Real Estate in Chennai - a ground level view

This program is a very well composed one depicting the ground level issues concerning real estate in Chennai. Speculators and builders exploiting the speculation market for short term gains seem to be the consensus for the 'land-rush' seen in the city today. The ground level reality is that Chennai indeed all Indian metros, and soon the second tier cities, are becoming an elitist one-dimensional society due to the non-affordability of housing in the traditional urban areas. The builders' version of affordability is suburbanization. Where is all this headed? When 75% of the population is sidelined from mainstream development, what is the effect of such a phenomenon on the urban fabric and the country's economy?

Leaving aside a discussion on inflation or global gasoline prices or sustainability of this speculation driven economy or opportunity for the marginalized population, what other factor of this kind of development is detrimental to sustainable development? This is not Fabian socialism or Marxist communism, rather it is urban economics and urban sociology. For an urban area to thrive, diversity in its mix in every form from people to occupations to buildings to open space to recreation and entertainment to cultural development and spiritual development is essential. A city thrives on the choices it provides, and when the choices cease to exist, it dies a natural death. Today, Ranganathan St may be a thriving locality and South Usman Rd may be a place thats forever crowded. But, how one-dimensional are these areas? What kind of choices do they provide for someone living or visiting or working in these areas?

Already, how many people use Mambalam as a transit area for connecting to the rest of the city? That factor alone was responsible for the genesis of these markets and the phenomenal growth achieved by these markets. Does that primary function exist today? In such a scenario, how long would it take for this market's attractiveness to start dwindling if a similar shopping paradise with better facilities opened elsewhere? The customer base and the economic model of these markets have changed so dramatically, what do these markets have now that will continue to attract more customers to the area?

While India typically does not have a tradition of brands and organized retail, is the current pull of Ranganthan St and South Usman Rd as a market, despite the competition in the rest of the city, due to the brand image of these areas or the brand image of the retail stores in the area? If it is the former, what is the business district of Ranganathan St and Usman Rd doing to enhance the customer experience and sustain its economic base? If its the latter, all that would take for the area to collapse is for these brands to open in different locations. What does the collapse of this business area mean to the economy of the city?

The attractiveness of not only this business district, but any business district to the majority of people that engage in its economy is the informal, unorganized activity that thrives on the shadows of the big businesses. The Indian economy relies heavily on this informal organization to provide a livelihood to scores of people who do not have the education and hence the opportunity to be part of the organized economy. Such districts provide choices for people to earn a livelihood and thrive on the diversity of the economic base, in turn providing plenty of choices for the customers. When such districts collapse, it is normally due to marginalization of the less economically viable choices and glorification of the high-return ones. This is the phenomenon that is plaguing Indian cities today, and will eventually result in the death of the urban fabric. Having a city that can only be afforded by the rich is a nice concept, but in reality, it is not a sustainable model. This value chasing 'land-rush' will only result in continuous sprawl and more marginalization rather than sustainable development.