Description

Urbanization is a phenomenon that bears prospect of improving the lives of millions by generating massive densities of employment spirals, and unleashing immense creative energies. Thus at the core of Urban Management is the issue of sustaining the economic kernel of cities, without which the ability to raise resources to provide higher quality civic services will be severely constrained. Hence the Government of Gujarat has envisioned to develop its cities into livable, productive & inclusive centres.

In order to be able to realise this 'Urban Mantra' the role of urban local bodies is most significant. As providers of services, such as water supply, drainage and solid waste management, they play an important role in ensuring a healthy living environment and higher quality of life for their citizens. In the fast integrating world of today, quality of life is an important differentiator to determine world class cities.

Urbanization has not been an accident, nor was it unexpected. In Gujarat, through sustained efforts of visionary leadership and of a dedicated civil service the challenges of this phenomenon have been met with considerable success. The individual initiatives, the innovations and improvements have all been towards improving the quality of urban civic services. These efforts are sought to be captured in this compilation, which serves the twin purpose of recognizing exceptional work, as well as providing models/examples for emulation. This volume hence tells the story of modern urban Gujarat and how cities have been improving their performance

Keywords