Kerala Urban Policy Commission Refreezes City Planning

Kerala is reinventing its cities in order to address the dual challenge of high urbanisation and climate risk. In December 2023 the Kerala Urban Policy Commission (KUPC) was established and presented its 25-year roadmap in March 2025. The proposal is intended to transform the towns of Kerala into climate-sensitive and community-based areas- the first of its kind in urban governance in India.

The Reason the Commission was constituted.

In the future, over 80 percent of the population of Kerala will be based in urban regions, by the year 2050. This increase, coupled with flooding, landslides, and coastal erosion jeopardize infrastructure and livelihoods. The centralised urban models did not suit Kerala geography and social structure and so, the State set up KUPC as a locally based long-term approach.

Method and Research

KUPC had completed 33 specialised studies; water systems, finance, land use, and society. It conducted 53 district-level consultations with mayors, NGOs, workers and residents. Its last 2,359-page report combined census information, satellite images, and community feedback to make an actionable, inclusive framework.

Key Recommendations

• Climate zoning: Flood, landslide and coastal risk hazard-based land use planning.
• Urban data hub: Live surveillance at Kerala institute of local administration.
• Green finance: environment tax on projects, climate insurance, and eco-bonds of large and small cities.
• Reform of governance: Elected city cabinets, and municipal cadres of specialists.
• Economic recovery: Local clusters in financial technology, knowledge-based economies, and intelligent manufacturing.
• Commons/heritage: Wetlands, waterways and heritage protection, city health councils, vulnerable groups.

Unique Features

In a way that is unlike the traditional reports, KUPC is a combination of scientific and lived experiences. Auditory messages of fisher folkers, street sellers, and youth activists are incorporated into hazard maps and municipal dashboards. Green levies and pooled bonds are fiscal instruments to empower and reform city funds, and governance reform to introduce young technocrats and citizen control.

Wider Impact

KUPC is the first State-level urban policy commission in India and it creates a precedent. Lessons may be learnt by other States: Its holistic, climate-sensitive and democratic model provides them:

• Form inclusive commissions,
• Combine citizen input with data,
• Give cities fiscal independence,
• Stop fixes to transform action.

The blueprint of Kerala highlights that climate resilience, community involvement and financial empowerment are key to sustainable urban development.