Social structure and livelihood adaptive strategies of urban farmers in response to land use change along the Yamuna River in Delhi, India

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) recognizes community participation as an essential component of sustainable planning and development, but there are many challenges to engaging communities. Communities, often assumed to have common interests and goals, are dynamic, multi-cultural entities, and represent many voices. Social relations play an important role in how community members experience participation and representation and, consequently, engage or disengage from the process. However, the mechanisms driving interactions among people that influence beliefs and behaviors related to participation are not well understood.;This dissertation used a case study of poor urban farmers facing land development to explore how power relationships impacted their planning participation and livelihood strategies. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), this dissertation applied anthropologist Eric Wolf's theories of power as a lens through which to understand the relationship between livelihood assets and livelihood strategies of Yamuna River floodplain farmers. The primary research question this dissertation addressed was: How does the social structure of the farming community situated along the Yamuna River floodplain in Delhi, India impact livelihood adaptation strategies in response to planned land use change?;Using a mixed-methods case study design, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 165 households in Yamuna Khadir to understand power relations within the context of on-going land use changes. Project aims were to: (1) describe how Yamuna farmers exchanged knowledge and resources through social networks; (2) describe the beliefs and behaviors of Yamuna farmers related to land use planning; and (3) identify livelihood adaptation strategies of Yamuna farmers in response to planned land use change. Research methods included semi-structured interviews, mapping of social networks, and observation of social relations.;This research linked theories, methods, and observations together in order to operationalize power. It expands on the concept of power using Wolf's theory that it is a multiple and complex phenomenon pervasive, but working differently, across multiple levels of human interaction. In doing so, it uncovers multiple ways that power relations can impact agency within a community and in the planner-public nexus.;This interdisciplinary dissertation contributes new insights into how cities and planning organizations can work toward solutions to mitigate climate change impacts at the city-level (macro-level) and strengthen livelihood strategies of vulnerable and marginalized populations (micro-level). This case study supports the value of taking a bottom-up approach to identify barriers to community participation, improve community engagement, and achieve more sustainable outcomes.