In earlier times, a major part of the Indian population lived in rural areas, whereas India is at a stage of rapid urbanization now; a large part of the rural population is moving into urban areas increasing the need of new habitats. Commonly when people think of habitats, they mainly consider planning, design and construction and the occupancy phase is disregarded. Although habitats need maintenance and upgradation, this has been done informally in India until now. But these habitats, either individual or collective, are getting more complex with constantly evolving lifestyles thus creating a need of competent professionals for appropriate management. To respond to this need, last year CEPT University introduced a first of its kind course in India: Masters in Habitat Management.
The recent advent and rise in township culture has also induced an opportunity for habitat management professionals.
Townships are self-sufficient collective habitats with private infrastructure which is managed by the developer for certain duration, usually five to seven years. But after this period the townships will need professionals with expertise in infrastructure and management for proper functioning. Getting to the smaller elements like commercial/residential buildings, a Facilities Manager is required to maintain facilities like HVAC (Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning), elevators, fire safety systems, etc. and services like security, reception, valet, and more. Customarily developers do not have such professionals in house except for the big players and they outsource it to either individuals or firms.
Urban Management has been a known role since a long time. Fifteen years ago the AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) introduced the post of Assistant Manager but no professional courses in urban management were available so mostly MBA graduates were appointed to this position. They are knowledgeable in finance field but lack appropriate knowledge of infrastructure. As a result, they require more time to get acclimatized to this position by which time they usually get transferred. Thus no significant results were achieved. While in Nagar Palikas usually Civil Engineers are recruited as Chief Officers, there is an opposite scenario here as they lack accounting, finance, marketing and human resource skills. Apart from the existing positions, implementation of new local management models like the City Manager’s model at Lavassa have increased the need of specialized professionals.
Moreover current technological advancements like the use of RFID tags, 3D/4D modelling in building services to aid maintenance and repairs, incorporation of Information Technology for efficient planning and maintenance of infrastructure have laid emphasis over the need of specialized professionals. Apart from core technical and management skills, soft skills like decision-making, negotiating, and more are equally important. Although there has been less awareness about this field, the current rapid rate of urbanization has created an urgent need of specialized courses to train personnel.
The Masters in Habitat Management provides a tailored course to impart the necessary management and technical skills required at different levels. At CEPT this course is presented as a studio based academic program which includes core courses, electives, guest lectures, site visits, case studies, summer and winter school and also internship for an extended understanding and skill development. The course is widely categorized into four parts: Settlement Management, Ward Management, Urban Services Improvement and Capstone Project (Research or Project based). This course imparts an expertise in the field which is much-needed to understand the bigger picture.
This article was originally published on CEPT Portfolio.
Savvy Munshi 