Opportunities and Risks of the "New Urban Governance" in India: To What Extent Can It Help Addressing Pressing Environmental Problems?

Abstract

The “new urban governance” has made rapid inroads as an approach to govern the transition to more environmentally sustainable buildings and cities. It allows for a broad repertoire of actors and instruments in the governing of this transition and is expected to overcome some of the pervasive problems of mandatory regulation and legislation for urban development and transformation. This article studies six new urban governance practices in India based on a series of interviews with relevant actors. It seeks to better understand the opportunities and risks of this approach to urban governance for governing India’s rapid urbanization. It finds that the new urban governance holds some promise but is also critical of it. Particularly, the lack of mandatory urban regulation and legislation, the lack of institutional capital, and a culture of corruption in India undermine the promise that the new urban governance holds in this context.