Local Residents’ Perception of Social and Economic Impacts of Urban Riverfront Development: Case of Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project

Abstract

Waterfront development projects have an all-round impact on cities. Many scholars have acknowledged this; however their research has not considered the perception of local residents, about such developments and its impacts. This paper therefore addresses this imbalance in the literature by analysing a survey of local residents’ perception of the social and economic impacts of such developments by considering India’s first riverfront development project, the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project (SRFD), Ahmedabad. The research findings examine the structural relationship between positive and negative dimensions of social and economic impacts with the total impact dimensions of urban riverfront development as perceived by the respondents. Among the twelve perceived economic impact and fourteen perceived social impact exogenous constructs, only eight and six constructs respectively are identified as strong components contributing to the total impact perception of urban riverfront development. The rest of the positive social impact dimensions are not perceived in a significant manner. Approaches should be considered to nullify the negative perceptions and to intensify the positive construct by involving the community or by considering public participation in the whole planning process of urban riverfront development. The study also highlights that though 74 % of the respondents support mixed-use development for the riverfront, there is no significant relationship between this preference and perception of overall impact of urban riverfront development. The conclusive remarks highlight the need to consider residents’ perception at the very inception stage to ensure their support and participation in the planning and development of such projects.