the inadequacies in prevailing planning practice, the paper explores the applicability of complexity theory based planning principles and adaptive management in the Indian context. Under the suggested paradigm private agents are free to self-organize within a framework based codes to manage negative externalities and interferences between buildings and city elements. Whereas, public agents remain responsible for delivering public infrastructure and amenities. The two together promote a generative urban structure. An iterative and collaborative process serves as the core for all deliberations and learning.