Urban Environmental Degradation in Modern India- Culture and Technology in Perspective

The degradation of natural environment is a prime concern for the urban agglomerations of developing countries like India. The cultural mores of India largely promote home gardens. An empirical investigation into the city of Kozhikode located in the state of Kerala in South India reveals the gradual loss of green vegetation from households’ private properties. In the last ten years, the number of trees has diminished by a staggering 11.15%. The loss of home gardens is associated with the infusion of technological innovations. The nature of positive externality of the environmental resources demands taxation and provision of public goods by the government. An alternative way to provide public goods is through cultural demands and thereby promoting individuals to take care of the public good. In the wake of technological growth, this alternative channel may no longer work. We develop an economic environment to explain the phenomenon of loss of private green spaces on the wake of technological progress.