=============================================== CSE's Fortnightly News Bulletin (August 18, 2011) ===============================================
Bellary is the centrepiece of Down To Earth this fortnight, as the magazine collates all that has happened and is happening in a gripping analysis of greed, corruption, governance failure and environmental degradation... Also in this newsletter: CSE's new course on environmental communications and journalism. This is for all of you who are inspired to engage in and talk, read and write about environment and development issues. Stay with us for a month, and through our innovative combination of trainings on skills and issues. More details below... Happy reading. ===================================================================================================================== Sign up to receive this e-newsletter http://equitywatch.org/phplist/?p=subscribe&id=6 To unsubscribe, just click http://www.cseindia.org/content/please-enter-your-email-id-unsubscribe-cse-newsletter If you have any questions or concerns about subscription, please contact Vikas Khanna at [email protected]. ======================================================== EDITORIAL: Parking can't be found by Sunita Narain ======================================================== Khan Market in boulevard Delhi is said to be the most expensive real estate in India, maybe even in the world. But in this richest shopping destination, buyers do not want to pay for parking their vehicles. The parking shopkeepers’ association has taken the local city council to court, saying it has the right to free parking. In court, it ridiculed the connection between parking and car restraint—how can pricing of parking spaces bring down car usage in cities? The very idea was farfetched, said its lawyer to the judge. Standing in the court, I could see the judge was also bemused. This is when Indian cities are desperately jostling for space for parking their growing fleet of personal cars. Just about every street is chock-a-block with cars, so much so that there is no space to walk and there are fights—even shootouts—over parking. This is also when Indian cities are adding huge numbers of vehicles every day on to roads, worsening pollution and congestion, and also adding pieces of hardware, which need to be parked. And this is when space is at a premium in cities and unavailable for most important needs, including housing for the poor. A car’s requirement for space is not small. Just think: each vehicle we own and use needs to be parked at home, at office and then at shopping space or anywhere else we may need to go. Planners who think of car spaces, therefore, always assume three car spaces for each vehicle. On this basis, the current fleet of vehicles in Delhi already occupies nearly 10 per cent of the urbanised space. The daily registration of cars will need an additional 2.5 million sq m, which is equivalent to 310 international football fields. Now in fact, the city municipal corporation is desperately looking for more land; it sees all parks in the city as potential parking spaces. It wants to rip them out, build parking lots underneath and turn the top into pretty green museums or shopping arcades. But where will the children play? This is what the statutory authority, of which I am a member, has asked. Nobody wants to answer. So what does a city do in this situation where cars are growing but land is limited? Can the price of parking reduce car use? Can a parking policy, based on the principle of payment of user charges and no subsidy to the personal vehicle owner, control numbers of vehicles on roads? First, look at the issue of parking spaces. Should a city provide for more space for parking or restrict parking spaces? In the case of Khan Market, for instance, shopkeepers have demanded free parking for not just their clients but also for their own cars. The court has not accepted the demand; it asked the association to pay the monthly parking rate to the city council. But it has reportedly directed the city to transfer land—currently green land—to construct a multilevel parking structure. Is more parking the answer to parking crunch? Even if it is, why should the city provide subsidised land for parking vehicles and even subsidise its In multilevel parking structures the cost of an equivalent car unit is Rs 6-10 lakh. This does not reflect in parking charges, thanks to Indian-type socialism, where the rich are subsidised in the name of the poor. Using the convenient argument of the middle class burden, policy allows for some 25 percent of the area for commercial use. It then subsidises each vehicle. But more land is now needed to park the vehicles for the commercialised space. Demand keeps growing. Policy, therefore, should be to reduce space. Most cities use parking norms to drive this change: they ask developers of buildings to satisfy parking demand. Globally, cities are learning that there is just no way they can plan for parking all cars, so they are working to reduce parking spaces in congested areas, which, in turn, forces people not to drive. In India, cities do have parking norms in municipal byelaws but enforcement is poor and, more importantly, there is a belief that all cars—today’s and tomorrow’s—can be fitted. This will have to change. One important driver of this change is pricing for parking. An ordinary car needs some 23 sq m to park. In prime locations this space would cost Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 per month to rent. But the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, for instance, charges some Rs 10 for a day’s parking. Any talk of increasing this is met with the Khan Market-type resistance. Some cities are, however, finding that if they can price right, then they can also do more that is right. New York’s high parking rates have led to lower car ownership; in Shenzhen an increase in parking fees reduced parking demand by 30 per cent. The list goes on. Needless to say, getting the parking price right will be a powerful incentive for changes in mobility patterns. Another question is whether parking rates should be raised without adequate public transport—another argument of the Khan Market variety. This means the chicken-and-egg story continues. When is public transport convenient enough to start charging for parking? Or should we stop making connections where they don’t exist? Post your comments on this editorial online at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/parking-can-t-be-found =============================== A message from Down To Earth ============================== For the last 20 years, it has been our endeavour to enrich our readers with comprehensive news, views and analysis of the rapidly changing environmental scenario across India and the world. Down To Earth has traversed this path with support from valued readers like you. If you believe that change can be brought through awareness and knowledge, here is a chance for you to refer us to your friends, colleagues, relatives, and even organisations that you think would be interested in keeping abreast of fortnightly updates on science and environment. We will be sending a free evaluation copy of Down To Earth to each one of your referrals in India for a month. For those abroad, we will give free access to the web version of Down To Earth for a similar duration. So please do give us a hand in reaching out to more readers. A simple act of yours could trigger much-needed important changes. You can fill in the addresses in the form by clicking the following link: http://cseindia.org/content/knowledge-best-shared ======================= MORE FROM DOWN TO EARTH ======================= - Cover Story: The price of mining What went wrong in Bellary http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/price-mining - Analysis: New bill, old grouses Draft land bill proposes higher compensation for land acquisitions, but complaints persist http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/new-bill-old-grouses - Special Report: Centre bans gutkha. Will it prevail? Chewing tobacco industry always managed to circumvent previous bans http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/centre-bans-gutkha - Special Report: Prayers for a little Rivers' flows must be maintained to protect the services they provide, but India has no legislation http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/prayers-little - News: Can Endosulfan be exported? Sepreme Court asks panel to explore posibilities of disposing of the pesticide http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/can-endosulfan-be-exported - News: Lethal combinations Irrational drug combos flood market; regulator does little to remove them http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/lethal-combinations - S&T: Rush for rare earth Countries explore sources of the metals to counter China curbs http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/rush-rare-earths - Patently Absurd: Pesticides in drugs Sharad Pawar's provision for protecting test date in the Pesticide Bill could spill over into trade agreements and hit the drugs industry, too http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/pesticides-drugs - Feature: Fruits of doing nothing Two young farmers of Karnataka prosper by overcoming tiller instinct http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/fruits-doing-nothing - Interview: A civilisational loss An octogenarian activist on how saving Nepal's revered river will save a civilisation http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/civilisational-loss - Last Word: No two droughts are alike Why government's 2009 drought management plan may not work this year http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/no-two-droughts-are-alike Down To Earth is now on Facebook and Twitter. Do follow us, share, comment, and discuss and stay in constant touch with our reporters on www.facebook.com/down2earthindia and twitter@downtoearthindia. =========================== On India Environment Portal =========================== - Sub-portal on South Asia and Sustainable Development: Provides in-depth information through news, reports, analysis, opinions and events, linked to other key institutions and websites etc. Please do contribute studies, reports, court orders etc, especially from our neighbouring countries in the South Asian region. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/indepth/term/9790 - CSE Environment Photo Library CSE's perspective and collection of photographs is now here to help illustrate your views on environment. 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For any assistance, please contact [email protected], [email protected] ============================================= LEARNING WITH CSE Courses offered by Anil Agarwal Green College ============================================= An Orientation Programme on Regulatory Realm for Green Buildings and EIA Date: August 24-26, 2011 Course Modules: - Urban growth, urban ecosystem and building’s environment connection - Enabling more effective application of EIA Regulation for high impact Buildings - Understanding the National Building Code and Building Bye Laws and other relevant regulations - Energy challenge of buildings - Enabling wider application of Energy Conservation Building Code - Water and Waste Regulations for buildings water efficiency appliances - Buildings and neighbourhood: Special case of traffic impacts - Emerging best practices Course details: http://cseindia.org/node/2881 For details, contact: Sakshi Dasgupta Mob: 9811910901 Email: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Training programme on decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse for Municipal functionaries CSE as Centre for Excellence in the area of Sustainable Water Management designated by MoUD is organizing 4 days programme focusing on how municipalities can establish decentralized wastewater treatment systems, that would facilitate recycling and reuse of water. Date: September 6-9, 2011 Course Modules: - Training for planning,designing implementation of DWWTS and monitoring interactive seminars - Detailed case studies - Field trips - class room instructions. For more information : http://cseindia.org/node/2753 Course contact: Deblina Dwivedi Email: [email protected] Mobile: 9899596661 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Training Programme on Urban Rainwater Harvesting Date: September 27-30, 2011 Course modules: - Overview Water yesterday, today and tomorrow - Science of rainwater harvesting - Technology of rainwater harvesting - Harvesting the city's water endowment - Policy framework for rainwater harvesting - Making water everybody's business - A primer for action Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/content/training-programme-urban-rainwater-harvesting-september-27-30-2011 For more details, contact: Sushmita Sengupta Tel: 011 - 29955124 Fax: 011 - 29955879 Email: [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Managing Information in the Digital Age: Training Programme on Library, Information Management and Web-based Outreach Date: September 27-30, 2011 Last Date for Applying: September 5, 2011 Course Modules - Planning and managing resource centres in the digital age - Sourcing information (print/electronic, internet for research) - Organising Information: Classification & Indexing (including digitized resources) - A primer on managing audio-visual resources (films, photos, Cds, etc.) - Digitisation and e-documentation of news clippings, articles, reports and documents - Building contact databases - Knowledge creation and dissemination (Information Services/Products) - E-mail for outreach (mass mail using open source s/w) - Online presence : reaching out through the web - Potential of social media and web 2.0 for information dissemination and communication Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/node/1653 Register online: http://www.cseindia.org/node/997 For more details contact: Kiran Pandey Prgramme Director-Library and Information Management Phone: +91 (011) 29955124/125 (Ext. 287) Mob: 9968767698 Fax: +91 (011) 29955879 Email: [email protected], [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse Date: September 28-October 1, 2011 Last date for applying: September 15, 2011 Some fellowships for participants from South Asia available. Course contact: Deblina Dwivedi Email: [email protected] Mobile: 9899596661 ---------------------------------------------- Covering India: Where Journalism Meets Environment Date: November 1-30, 2011 This certificate course is designed as a hands-on 'bootcamp', and targets those interested in a career in mainstream or niche news media, development communication, civil society campaign and advocacy initiatives, and industry CSR, among others. Course Modules: - Environment as a subject of coverage - Ecological rights, natural resource management and food security - Urban growth: contemporary challenges - Climate change policies, politics - Hands-on research labs - News writing & editing studios - Supervised field-based reporting and writing Some fellowships for participants from South Asia available. Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/node/2607 Course contact: Sharmila Sinha Emails: [email protected] / [email protected] ================================ UPDATES FROM OUR PROGRAMME UNITS ================================ Workshop on Toxic Air and Our Health: A Dialogue with Doctors In association with the Indian Medical Association and the Indian Council of Medical Research, CSE is organising this event to raise policy awareness about the linkages between air quality and our health. Date: August 31, 2011 (2-6 pm) Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi For further details, please get in touch with Priyanka at [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Round Table on Revisiting Environment Impact Assessment for Buildings Aimed at stimulating policy debate on the urgency for stronger and effective EIA regulations for buildings in India, to realize the resource saving potential of the high-impact large buildings that are also more resource intensive Date: September 8, 2011 (10 am - 1 pm) Venue: CSE office, India Habitat Centre, Core 6A, Fourth floor, Lodhi Road, New Delhi For more details, contact Sakshi Dasgupta at [email protected] or call her on 9811910901 Also visit http://cseindia.org/node/2882 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RainWater Harvesting Technical Support Every Friday, between 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, CSE provides detailed technical guidance to interested individuals, RWAs and institutions to implement rainwater harvesting. This assistance is provided at CSE's office at 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area. For details, see the following link: http://www.cseindia.org/content/catch-rainwater-solve-your-water-problems -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technical advice: Decentralised wastewater treatment systems Every second and fourth Friday, meet our experts at CSE, 41, Tughlaqabad Institutional Area for guidance on planning and designing these systems. For details, contact Deblina at [email protected] or call her on 9899596661. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catching Rainwater Our rural water team has come out with a newsletter on rural water management and its use. Take a look at http://www.cseindia.org/content/newsletter ==================================== >From our stores =================================== CSE introduces its new range of 100% organic T-shirts. To check them out or place an order, visit http://csestore.cse.org.in/t-shirts/100-organic-t-shirts.html. ==================================== About this e-mail ==================================== You are receiving this newsletter because you have asked to be included in our list, attended a CSE event or requested information. CSE is an independent, public interest organization that was established in 1982 by Anil Agarwal, a pioneer of India's environmental movement. CSE's mandate is to research, communicate and promote sustainable development with equity, participation and democracy. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________
