Urban-Rural Environment System: Health,

Agriculture and Sustainable Development Goals

in Indian Mega City

R.B. Singh Secretary General: International Geographical Union (IGU) and

Chair: Research Council, Central Food Technological Research

Institute, Govt. of India, Mysore

Professor, Department of Geography

Delhi School of Economics

University of Delhi, Delhi-110007,

e-mail: rbsgeo@hotmail.com

Dimensions of Sustainable Urban Habitat

21st Century is Asian Urban Century

Source: World Urbanization Prospects Report, 2014

Share of urban population by country, 2014 to 2050

Beijing

Olympic Park

New Development

Residential Area

Near Core

Dense Builtup BeachNear Core

New Development

Busan

Seoul

Kyoto

Residential Area

Recreation Area near RiverMarket Area

OsakaDense Urban Landscape

Challenges

• Increasing urbanization

• Air pollution

• Climate change

• Traffic noise and congestion

• Ageing population and workforce

• Socioeconomic inequalities

Opportunities

• Low carbon transition

• Smart technologies

• Big data and urban citizen science

• Integrated assessment methods

• Sustainable urban Agriculture

Urban Development and Agriculture for Green Development

Urban Development and Indian Mega Cities

Indian Mega Cities - growing urbanisation,

industrialization, and metropolitan development.

Moving to cities in search of high income, employment,

improved services and access to various amenities.

The urban population in India is 377 million, which is

more than 10 per cent of world and 21 per cent of Asia.

Unprecedented pressures on environmental quality

brings out pressure on urban sustainability.

.

URBANISATION IN INDIA, 2011

In India, million plus Cities has increased from 12

in 1981, 23 in 1991 and 35 in 2001 (about

37.85% of total urban population) and 53 in 2011.

1.4 Billion People Engaged in Agriculture

Delhi• 28°24’17” and

28°53’00” North latitudes

and 76°50’24” and

77°20’37” Eastern

longitudes

•1,483 km2

• 9 districts

Study Area

LULC change in Delhi

LULC of Delhi in 1993 LULC of Delhi in 2000 LULC of Delhi in 2010

0,0

200,0

400,0

600,0

800,0

1000,0

Water Wasteland / RockOutcrop

Vegetation Builtup Land Agriculture

Are

a (s

q k

m)

LULC in Delhi

1993 2000 2010

Population growth

Trend of population growth in Mumbai and Delhi, 1901-2011 (in millions)

Trend of density of population in Delhi and Mumbai, 1901-2011 (persons/km2)

Growth rate of population in Delhi and Mumbai (city and suburban), 1901-2011

0,41 0,41 0,49 0,64 0,921,74

2,664,07

6,22

9,42

13,85

16,75

0,93 1,03 1,38 1,58 1,80 2,10

4,15

5,97

8,249,93

11,91 12,48

0,00

2,00

4,00

6,00

8,00

10,00

12,00

14,00

16,00

18,00

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Pop

ula

tion

(i

n m

illi

on

s)

Year Delhi Mumbai

1,98

18,02

30,25

44,27

89,99

52,44 52,93 53 51,45 47,02

20,9610,77

34,28

14,48 13,97 16,65

97,58

43,7938,06

20,41 20,03

4,730

20

40

60

80

100

120

1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Gro

wth

rat

e (i

n p

er c

ent)

Year Delhi Mumbai

273 279 329 429 618 1176 17922738

4194

6352

9340

11297

1538 1704 2289 2620 2987 3484

6885

9901

13670

16460

1975820693

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Den

sity

(per

sons

per

km

2)

Year Delhi Mumbai

Vehicular growth in Delhi

Actual and

projected

growth of

vehicles in

Delhi, 1991-

20251,92 2,06 2,19 2,37 2,57 2,79 3,03 3,16 3,3 3,514,41

5,326,23

7,148,05

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025

Veh

icula

r gro

wth

Total vehicles (in million) GR of total vehicles (%)

Private Car (in million) GR of private cars (%)

Percentage of private car to total vehicles

Sulpher dioxide: Delhi

Main sources of SO2 in Delhi:

Power sector, thermal power plants

Transport sector

Permissible limit: 50 micro g/m3

Trend:

Declining trend

Reasons: improvement in quality of diesel fuel / stricter policy control /use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) /shifting of industries from residential areas to the outskirts

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Sulp

hur

dio

xid

e (i

n µ

g/m

3)

Pitampura Sarojini Nagar Town Hall

Nizamuddin Janakpuri Siri Fort

0,0

5,0

10,0

15,0

20,0

25,0

30,0

35,0

19

90

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

Sulp

hur

dio

xid

e (i

n µ

g/m

3)

Shahdara Shahzada Bagh Mayapuri

Annual trend of SO2 in residential areas (in µg/m3) Annual trend of SO2 in industrial areas (in

µg/m3)

Nitrogen dioxide: Delhi

Main sources of NO2 in Delhi:

Vehicular traffic

Permissible limit: 40 micro g/m3

Trend:

Steep rise in industrial observatories (upto 75 micro g/m3)

Minor increase in residential areas

Reasons: Increase in vehicles

Annual trend of NO2 in residential areas (in µg/m3) Annual trend of NO2 in industrial areas (in

µg/m3)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Nit

rogen

dio

xid

e (i

n µ

g/m

3)

Pitampura Sarojini Nagar Town Hall

Nizamuddin Janakpuri Siri Fort

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

80,0

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Nit

rogen

dio

xid

e (i

n µ

g/m

3)

Shahdara Shahzada Bagh Mayapuri

Suspended Particulate Matter : Delhi

Main sources of SPM in Delhi: Incomplete fuel combustion process from industries

Vehicles

road dust and metrological conditions

Permissible limit: 40 micro g/m3

Trend: SPM level were always much higher than the prescribed limit

The industrial areas observed SPM between 350-480 micro g/m3 during 1990-2000, which was very high during 2000-2011

The level of SPM was recorded highest at Nizamuddin station (526) in 2009 and Mayapuri (575) in 2010

Annual trend of SPM in residential areas (in µg/m3) Annual trend of SPM in industrial areas (in µg/m3)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

SP

M (

in µ

g/m

3)

Pitampura Sarojini Nagar Town Hall

Nizamuddin Janakpuri Siri Fort

0,0

100,0

200,0

300,0

400,0

500,0

600,0

700,0

800,0

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

SP

M (

in µ

g/m

3)

Shahdara Shahzada Bagh Mayapuri

Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter : Delhi

RSPM has only been recorded since 2004

Permissible limit: 60 micro g/m3

Trend:

Doubled in 7 years (2004 - 2011)

Much above the permissible limit

Residential areas: Town Hall (maximum)

Industrial areas: Mayapuri (maximum)

Annual trend of RSPM in residential areas (in µg/m3) Annual trend of RSPM in industrial areas (in µg/m3)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

RS

PM

(in

µg/m

3)

Pitampura Sarojini Nagar Town Hall

Nizamuddin Janakpuri Siri Fort

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

RS

PM

(in

µg/m

3)

Shahdara Shahzada Bagh Mayapuri

Urban heat island due to changing urban environment

Urban Heat Island: The phenomenon wherein the temperature of urban

centers is higher than the rural hinterland is called Urban Heat Island (UHI).

Factors Affecting UHI and LST

Figure: Factors affects creation and intensity of Urban Heat Island (Continuous line boxes indicate natural factors and dash line boxes indicate human factors)

Source: Compiled by the researcher from Voogt and Oke, 2003; Lo and Quattrochi, 2003; Giridharan et al., 2004; Xiao and Weng, 2007; Zhang et al., 2012

Factors affecting

UHI Intensity

Geographic location Coastal / Interior

Climate Season

Local weather Cloud cover / Winds

Time Day / Night / Season

City geometry Building spacing / Height

Air pollutionGreen house gases

concentration

Energy usedDemand / Fuel / Vehicles / Industries / Power plants

City morphology

Land use/cover/ Construction material used / pervious and impervious

materialCity size

Spatial Patterns and Trends of LST, NDVI and NDBI in Delhi

Spatial Patterns and Trends of LST, NDVI and NDBI in Delhi

-1

-0,5

0

0,5

1

ND

VI

West East

NDVI2010 NDVI2000

-1

-0,5

0

0,5

1

ND

VI

North South

NDVI2000 NDVI2010

d

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

Tem

per

ature

(°C

)

North South

b

Temp2000 Temp2010

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

Tem

per

ature

(°C

)

West East

a

Temp2000 Temp2010

-0,1

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

ND

BI

NDBI2000 NDBI2010

f

-0,1

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

ND

BI

NDBI2000 NDBI2010

e

Trend of mortality due to bronchitis and asthma in

statutory towns and rural areas of Delhi

Urban and rural

regions of Delhi

observed steep increase

in cases of bronchitis and

asthma related deaths since

2002

Bronchitis and asthma are

majorly caused due to

SPM (Department of

environment and

conservation NSW, 2005)

and the health condition

becomes severe due to the

exposure to SO2 (Chen and

Kan, 2008).

y = 59,491x + 205,8

R² = 0,6215

0

200

400

600

800

1000

2001

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

y = 126,12x - 324,93

R² = 0,7503

-500

0

500

1000

1500

2001

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

y = 10,018x - 14,8

R² = 0,563

-50

0

50

100

150

2001

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

y = 6,6182x + 20,2

R² = 0,5425

0

20

40

60

80

100

2001

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Total

Female

Male

RURAL

Key Observation: Urban Environment The SO2 concentrations are lower than the prescribed limits for both industrial and

residential areas of Delhi.

NO2 : Increasing trend for Delhi (dangerous for human health)

PM: strikingly soaring

Due to variations in temperature, rainfall and humidity levels, wind direction and other climatic factors, the levels of pollutant vary across the seasons

LULC Delhi: most striking change is observed in increase of built up and decreasing agricultural area.

Strong correlation between LULC type and surface temperature

Delhi UHI: Weak , Hotspots exist

Steady rise in mortality from chronic respiratory illness

Major respiratory diseases causing deaths are: pneumonia, influenza, asthma and bronchitis

The analysis reflects that low income groups are more vulnerable than high income groups.

For mitigating urban risks, promoting urban agricultural practices is the need of the hour!

On 25 September 2015, 193 countries of the UN General

Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled

‘Transforming our world'

• Diverse

production of

agricultural crops

across varied

environment.

Source: Global Water Forum

Change in Cropping Pattern in India

In developing countries,

barely 30 per cent of

agricultural production

undergoes industrial

processing. In high-

income countries, 98 per

cent is processed.

Ingredients of Sustainable Urban Food

Production

Sustainable Food

Production

Local

Geography and

Knowledge

Urban Environment Stewardship

Scientific Technology

Role of Resilient Agricultural Practices in

Maintaining Food and Nutritional Security

Resilient Agricultural

Practices

Sustainable Agricultural Production

Food and Nutrition Security

Health and Well-being

Social Inclusion

and Equity

Investment in Environmental and

Socio-economic Capital

Urban Agriculture: Food, nutrition and their

impact on health

•A nutritious and healthy food is required for well-being and a

healthy and normal life.

•The question of affordability, availability and

accessibility of the food for the people of every

physical region of India posed a serious thought.

• Even in urban region, people are underweight and

facing malnutrition and deficiency diseases of different

micro nutrients such as Vitamin A, Iodine, and Protein

etc.

•For sustaining food production, we need to focus on

communities through four Es: Enable, Engage,

Exemplify, and Encourage

Food, Nutrition and Health

Source: iipsenvis.nic.in

URBAN AGRICULTURE

Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is

the practice of cultivating, processing and

distributing food in or around a village, town, or city.

Urban agriculture can also involves animal

husbandry, aquaculture, agroforestry, urban beekeeping,

and horticulture. These activities occur in peri-

urban areas as well, and peri-urban agriculture may have

different characteristics.

Women As Urban Cultivator

Women are playing a vital role in

balancing her act as a Homemaker in

the home and simultaneously in the field

as cultivator. Females work whole the

day as a labor and as cultivator and

contribute in family livelihood prospect.

SWOT Analysis of Urban Agriculture

Strengths

• Good Road

Connectivity

• Good Potential

for vegetables

• Diversifying non

Farm livelihood

and income

generation

i. Tourism and

Hotel Industries

ii. Construction

iii. Medicinal

plants

iv. Better market.

Weaknesses

• Very low land

holding Size

• Low level of

Marketable

Surplus in Food

items

• Lack of

knowledge about

activities, insect,

pest and disease

management.

• Poor water

availability.

Opportunities

• Huge demand for

vegetables and

fruits

• Incentive for

establishment of

processing Units

• Waste water

reuse.

• Scope for the

agro-processing

units for values

addition

• Herbal health

remedies and

natural treatment

facilities.

Threats

• Little scope of

mechanization

• Growing

population and

urban sprawl

• Fire in some areas

• Vegetable

cultivation prone

to various diseases

• Increased health

risk due to use of

contaminated

water, soil and air

pollution

Tinospora

Cordifolia (Giloy) ALOE BARBADENSIS (Aloe Vera)- Cut, Burn, Eczema

HERBS FOR HEALTH IN URBAN SPACE

MENTHA ARVENSISfor rhinitis, vomiting

BASIL HERBfor bronchitis, gastric

disorders

CURCUMA LONGA (Turmeric)for wound healing, blood

purifier

EMBLICA OFFICINALIS (Indian Gooseberry)

for diabetes, asthma

Zingiber officinale (Ginger)

for common cold, throat

infection

Picture- (a) Cultivation of

Marigold in Ochandi Village

(b) Quatabgarh Village

having cultivation of

Chrysanthemum

(c) Mixed farming in

Bhaktawarpur

(a)

(b)

(a)

(c)

Floriculture in Peri-urban Area:

Source: Primary Survey

Degree of Satisfaction of Stakeholders towards the Floriculture

as their Livelihood Option

Water Conservation and Urban Agriculture

Water storage capacity and facilities ineach household, city and regionAfforestation for the soil moisture.Restore the natural water storage sites

like wetlands, lakes and ponds etc. Promotes organic farming and use of bio-

fertilizer.Establishment of treatment plant for

recycle the waste water.

Effluent treatment

Paper & PulpTextile

Detergent

Application of Nanotechnology for Wastewater Reuse • Safe drinking water: Nanoabsorbents can eliminate particulates from

contaminated water.

• Toxic organic solutions can be converted into nontoxic byproducts through

nanocatalysts and redox active nanoparticles

Novozymes approach towards effluent treatment

Sustainable

Approach

Active People

Participation

Food Safety

and

Monitoring

Bridging the

gaps through

6th Industry

Market

Accessibility

Nourishing the

Local & Seasonal

Food Variety

Food and Nutrition

Security

Resource

Mobilization and

Capacity Building

Affordable &

Accessible

Food Storage

Network

Drivers of Food and Nutrition Security

Globalized uses of Urban Agriculture

Products Globalisation involves

transnational corporations

who benefit from urban

agricultural products

movement of capital, goods

and services.

Driven by improved

transport + communications,

greater freedom of trade,

greater availability of cheap

labour & skills.

Increasing inwards

investment.

Global brands

No Sustainable Food Consumption without

Sustainable Food Production

Consumption Production

Processing, Packaging, and Marketing

Traditional Cuisine at Diverse Geographical Setting

Value Addition

Enhanced Production Techniques

Cleaner Food Production

Quality

Assessment

Sustaining Traditional

Cuisine and its Value Addition

Technology, Innovation and

Design

Investment in Food

Technology for

Human Wellbeing

Production Strategy to Improve Resource

Productivity

Raw materials Processing

Environment

Friendly eco-

products

Products

•Emphasis on material

•Less material per unit

•Larger share of materials from

recycling industry

•Better modeling of components

Cleaner

processing

Green energy

technology

Suggestive Measures

1. Conserving land for agriculture and assimilating the agro-

techniques to enhance production.

2. Promoting scientific agriculture such as soil testing, use of

poly-houses, appropriate use of pest etc.

3. Ensuring E-chaupal and other information and communication

technology along with better credit facilities.

4. Integrate market, agriculture, people and governance for

better accessibility, availability and affordability to reduce the

vulnerability and reducing food insecurity

Making Indian Mega Cities Inclusive and Resilient

Community Needs- Food

- Water

- Energy

- Health

- Shelter

S - Sanitation

- Livelihood

- Rights of Child, Women

and Old aged

Economic Activities- Urban Agriculture

-Secondary

- Tertiary

- Quaternary

- Migration

Science

- Natural

- Human

- Environmental

- Disaster Risk Reduction

- Reducing Vulnerability

- Capacity Building

- Enhancing Community Resilience

- Social Inclusion

- Global and Regional Peace

- Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability

Research should

develop integrated

understanding

between above three

linkages

“Enhancing Urban Agriculture is key to Urban Risk Reduction, Livelihoods

and Socio-Economic SUSTAINABILITY”

Thank you