Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

The <keyword id="50190" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="asian-development-bank" source="Orion">Asian Development Bank</keyword> (ADB) has approved a USD 400 million loan to support the Indian government's <keyword id="706405" type="General" weightage="40" keywordseo="urban-reform" source="Orion">urban reform</keyword> agenda for creating high-quality <keyword id="557969" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="urban-infrastructure" source="Orion">urban infrastructure</keyword> and efficient governance systems. The programme also envisages integrated urban planning reforms to control urban sprawls and foster systemic and planned urbanisation through enhancing the entire ecosystem of legal, regulatory, and institutional reforms along with capacity building of ULBs and community awareness, ADB said. "The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 400 million policy-based loan to India for Sub-programme 2 of the <keyword id="8174895" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sustainable-Urban-Development" source="Orion">Sustainable Urban Development</keyword> and Service Delivery Programme. "The programme aims to support the government's urban reform agenda for improving the quality of urban life through the creation of high-quality urban infrastructure, assured public services, and efficient governance systems," ADB said. While Subprogramme 1, approved in 2021, established national-level policies and guidelines to improve urban services, Subprogramme 2 is supporting investment planning and reform actions at the state and urban local body (ULB) levels. "India has recognised the potential for cities to be centres of economic growth and has emphasised the need to make cities livable through inclusive, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure, which is also in line with ADB Strategy 2030," ADB Principal Urban Development Specialist <keyword id="86074" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjay-Joshi" source="Orion">Sanjay Joshi</keyword> said.

ADB approves $400 mn loan to support govt's urban reform agenda

Prime Minister <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi+">Narendra Modi </a>will announce the first batch of 20 smart cities early January. 
 
"Evaluation of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=smart+city">smart city </a>plans of 97 cities in the second stage of 'City Challenge' competition is already in progress and the results will be announced shortly marking a high point in promoting competition among cities for resource allocation, the first of its kind," a Ministry of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Urban+Development">Urban Development</a> press release read. 
 
The Modi government has apparently reset the parameters for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=urban+planning">urban planning</a>. It has approved an investment of about Rs 42,000 Crores in 2015 for developing basic urban infrastructure and for affordable housing . 
 
The investment includes Rs 19,170 Crores for improving infrastructure relating to water supply, sewerage networks, storm water drains, urban transport and open spaces in 474 cities in 18 states under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

PM Modi to announce 20 smart cities in January

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Carlo AllegriDonald Trump with Ben Carson at a church service in Detroit on September 3.</div></div></div>President-elect Donald Trump has picked Ben Carson to be his secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who faced off against Trump in this year's Republican primaries, is the first African-American nominated for Trump's Cabinet.In a statement announcing the nomination, Trump referred to Carson's overcoming a troubled youth in Detroit to become head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital."I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development," Trump said. "Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities.""I am honored to accept the opportunity to serve our country in the Trump administration," Carson said. "I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need. We have much work to do in enhancing every aspect of our nation and ensuring that our nation's housing needs are met."While Carson has been a strong Trump supporter since dropping his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination, he would enter with no experience working in government."He has no expertise in housing policy, but he did spend part of his childhood in public housing, said a close friend, Armstrong Williams, and he was raised by a dauntless mother with a grammar-school education," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/us/politics/ben-carson-housing-urban-development-trump.html">The New York Times reports</a>.<a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/ben-carson-hud-secretary-trump-232184">Politico notes</a>, however, that Carson has weighed in on housing policy before, specifically the Obama administration's new fair-housing rule."These government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality create consequences that often make matters worse," <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/23/ben-carson-obamas-housing-rules-try-to-accomplish-/">Carson wrote in a 2015 op-ed article for The Washington Times</a>."Based on the history of failed socialist experiments in this country, entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous," he added.Carson had previously said he was not interested in a Cabinet position. He was rumored to be under consideration for secretary of education and secretary of health and human services.The Hill <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ben-carson-donald-trump-administration-2016-11">reported in November</a> that Williams, Carson's business manager and close confidant, said Carson wouldn't join the administration and would instead be an unofficial adviser after reports surfaced that Carson rejected an offer to be HHS secretary."Dr. Carson was never offered a specific position, but everything was open to him," Williams told The Hill. "Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience; he's never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency."In an interview with Business Insider just before the election, Carson said, "I don't want to be a part of the administration.""Not that I have anything against it," he said. "Just that I think my voice will actually be more valuable outside the administration. There are so many issues that affect our country right now, and we can't lose sight of them. So winning the election is really just step one.""I'll continue to write, continue to speak publicly, and work on helping to focus us as a nation on what's really important," he said.Allan Smith contributed to this report. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/barack-obama-donald-trump-temperament-white-house-election-president-elect-2016-11">OBAMA: Certain elements of Trump's temperament 'may not serve him well' in the White House</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="x1Z2NsNzE6cRI9T7E-lw7ZA4eTi-VKLG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Trump nominates Ben Carson for secretary of housing and urban development

To transform Indian cities and towns, and make them engine for growth, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> will tomorrow launch three mega flagship projects, including the <keyword id="6377036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="smart-cities">Smart Cities</keyword> proposal at the cost of whopping Rs 4 lakh crore. The PM will release operational guidelines for these projects - 100 Smart Cities, the <keyword id="2829341" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Atal-Mission-for-Rejuvenation">Atal Mission for Rejuvenation</keyword> and <keyword id="2130852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Urban-transformation">Urban Transformation</keyword> (<keyword id="29369" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amrut">AMRUT</keyword>) for 500 cities and <keyword id="2751345" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="housing-for-all">Housing-For-All</keyword> by 2022 in urban areas, a PTI report said. 

	Modi will also unveil the logo of the housing mission. He was involved during the finalisation of its design.
 

	The guidelines for each of the three projects were made after almost year-long consultations with states, Union Territories and urban local bodies.
 

	While the Smart City and AMRUT projects will draw Rs 48,000 crore and and Rs 50,000 crore, respectively, in central grants over five years, Housing-for-All by 2022 will see the government spend about Rs 3 lakh crore in the next seven years as it aims to build 2 crore affordable houses in urban areas for slum dwellers and people from economically-weaker sections (EWS) and low income groups.
 

	Under the housing scheme, interest subsidy of 6.5% on housing loans with tenure up to 15 years will be provided to EWS and low income groups, giving them a benefit of around Rs 2.3 lakh each.
 <keyword id="168340" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Urban-Development-Minister">Urban Development Minister</keyword> M <keyword id="74369" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Venkaiah-Naidu">Venkaiah Naidu</keyword> said the three projects will herald a new urban era. "The journey for team India begins tomorrow," he said. 

	States and local bodies will play a vital role in the execution of these projects, the minister said, adding that there will also be a lot of scope for private participation.
 

	The Smart City project seeks to improve quality of life in 100 selected cities with 24 hour water and power supply, world class transportation system, better education and recreational facilities, e-governance and environment-friendly atmosphere, among others. 
 The Smart City project will be based on <keyword id="457507" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="PPP-model">PPP model</keyword>, Naidu said. 

	AMRUT seeks to ensure basic infrastructure for 500 cities with a population of above one lakh. Ensuring water supply to each household, sewer connections, sanitation and solid waste management, provision for roads and public transportation beside implementation of reforms in urban governance would be the focus under the scheme. 
 While urban population will increase by over 400 million to touch 814 million by 2050, India faces a mass <keyword id="142764" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Urbanisation">urbanisation</keyword> challenge even as many of its biggest cities are already bursting at the seams. 

	With the help of these schemes, the government is hoping to bring about a transformation of urban India with the critical goal of making the country an economic hub. 
 

	The launch will be followed by a two-day workshop in which over 1,000 mayors, municipal heads, state ministers and chief secretaries will take part. 
	 
	(Image: Reuters)

PM Modi to launch three projects to develop urban India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President-elect <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword> will nominate Democratic Rep. <keyword id="3519748" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="marcia-fudge">Marcia Fudge</keyword> of Ohio to lead the <keyword id="382157" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Department-of-Housing-and-Urban-Development">Department of Housing and Urban Development</keyword>, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/08/biden-to-tap-marcia-fudge-to-lead-housing-agency-443767">according to a Politico report</a>.</li><li>If confirmed by the Senate, Fudge would become only the second Black woman to manage the department.</li><li>The pick will likely assuage some legislators and activists who were concerned about the level of diversity among Biden's Cabinet picks.</li></ul>President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/08/biden-to-tap-marcia-fudge-to-lead-housing-agency-443767">according to a Politico report</a>.If confirmed by the Senate, Fudge would become only the second Black woman to manage the sprawling department with a $50 billion budget and roughly 8,000 employees. (The first Black woman to lead the agency was Patricia Roberts Harris, who served under former President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981.) The development comes as Fudge <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/11/marcia-fudge-agriculture-biden-cabinet-436066">had publicly lobbied</a> to become Biden's Secretary of Agriculture in recent days.Fudge, who represents an urban district anchored by Cleveland, is a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus <a href="https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-marcia-fudge-usda-973cedad-d3dd-47c9-b85d-bafb4e0cb3e0.html">had lobbied for Fudge's candidacy</a>, but former President Barack Obama's agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/07/vilsack-usda-top-choice-443424">has recently risen</a> as a frontrunner in Bidenworld, according to Politico.This pick could assuage some legislators and activists who were concerned about the level of diversity in Biden's Cabinet.House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest-ranking Black legislator in Congress and a close Biden ally, recently said that he wanted to see more Black nominees, especially Black women, in the administration.Fudge would join retired US Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-picks-black-general-lloyd-austin-military-2020-12">who Biden has chosen</a> to run the Pentagon, and former diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who the president-elect has nominated for the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations, as Black nominees in the administration. While the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations is not currently a Cabinet-level position, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/22/us/joe-biden-trump">Biden will elevate it back</a> to that status.<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/07/943768930/biden-is-under-pressure-to-name-more-people-of-color-to-top-posts">Biden has long pledged</a> to form an administration that reflects the diversity of the country."I promise you, it'll be the single most diverse Cabinet based on race, color, based on gender, that's ever existed in the United States of America," Biden reiterated during a Dec. 4 news conference.

Biden will tap Rep. Marcia Fudge to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> has suggested 24 steps for an action plan to renovate the railways. 
 
The measures include asking the ministries of food and railways to chalk out the total nine-month food requirement of the Northeast states and formulate a way to transport the whole stock in one go. The other steps are Wi-Fi connectivity on all passenger trains in three months and ‘scrap-free railways’ by June 30 next year. 
 
The railways have been asked to find out an area where world-class technology can be deployed. 
 The action points are a mix of macro- and micro-level objectives. What is evident in all action points is Modi’s concept of getting departments and ministries to work in tandem with common objectives. The <keyword id="6696781" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Urban-development-ministry">Urban Development Ministry</keyword> and the railways have been asked to connect all major airports with the metro rail. 
 
One of the action points is to connect all the underdeveloped areas with the developed areas. Leveraging the UPA’s flagship MGNREGA, the Prime Minister’s Office wants the project to be linked with the laying of tracks and other works in the railways.

PMO Suggests 24 Steps To Transform Railways

<keyword id="434509" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Union-Urban-Development-Ministry">Union Urban Development Ministry</keyword> today asserted that there will be no extension of time beyond December 15, 2015 for submission of city level <keyword id="3909989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Smart-City-Plans">Smart City Plans</keyword> by respective urban local bodies and states. 
 This was made clear by the Ministry at a meeting with Principal Secretaries of state Urban Development departments and Municipal Commissioners of some cities included in the <keyword id="513113" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="smart-city">Smart City</keyword> Mission, from nine states. 
 
The states represented at the meeting were - UP, MP, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Nagaland. 
 
In fact, some Municipal Commissioners raised the issue stating that they have been working hard on preparation of Smart City Plans to meet the deadline of December 15 this year, set by the UD Ministry, for submission of plans and if the Ministry would consider extension of time if such requests were received. 
 
Today's meeting was convened to discuss with officials of states and mission cities the actions being undertaken for preparation of city level smart city plans and particularly, efforts towards ensuring citizen participation in formulating smart city vision for each mission city and action plans besides the criteria for evaluation of smart city plans, to be submitted by December 15. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Smart City plans have to be submitted by 15 December, says Union Urban Development Ministry

<keyword id="6696781" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-development-ministry">Urban Development Ministry</keyword> today announced it would launch a mobile App for citizens to post their complaints about <keyword id="56059" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Garbage">garbage</keyword> pile-up in their areas and seek timely redress of their grievance. Named '<keyword id="3232838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-City-Solutions">Swachh City Solutions</keyword>', the proposed mobile and web-based application will be developed in partnership with an NGO 'Janaagraha' Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, to ensure timely and effective implementation of the <keyword id="2312336" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Mission">Swachh Bharat Mission</keyword> objectives in 4041 statutory towns in the country. 

	A Memorandum of Understanding to the effect was signed today between the Ministry and the NGO 'Janaagraha' here. 
 

	The application is likely to become operational by April and will give citizens access to the latest technology to lodge their complaint and actively participate in keeping their cities clean. 
 

	Speaking on the occasion, UD Ministry Joint Secretary Praveen Prakash said, "Through this App, the government is providing the citizens with a platform to express their concerns regarding their areas and build community participation and consensus towards maintaining the cleanliness in their cities." 
 

	Prakash, who is also the Mission Director for Swachh Bharat said "The App will also enable municipal officials/field engineers to see each complaint and update the status of the resolution along with photos, hence building accountability in the system by ensuring timely grievance redressal." 
 

	Citizens will have features that will allow them to view complaints posted nearby, and show support by 'Voting up' on various complaints. 
 The App, in addition to enabling the creation of a community around complaints, leading to community participation and faster complaint resolution, will also enable the Ministry to rate and rank the 4041 <keyword id="6374279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-local-bodies">urban local bodies</keyword> (ULBs) in India, based on their efficiency of redressing citizen grievances. The application aims at realising the vision of Swachh Bharat Mission towards a clean and <keyword id="1459267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Garbage-Free-India">garbage free India</keyword> by 2019. 
	 
	(Image credits: Reuters)

Swachh City Solutions App for garbage free India by April

Are you tired of carrying ‘n’ numbers of cards as soon as you leave your house? The government has come out with a solution. The <keyword id="162100" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Urban-Development">Ministry of Urban Development</keyword> has launched a NCMC model to enable seamless travel by metros and other transportation systems across the country. 
 
You can use the same card based on the Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model for shopping as well. This card does away with the need for carrying separate cards for banking and transit requirements. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Urban+Development+Minister+M+Venkaiah+Naidu+">Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu</a> has approved the 'EMV Open Loop Card with stored value' for this initiative. 
 
Earlier, Naidu had set up a committee chaired by the additional secretary in the ministry to find an inter-operable mobility card that can be used across different transport systems in India and which can also be used as a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=credit+or+debit+card+">credit or debit card</a> as well. 
 This committee had representatives of <keyword id="6373306" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="National-Informatics-Centre">National Informatics Centre</keyword> (NIC), <keyword id="1306047" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Centre-for-Development-of-Advance-Computing">Centre for Development of Advance Computing</keyword> (C-DAC), <keyword id="59330" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bureau-of-Indian-Standards">Bureau of Indian Standards</keyword> (BIS), National Payment Corporation of India (NCPI) and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ministry+of+Finance">Ministry of Finance</a>. 
 
After studying different models used across the world, the committee has recommended the EMV Open Loop Card with stored value. 
 
This Smart Common Mobility Payment Card addresses the deficiencies associated with other cards being used in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Singapore+">Singapore</a> and other countries. This card meets travel needs based on stored value of money. The card can be used for travelling by any means of transport and also enables account based retail applications. 
 Globally, there is no nationwide common card except in <keyword id="6356662" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Singapore">Singapore</keyword> where in inter-operability is confined to the city only. The committee has therefore recommended the EMV Open Loop Card with stored value for use across the country. 
 The ministry has decided to task the <keyword id="394949" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="National-Payments-Corporation">National Payments Corporation</keyword> of India with indigenous development and management of clearing and settlement of payments, simulating cards, terminals and network, a support base of vendors for providing certified tools, cards, terminals and other services, in line with the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=%27Make+in+India%27+">'Make in India'</a> initiative. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Now travel anywhere within India using the same card!

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The green-city model doesn't always come with environmental benefits. </li><li>Green <keyword id="12198336" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gentrification" source="Orion">gentrification</keyword> is increasing nearby property values and displacing long-term residents.</li><li>Winifred Curran, a geography professor, spoke with Insider about solutions to green gentrification.</li></ul>In Pilsen, a historically Latino neighborhood in Chicago, the city plans to construct a multipurpose 4.2-mile-long path, dubbed <a href="https://elpaseotrail.org/">El Paseo Trail</a>, along the abandoned rail line.The proposed project would create more green space and access to environmental amenities. But after the 2015 completion of the nearby <a href="https://www.the606.org/">606 trail</a> dramatically <a href="https://www.housingstudies.org/releases/Displacement-Pressure-in-Context-606/">increased property prices</a>, the Pilsen community <a href="https://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/pilsen-community-split-over-who-will-benefit-paseo-trail">worries</a> about the displacement of long-term residents. This is known as green gentrification. Public investment in green spaces - or the rehabilitation of environmental disamenities - in a neighborhood increases property values, which prices out low- and middle-income residents.In 2019, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-10/why-greenway-parks-cause-greater-gentrification">Bloomberg reported</a> that "being located within a half-mile of a new greenway park increases the odds that a neighborhood will gentrify by more than 200%."<h2>Green-city models and the perpetuation of inequity </h2>Green gentrification includes the injection of green spaces for property gains, as well as park cleanups, riverbank restorations, and bioremediation - often as a result of community activism from local groups. But once these neighborhoods receive large investments, the longtime advocates of them are unable to stay and experience the benefits they once fought for. "What we're seeing is that attempting to be green often ends up building on the same inequalities that got us here in the first place," Winifred Curran, an urban geographer and professor of geography at Chicago's DePaul University, told Insider. According to <a href="https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2021/03/Cities%20IPCC%20Proceedings%20FINAL%20for%20Email-S.pdf">UN-Habitat</a>, cities are responsible for roughly 75% of the world's CO2 emissions but occupy only 3% of Earth's total land. As rapid urbanization puts pressure on the environment and cities' public-health systems, even green safety <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/cities-fighting-climate-woes-hasten-green-gentrification/">adaptations</a> - water-absorbing green space, storm-surge-proof seawalls, elevated buildings, and more - can become a financial amenity that affects lower-income residents the most.There's a disconnect between types of projects sold as "green" and the environmental benefit they bring to city neighborhoods, Curran noted.For example, while New York's High Line rail-to-trail park preaches <a href="https://www.thehighline.org/sustainable-practices/">sustainable practices</a>, it's one of the most expensive parks to maintain: The first two sections, which opened in 2009 and 2011, respectively, have an estimated maintenance cost <a href="http://assets.thehighline.org/pdf/id_faq.pdf">between $3.5 million and $4.5 million</a> a year. On top of that, the High Line's surrounding neighborhood experienced a 35.3% <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204619314574#:~:text=This%20study%20estimates%20the%20impact,eco-gentrification%20in%20urban%20areas.&amp;text=We%20find%20that%20homes%20closest,35.3%25%20increase%20in%20housing%20values.ues.">increase in housing values</a>, which spurred the development of boutique hotels and million-dollar condos.<h2>The solution to green gentrification</h2>The case for green developments often highlights <keyword id="11896309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainability" source="Orion">sustainability</keyword> but leaves out equity in the process. "A lot of greening efforts have been very superficial. It's to get credit for doing the work without accomplishing a whole lot of change," Curran said. "We need to foreground equity so that it is both inclusive of everyone who's affected but also recognizes that some people have borne the negative effects of our irresponsible environmental policies and that those same people are now bearing the ill effects of our environmental gentrification policies."The solution to green gentrification often lies in the community and rethinking the broader concept of sustainability.Groups such as Chicago's <a href="http://www.lvejo.org/">LVEJO</a>, New York's <a href="http://www.newtowncreekalliance.org/">Newtown Creek Alliance</a> and <a href="http://uprose.org">UpRose</a>, Michigan's <a href="https://www.blackmillennials4flint.org/about-us/">Black Millennials for Flint</a>, and <a href="https://bostoncan.org/about/">the Boston Climate Action Network</a> are just a few of the climate-justice organizations hoping to advance environmental change through an <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/how-prevent-city-climate-action-becoming-green-gentrification">equity lens</a>, which includes <a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/03/04/pilsen-little-village-voters-tell-city-officials-el-paseo-needs-a-community-benefits-agreement/">pushing for</a> affordable-housing agreements in neighborhoods with new investments. The concept of a green city must encompass more than flashy, expensive initiatives. Landscape improvements such as <a href="https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/news/2018-11-30/oysters-could-help-clean-hawaiis-polluted-waterways">setting up</a> oyster colonies in polluted waterways are one example of the ways in which cities can support neighborhoods without increasing the cost of new developments.The model, coined by Curran as "<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13549839.2012.729569">just green enough</a>," seeks to improve areas without displacing the livelihood of its residents in the process.

Prioritizing equity is needed to combat green-city gentrification and 'irresponsible environmental policies,' urban geographer says

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images</div></div></div><ul><li>Federal regulators have served Facebook with a complaint over the company's ad targeting tools available to housing advertisers.</li><li>The Department of Housing and Urban Development's complaint sides with advocacy groups that brought a lawsuit against Facebook in March.</li><li>The lawsuit claims that Facebook violates fair-housing laws, which follows a massive investigation by ProPublica.</li></ul>The Justice Department filed a "statement of interest" on Friday that sides with housing groups who claim that Facebook's <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> platform violates fair-housing laws.<a href="https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/HUD_01-18-0323_Complaint.pdf">The statement</a> allows a suit filed in March, led by the National Fair Housing Alliance, to live on. According to the housing groups, Facebook's tools allow advertisers to target by sex, religion, familial status and national origin, which violate fair-housing laws.The company has been in hot water over its housing advertising practices since 2016, when <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-lets-advertisers-exclude-users-by-race">ProPublica published</a> a report about Facebook's monitoring of housing ads. Since then, Facebook <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/02/improving-enforcement-and-promoting-diversity-updates-to-ads-policies-and-tools/">has updated</a> its policies and added machine learning that identifies housing, credit, and employment ads, but a <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-advertising-discrimination-housing-race-sex-national-origin">follow-up report from ProPublica</a> in November found that ads continued to not be policed.Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Facebook's practice, "creates and harvests user data to develop profiles for each user, categorizing them into groups based on demographics, interests, behaviors and other criteria." He added that "categorizing of Facebook users based on protected characteristics" violates the Fair Housing Administration (or FHA). Specifically, the Justice Department commented on the Communications Decency Act portion of the lawsuit - not the entire lawsuit."There is no place for discrimination on Facebook; it's strictly prohibited in our policies," Facebook said in a statement. "Over the past year we've strengthened our systems to further protect against misuse. We're aware of the statement of interest filed and will respond in court." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/machine-perfectly-pours-concrete-gutters-curbs-power-curber-paver-2018-7">This machine perfectly pours concrete</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is suing Facebook over 'unlawful' advertising tactics

A much hullabaloo over <keyword id="6387077" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi-government">Narendra Modi government</keyword>’s <keyword id="513113" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="smart-city">smart city</keyword> project seems to have dimmed a bit. A report by The Economic Times confirms that an unsmart decision on the part of the government is affecting the execution of the prestigious project. Allegations of “conflict of interest” have left a heavy blow to the project, which resulted in a last-minute cancellation of its first major tender. 
 Sources have informed the ET that international consultancy firm <keyword id="6372399" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="McKinsey">McKinsey</keyword> had "unofficially" helped the <keyword id="162100" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Urban-Development">Ministry of Urban Development</keyword> in preparing the groundwork for the Rs 7,000-crore project and one of its consultants had even authored a key tender document. However, the firm itself wasn't barred from bidding for the tender and was apparently working on a bid when the tender was scrapped on March 9, barely 48 hours before the closing date. 
 McKinsey's role in the project came into light when the <keyword id="383250" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="National-Institute-of-Urban-Affairs">National Institute of Urban Affairs</keyword> (NIUA), which is responsible to implement the project, released the tender seeking request for qualification cum request for proposal on February 17. This was proven when the word file document uploaded on the NIUA website was found to be authored by McKinsey consultant Amit Gupta. The government's Central Public Procurement portal also has the same document. 
 
The tender was cancelled after the ministry and NIUA received several complaints about the "conflict of interest" and that the document was tailored to benefit McKinsey. 
 NIUA director <keyword id="74760" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jagan-Shah">Jagan Shah</keyword> admitted to the ET that he received calls and messages pointing out the possible conflict of interest, but said there was no written complaint regarding the matter. It was withdrawn since the "requirements for the project changed radically and the goalpost got shifted", Shah said. He said the document was written by "a Young Turk from McKinsey" and couldn't confirm whether McKinsey would have been kept out of the bidding process. 
 
A McKinsey spokeswoman, on being contacted by the financial daily refused to comment on the matter. 
 
A ministry source has informed that deficit of manpower made the officials seek help from McKinsey. An official defended the issue saying, “they are working pro bono.” 
 
Talking to The Economic Times, OP Agarwal, a former bureaucrat at the urban development ministry and now director-general of the Institute of Urban Transport, said seeking such unofficial help wasn't proper. 
 
"Sometimes, the ministries do take the help of private consultants to write project reports or draft RFPs, but then it is explicit that they cannot bid for the same," he added. 
 
(Image: India Times)

​Govt’s ‘unsmart’ tender decision, leads its ‘smart city’ project to a road block

Smartphones have transformed the life of many people living in the country in a big way. Using these devices, one could easily access Internet to connect with friends and family, pay bills, watch interesting videos, etc. A similar transformation can be witnessed with the introduction of the much-talked about Smart Cities project.
 

	As the extensive consultation process with all stakeholders has come to an end, a PTI report has revealed that the ambitious project is likely to launch the next month.
 Addressing a seminar on Smart Cities in New Delhi today, <keyword id="2586586" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-development-minister-M-Venkaiah-Naidu">Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu</keyword> said "We are close to launching the much awaited Smart Cities initiative on ground. Prolonged and extensive consultations on this new concept and initiative have finally concluded. We will have all the necessary approvals for this project by the end of this month and action on ground will begin next month onwards." 

	He also added, "We are collectively gearing up to meet the challenges of growing urbanisation with the goal of converting it into an opportunity." 

	In 2014, the BJP government had announced the mission of constructing 100 Smart Cities across India, keeping better technology, superior management and modern governance in mind, the leading news agency said.
 According to Naidu, the <keyword id="513113" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="smart-city">Smart City</keyword> will be selected purely on the basis of the criteria charted down by the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>. Using a three-fold approach, the <keyword id="6356245" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="minister">minister</keyword> also explained the difference on how a smart city is different from a city in which smart things happen. He said, "Retrofitting and redevelopment of unsustainable urban areas that we have inherited and identified for development as smart cities, and development of new smart cities." 

	"We want smart cities to be developed to take advantage of and further evolve around their core economic activity, using it as an economic engine, like port cities, tourism cities, healthcare and educational cities," concluded Naidu.

	(Image: GIFT)

You Searched For "Urban development" and got 13 results

ADB approves $400 mn loan to support govt's urban reform agenda

PTI

PM Modi to announce 20 smart cities in January

BI India Bureau

Trump nominates Ben Carson for secretary of housing and urban development

Peter Jacobs

PM Modi to launch three projects to develop urban India

BI India Bureau

Biden will tap Rep. Marcia Fudge to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development

John L. Dorman

PMO Suggests 24 Steps To Transform Railways

BI India Bureau

Smart City plans have to be submitted by 15 December, says Union Urban Development Ministry

Swachh City Solutions App for garbage free India by April

BI India Bureau

Now travel anywhere within India using the same card!

BI India Bureau

Prioritizing equity is needed to combat green-city gentrification and 'irresponsible environmental policies,' urban geographer says

Lily Katzman

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is suing Facebook over 'unlawful' advertising tactics

Lauren Johnson

Govt’s ‘unsmart’ tender decision, leads its ‘smart city’ project to a road block

BI India Bureau

Smartphones were never going to be enough for India, it’s time to welcome India’s very first Smart City!

BI India Bureau

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

You Searched For "Urban development" and got 13 results

ADB approves $400 mn loan to support govt's urban reform agenda

PTI

PM Modi to announce 20 smart cities in January

BI India Bureau

Trump nominates Ben Carson for secretary of housing and urban development

Peter Jacobs

PM Modi to launch three projects to develop urban India

BI India Bureau

Biden will tap Rep. Marcia Fudge to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development

John L. Dorman

PMO Suggests 24 Steps To Transform Railways

BI India Bureau

Smart City plans have to be submitted by 15 December, says Union Urban Development Ministry

Swachh City Solutions App for garbage free India by April

BI India Bureau

Now travel anywhere within India using the same card!

BI India Bureau

Prioritizing equity is needed to combat green-city gentrification and 'irresponsible environmental policies,' urban geographer says

Lily Katzman

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is suing Facebook over 'unlawful' advertising tactics

Lauren Johnson

​Govt’s ‘unsmart’ tender decision, leads its ‘smart city’ project to a road block

BI India Bureau

Smartphones were never going to be enough for India, it’s time to welcome India’s very first Smart City!

BI India Bureau

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

Govt’s ‘unsmart’ tender decision, leads its ‘smart city’ project to a road block