Immersion Private Limited (IPL), Project: Ansaar Model City

Community Development

The most critical aspects of the business model are the social infrastructure and community development planning services for residents. IPL differentiates itself from public and private sector residential developers through its commitment to developing communities, not just housing. In order for IPL to successfully exit the Project the community should be fully functioning, thriving and residents should be civically, economically and socially empowered.

Social Infrastructure is defined as the physical infrastructure needed to provide a variety of social-economic and socio-cultural services for residents of a development project. Social infrastructure includes educational facilities, centers of worship, health facilities, community center(s), parks, security systems and solid waste management systems. The requirements of the social infrastructure, for example the space needed for primary and secondary education, are closely coordinated with the overall master plan.

Community development initiatives are designed to empower and enable residents to:

  • Use provided social infrastructure effectively;
  • Take ownership of public space and take active participation in maintaining them (e.g. parks);
  • Establish good governance structures (including fiscal management);
  • Design effective methods of conflict resolution;
  • Develop the capacity to access financial resources to maintain and improve civil infrastructure;
  • Cultivate a heightened sense of social and civic duty;
  • Perceive an environment where people of special needs are willingly cared for and attended to via community designed systems.

An integral aspect of the community development efforts are the Block Development Committees. (BDC). BDC’s are established within each block of approximately 25-40 residences. The BDC acts as the basic building block of the community as the main purpose is to act as the point of genesis for the aforementioned empowering and enabling initiatives. BDCs collect monthly fees from block members, design socio-economic annual work-plans and generally serve identified needs of each block.