KOCHI: Kerala’s new urban vision aims to turn its cities into specialised growth centres, linking economic development with local strengths while ensuring fair distribution of resources.
The Kerala Urban Planning Commission (KUPC) has recommended a slate of city-specific clusters — from a Thrissur-Kochi Fintech hub and a Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam Knowledge Corridor to a Kannur Fashion City and Kozhikode Literature City. Industrial Smart Cities are planned for Palakkad and Kasaragod, while Kannur-Kasaragod and Thrissur-Ernakulam will be developed as education and health hubs. According to experts, the proposals build on Kerala’s distinctive development model that balanced social equity with growth, but they also warn that the next leap requires fresh state-led investments.
“Kerala has been good at distributing resources and able to provide employment, and spatial and social transformation. The majority of growth and employment in the state comes from the tertiary sector. Now Kerala needs state-led investment plans. Capacity to invest should also be improved. So the state has a role of catalyst and needs to reinvent the city structure,” said Tikendar Singh Panwar, former deputy mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation and a member of KUPC.
The focus is not just on Kerala’s traditional growth hubs. “Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are saturated now. We need to focus on Malabar areas. With Mangaluru port and Kannur airport nearby, we have better connectivity. The traditional industries in Malabar areas should be revived and developed,” said K S Hari, another KUPC member.
Hari added that Kerala must turn its knowledge base into enterprise. “Also some of the prominent banks and financial firms in India are from the Thrissur-Ernakulam areas. So we have people who have knowledge. The presence of higher education institutions in Thiruvananthapuram can help make the area a knowledge corridor.
We need to translate knowledge and come up with industries,” he said. Panwar said Kerala’s urban trajectory is distinct, with cities merging into rural belts and an industrial policy already in place. “One of the pillars of urban development happens to be the co-drivers.
Kerala is different in the way the evolution and distribution have happened. Now cities are expanding to rural areas. Also, the state has an industrial policy. We tried to bring in some formulations after referring to the industrial policy,” he added.
The roadmap is expected to anchor the state’s upcoming Nava Kerala Urban Policy, which seeks to marry economic growth with inclusive and sustainable urbanisation.
Proposed projects
Thrissur-Kochi Fintech hub
Palakkad and Kasaragod Industrial Smart Cities
Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam Knowledge Corridor
Kannur Fashion City
Kannur-Kasaragod and Thrissur-Ernakulam education and health hubs
Kozhikode Literature City
The two-day Urban Conclave in Kochi, which brought together 3,115 delegates and 275 speakers, concluded on Saturday with a strong call to professionalise urban governance and prepare Kerala’s cities for a sustainable future. The conclave saw participation from urban experts from 12 countries, three
ministers, four foreign mayors, and eight mayors from Indian states. Minister for Local Self-Government, M B Rajesh, said recommendations include creating business development councils for cities, establishing fact-based governance systems, and setting up urban observatories in all cities within two years, backed by a state-level observatory. “Recommendations focus on professionalising urban governance through participatory professionalism, performance-based grading of local
bodies and officials, and enhancing citizen participation using technology. A dedicated authority for waste management coordination, digitisation to improve tax collection, leveraging climate funds and green bonds, and encouraging investments from the Malayali diaspora were also proposed,” Rajesh said. The event also saw the signing of Letters of Intent with
UN-Habitat and UNU-CRIS, and the release of a child- and youth-friendly city charter prepared under the UNICEF’s guidance.