Increased urbanization is posing challenges to maintain and improve quality of life in towns and cities of India. Urban areas, undoubtedly, are the economic engines. Simultaneously, they are facing challenges of the increased number of people, traffic, commercial activities, structures, creating new and expanding existing slums, environmental deterioration and pro-growth policies are just adding fuel to the fire. This raises number of questions. Are existing urban centers are ready and equipped to provide required infrastructure, services, amenities, and social and cultural needs of the existing and incoming people? Can India build smart and sustainable communities for today and tomorrow? What is smart planning in Indian Context? And finally, can India lead the world in planning, designing, and developing futuristic cities? The book is attempting to explore answers to these questions. This book is a concise document to understand built environment and human activities and provide smart, practical and functional planning solutions. Furthermore, this book explains theory and practice of many elements and facets of urban and rural planning ranging from need of planning, planner's identity, zoning, land use planning, transportation, urban design, landscaping, environment, and historic preservation. This book is designed to guide to build smart, sustainable, harmonious, and futuristic communities with smart, innovative, and creative tools such as sustainability, context sensitive design, form-based codes, mixed-use and life-style developments, charrettes, creative design options for Indian urban and rural areas. Execution and implementation of the suggested solutions and models can make urban and rural areas to be the most beautiful places to live, work, play, learn, invest, worship and raise a family on the most beautiful place on earth – India. This book is designed for practicing, academics, and students of urban/city/town/regional/rural planning, civil engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental studies, economics, development studies, Indian Administrative Services (IAS) trainees, trainers/faculty, and practitioners, elected officials (all levels), policy makers, business and city managers, sociologists, religious leads, land-use and zoning lawyers, judicial judges, development community, civic society groups, citizens active and interested in improving quality of life, and organizations with goals to improve living conditions for humanity, such as World Bank, United Nations, and Shack-Slum Dwellers International.

Driven by advances in technology and societal needs, the next frontier in remote sensing is urban areas. With the advent of high-resolution imagery and more capable techniques, the question has become "Now that we have the technology, how do we use it?" The need for a definitive resource that explores the technology of remote sensing and the issues it can resolve in an urban setting has never been more acute. Containing contributions from world renowned experts, Urban Remote Sensing provides a review of basic concepts, methodologies, and case studies. Each chapter demonstrates how to apply up-to-date techniques to the problems identified and how to analyze research results. Organized into five sections, this book: Focuses on data, sensors, and systems considerations as well as algorithms for urban feature extraction Analyzes urban landscapes in terms of composition and structure, especially using sub-pixel analysis techniques Presents methods for monitoring, analyzing, and modeling urban growth Illustrates various approaches to urban planning and socio-economic applications of urban remote sensing Assesses the progress made to date, identifies the existing problems and challenges, and demonstrates new developments and trends in urban remote sensing This book is ideal for upper division undergraduate and graduate students, however it can also serve as a reference for researchers or those individuals interested in the remote sensing of cities in academia, and governmental and commercial sectors. Urban Remote Sensing examines how to apply remote sensing technology to urban and suburban areas.

The role of real estate in our cities is crucial to building sustainable and resilient urban futures. Smart Urban Regeneration brings together institutional, planning and real estate insights into an innovative regeneration framework for academics, students and property professionals. Starting by identifying key urban issues within the historical urban and planning backdrop, the book goes on to explore future visions, the role of institutions and key mechanisms for smart urban regeneration. Throughout the book, international case studies and discussion questions help to draw out global implications for urban stakeholders. Real estate professionals face a real challenge to build visionary developments which resonate locally yet mitigate climate change and curb sprawl, and foster biodiversity. By avoiding the dangers of speculative excess on one side and complacency on the other, Smart Urban Regeneration shows how transformation aspirations can be achieved sustainably. Academics, students and professionals who are involved in real estate, urban planning, property investment, community development and sustainability will find this book an essential guide to smart urban regeneration investment.

Urban planning is as broad as the scope of urban government, which is closest to the people. It is an essential pre-requisite to the successful performance of duties of urban government, because it does offer most logical approach to solving city's problems, arising from rapid urban growth and expansion, as well as from changing conditions affecting inner city. This book is about establishing what has gone wrong with urban planning in Delhi, and of fixing flawed urban planning in operation. In this context, it is pertinent to have an understanding of the metropolis of Delhi, as much as the urban planning process. The book describes the metropolis through its morphology, its socioeconomic profile, the way rich and the poor live, its built environment, mode of travel, and the administrative aspects of urban planning. This book is not only for town planners but also for the citizens of Delhi, with the intention of making them more aware and enlightened about urban planning and urban governance. Urban planning is making decisions that profoundly affect the form and character of Delhi metropolis, in which its citizens live and the manner of their lives.

The book is an effort to evolve and present a humane approach for urban planning practices in India. The planning approach followed in India, mostly, ignores the cultural peculiarities, habits, preferences of Indian users. This is mainly because the city planning –preparation of development plans – is based on the planning norms formulated in Europe or North America. Due to socioeconomic, demographic and cultural differences in Indian context, the Indian users and their preferences are very much different. It may be useful to incorporate culture-specific user aspects and evolve a humane approach to city planning in India. The consideration of user preferences will not only reduce conflicting situations in urban areas due to non-congruence between planning principles adopted and principles of urbanism rooted in the place, but will also help to develop living social environments in developing cities. Hence in the book, a study about user preferences is presented. It brought out few facts about the peculiarities of Indian users, their preferences and Indian principles of urbanism, which is discussed in the book. The study establishes the fact that there are culture-specific user preferences in Indian context. It further evolves framework for humane approach to deal evolving built environments in urban India.

Reforming Urban Transport in India is an attempt to take stock of the various issues our cities and towns are facing in the area of urban transport, efforts made and being made both at the policy level as well as the field level to address the problems, the ever increasing complexities of challenges in the area of urban mobility and some of the laudable initiatives on the ground to handle the problems. This book would be a valuable addition to the limited literature available on the subject of urban transport in India. The topic has not attained much prominence even in the broader discussions on the transport sector issues in the country. The fact that we address our urban transport issues in a casual manner but there is need to take them up in a focused and purposeful manner and this can no longer be delayed is probably the one loud message which is emerging out of this volume. The wealth of knowledge of the contributors, each one of them having huge experience behind them in this sector, makes the book a valuable addition to the literature and a helpful guide in policy discussions.