Urban Collective Action in Small Cities: Planning Public Spaces in Kottayam Municipality, Kerala, India

Kerala (a province/state of India) has been implementing participatory planning at the local government level, known as "people's planning," for nearly 25 years. This initiative aims to sustain the state’s social gains by involving grassroots citizen assemblies. Notably, Kerala has made significant strides in public health, achieving health indicators comparable to developed nations. It has been achieved mainly through collective action by effectively utilizing public spaces. This paper examines Kottayam municipality’s Covid-19 containment strategy and welfare measures, emphasizing collaboration with Kudumbashree (a women’s self-help group) and civil society organizations. The study also investigates the health infrastructure under municipal control, the role of ground-level health workers, and community actions around public spaces, including food provision for vulnerable populations.

Additionally, the paper analyzes a state government circular that called for a shift in planning priorities during the outbreak and whether this was reflected in Kottayam’s response. It critiques the annual planning cycle, which may hinder effective pandemic management due to its rigid deadlines. The study posits that strong local public medical facilities can lead to complacency in public health planning. The paper further evaluates the municipality’s use of an emergency operating centre (EOC) model and its alignment with the WHO’s integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) strategy. It also explores the feasibility of creating a municipal contingency fund (under collective action) for future pandemics. Theoretical perspectives on "construction of spaces" and the "right to the city" (Lefebvre, 1974; Harvey, 2008) will be applied to understand urban collective public action in this context.