Evaluating Data for Urban Decision-Making surrounding Storm Water Drainage Systems in Chennai

The south Indian megacity of Chennai, India is susceptible to recurrent flooding and seawater infiltration. The city is quickly urbanizing, but the expansion of municipal infrastructure for water and drainage has not kept pace with this rate of development. So, in the event of a storm, the city does not have the necessary built infrastructure to diffuse water from heavy rainfalls. This exacerbates the losses from flooding, as seen in the recent floods of December 2015. While in recent years expenditures on storm water systems have increased, the general opinion is that these investments have delivered poor outcomes, with implications for inclusive and environmentally sustainable development.

This research aims to understand decision-making for urban services, with a particular focus on storm water drainage in Chennai. Very little is known about the planning, execution and monitoring processes for storm water drainage infrastructure. So, I will look at how the lack of high quality data poses barriers to achieving transparent and robust decision-making processes, and socially desirable outcomes.

This research will contribute to more participatory, inclusive, and environmentally responsible urban decision-making.

Faculty Supervisor:

Madhav Badami

Student:

Partner:

Madras Institute of Development Studies;Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group;Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

McGill University

Program: