Urban agglomeration can be an effective engine of growth in a developing country. Yet, urban authorities often struggle to deliver cost-effective, quality public services leaving behind chaotic ungoverned urban spaces (Kelkar, 2019)
Social cooperation often hinges on shared history, values, and resources. Provision of commons requires social interaction, social networking, shared understanding, and social cooperation. A distinct characteristic of the urban space is that it is necessary to share space and resources with strangers. Conversely, Ostrom’s governance system requires a stable group of users, establishing the rules of usage, speed, and accuracy in detecting any deviation from the established rules, and using graduated sanctions to enforce the established rules. The transient nature of the urban landscape provides a formidable challenge for social relationships and becomes an impediment to creating cohesive communities.
The lack of public service in developing countries gives people an incentive to cooperate and either self-provide or participate in the provisioning of urban commons. Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are voluntary associations that have spontaneously sprung up across urban India with the aim of either collectively lobbying the local governmental institutions for more local resources or self-providing community resources. The community resources that RWAs often deal with are community parks, timely upkeep of streets, organising socio-religious community events, ensuring security, and provision of electricity and water. Using a small sample qualitative survey, user-group, and focus-group interviews, we plan to use a case-study approach to examine why and how a selected urban residential park thrives amidst changing population, demographic, and environmental pressures. We will also map the flow of information and the ability to coordinate between relevant actors in the polycentric governance ecosystem. We would like to understand how creating a space RWAs in the polycentric governance ecosystem can create cohesive urban communities which can increase the quality and reduce the cost of public service provision.
Keywords: Commons; urban; RWAs; Green spaces; Social cooperation
