National urban development policy

Abstract

Urban development in Sri Lanka has begun to draw tho attention of researchers, practitioners* and even the politicians, due to the inherent advantages it has provided by way of solutions to some of the most pressing problems in the country. In this connection, an important obligation of the researcher is to examine the fundamental issues of both the process as well as the policies that would rationalise and consolidate urban development. Accordingly, this study has indertaken to examine the policy issues pertaining to national urban development. The study has been divided into four parts, comprising 10 chapters in all, describing urban settings, development options, existing policies, and proposals for national urban development policy. The first three chapters, which comprise Part One, are devoted to a description of the urban setting in Sri Lanka, identifying its degree of urbanisation in Chapter 1, the issues this involves and their several magnitudes in Chapter-l^

and the:" institutional resources that exist towards development in Chapter 3. The Second Part, which consists of the next three chapters, offers a theoretical framework for the comprehension of urban developnent and policy. Here, Chapter £ outlines the challenges faced by developing countiies; the available options in respect of urban development are discussed in Chapter 5; and this is followed by an analysis of the Mational-Urban planning phases in Chapter 6, The details of the current urban development programmes have been identified in the context of overall development programmes9 in Chapter 7j and the existing policies with respect to urban development are analysed in Chapter Sj both of which chapters form the 1Ehird part of the text. In the final part of the study, Chapter 9 examines the policy options of relevance to Sri Lanka, and proposes a framework within which these can take place; and Chapter 10 represents conclusions and recommendations arising from the study.