What makes some urban poor communities more successful than others in accessing governmental support to upgrade their informal neighbourhoods?

This dissertation uses the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), an urban governance reform/infrastructure investment programme launched in 2005, as an entry to urban policy analysis. Through a component of JNNURM, Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP), the Government of India promised to provide slums in 65 cities with access to basic services, including security of tenure, improved housing, water supply and sanitation. While the majority of these cities are metropolitan/mega cities, my focus is on the medium-size temple city, Puri. I am also interested in the recent «Slum Free Cities»initiative Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), the successive programme to BSUP, and the evolution from JNNURM to RAY. Against this background, I seek to understand what makes some urban poor communities more successful than others in accessing governmental support.

The neighbourhoods of the urban poor, slums, are a key spatial characteristic of India’s urbanisation process. Current urban policy, therefore, attempts to involve the poor in decision-making and project implementation. Yet, who actually participates in such urban renewal/rehabilitation programmes? Combining a grounded theory study with a citywide socio-spatial analysis of the emerging urban fabric, I focus on the processes and conditions of access to governmental resources. The dissertation contrasts three cases of neighbourhoods with access to BSUP with three who will be covered by RAY. The emerging grounded theory of the urban local politics of access in Puri serves to reflect current policy initiatives, adds to the body of qualitative urban research and to the India studies discourse.

The empirical study was initiated in 2011 with questions such as: Where are slums located in Puri? What is their spatial and socio-economic relation with the city? What development perspectives are available to them? Qualitative mapping serves as an analytical tool. A typology of slums is produced to inform the selection of six distinct neighbourhoods. Through interviews, I want to find out: Which actors are involved in accessing governmental support? Who supports poor communities, and why? Which resource bases do urban poor communities employ and which strategies have they developed to improve living conditions? I aspire a close collaboration with local stakeholders at different levels (state, city, ward, neighbourhoods). It is my goal to contribute to more inclusive urban policies, sustainable urbanisation and social equity.