Institutional synergies in the delivery of urban upgrading services : lessons from the Slum Networking Program in Ahmedabad, India

This thesis examines factors associated with the limited success of the Slum Networking Project (SNP) implemented in the city of Ahmedabad, India between 1995 and 2001. The SNP was conceived as a partnership between associations of slum residents, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade unions and the private sector with the aim to increase access to basic services in slums. This analysis reflects upon three central assumptions in the literature associated with service delivery to the urban poor through the lens of the SNP experience. First, the thesis asks why a promising and innovative public-private partnership ultimately proved unsustainable. The thesis suggests that public-private partnerships in service delivery to slums are most likely to work when: (i) the likelihood of conflict is recognized and mitigated; and (ii) participants have strong professional or economic incentives - beyond philanthropy - to make the partnership work. Second, this thesis examines how participation and community involvement under the SNP evolved in a nonlinear fashion.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Samad, Taimur

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bishwapriya Sanyal.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37470

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37470