The Incredible Life of Marilyn Monroe Essay Example

The Incredible Life of Marilyn Monroe Paper â€Å"I want to grow old without face-lifts†¦ I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you would never complete your whole life, would you? You would never wholly know yourself. † (Monroe) Although this statement didn’t come true, Marilyn Monroe had a memorable life filled with many ups and downs. Who would think that such a successful young woman had such an unstable life? On June 1, 1926 a baby girl was born to Gladys Mortensen at 9:30 a. m. in Los Angeles, California. No one is sure who her father is because her mother was with many men at the time she got pregnant, but believe it was either Martin Edward Mortensen or Charles Gifford. Her birth name was either Norma Jeane Baker or Norma Jeane Mortensen; know to us as Marilyn Monroe. She has two older half-siblings on her mothers side that she has never met. Almost immediately after giving birth, Gladys Mortensen brought Norma to live with Ida and Albert Bolender, who raised her until she was seven years old. It isn’t clear why Gladys had someone else raise her little girl, but being a single mother working in the Great Depression wasn’t easy. We will write a custom essay sample on The Incredible Life of Marilyn Monroe specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Incredible Life of Marilyn Monroe specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Incredible Life of Marilyn Monroe specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Others believe she simply didn’t have the interest or commitment to raise a child. In 1933, after Norma’s 7th birthday, her mother took her back from foster care and decided that she would try raising her on her own. They never had a stable place to live and Norma wasn’t used to the rowdiness and all the drinking in her new home. Several months later Gladys began to be very depressed and avoid all the people around her. She was unable to deal with her life and entered a rest home and then the hospital. The rest of Norma’s life would now be filled with chaos since she didn’t have anywhere to go besides foster homes. In 1935, when Norma was nine her mother was declared legally insane. Grace McKee, Gladys’ best friend; applied to be Norma’s legal guardian. While waiting for the court to appoint a new guardian, she was sent to live in the Los Angeles Orphans Home until she was eleven. In 1937, McKee and Ervin â€Å"Doc† Goddard married and became Norma’s guardian. After six months with â€Å"Aunt Grace† and family, she was sent to live with distant relatives in Compton. This was probably due to the speculations that Goddard may have attempted to molest her. At first I was waking up in the morning at the Goddards’ and thinking I was still at the orphanage. Then, before I could get used to them I was with another aunt and uncle, waking up and thinking I was still at the Goddards. † (Monroe 25) At age twelve she returned to Los Angeles and went to live with Grace (McKee) Goddard’s aunt, 58-year-old Ana Lower. â€Å"She was the first person in the world I ever really loved†¦She was the only one who loved and understood me. † (Monroe 26) At the end of her ninth grade Lower had developed health problems forcing Norma to go back and live with the Goddards. During her first year of high school, Doc Goddard was being transferred to West Virginia and the family was moving too. They decided it would be best to leave Norma, and since Aunt Ana’s health had improved she would move back in with her. She never returned to school after beginning the second semester. In 1941 Norma became good friends with Jim Dougherty, her neighbor. They decided to begin dating even though he was five years older. After being together for six months and Norma finally reaching the legal age to marry (sixteen in the state of California at that time), they wed on June 19, 1942. Our marriage may have been in some place short of heaven, like in the minds of two older ladies, but there was no pretense in how Norma Jeane and I felt about each other once we’d formed that partnership. † (Dougherty 28) She spent the first year of their marriage as a housewife, and then Jim joined the Merchant Marines so they moved to Catalina Island where he was statio ned. In 1944, Jim was sent to the South Pacific with the other Merchant Marines. With Jim gone she began to work at a manufacturer with Jim’s mother called the Radioplane Company. She worked in the â€Å"dope room† making twenty-dollars a week (the nations minimum wage). While working she was spotted by a photographer named David Convor who was taking pictures of women helping the war cause. He said that Marilyn was a â€Å"photographers dream. † Convor started sending her modeling jobs. Norma now had to choose between Jim and her career, she choose her career, causing them to get a divorce in 1946. She began to model in 1946 to earn some extra money. Norma had been modeling for seven years, and then decided to move to Hollywood to further pursue her career. Two years later she became a popular model with many magazines. Norma wanted to do something more with her career and enrolled in a drama class. She signed her first contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946 and decided to dye her hair blonde and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. She was now making one hundred and twenty-five dollars a week. â€Å"She projected an enchanting contrariness on the screen; innocent one minute, naughty the next, and always desirable. † (Luce 32) In 1947 she played in her first movie, â€Å"The Shocking Miss Pilgrim†. She played tiny parts in movies until the 1950’s when she played a small but important role in â€Å"The Asphalt Jungle†. Her role in the movie â€Å"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes† brought her stardom in 1953. She then played in popular movies such as â€Å"All About Eve,† â€Å"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,† â€Å"Don’t Bother to Knock,† â€Å"The Seventh Year Itch,† â€Å"Some Like it Hot,† and â€Å"How to Marry a Millionaire. † Her first actual lead role was in â€Å"Don’t Bother to Knock† Marilyn was in the first issue of Playboy, it sold 54,175 issues. This helped make her the premier sex symbol of the fifties. After dating famous baseball star Joe DiMaggio for two years, they married on January 14, 1954. While they were on their honeymoon in Tokyo, Japan she preformed for the troops. Her presence almost caused a riot because it was during the war. This whole event made Joe uncomfortable and they decided to divorce on October 27, 1954, after nine months. It’s said that they divorced because of a â€Å"conflict between careers. † They stayed close friends after their divorce. The â€Å"Seven Year Itch† was being shot in New York in 1955, thousands of fans gathered on a street corner at 2:00 a. m. to watch and cheer as they filmed and photographed the famous skirt blowing scene due to the air from a subway vent. Hundreds of professional photographers came to watch Marilyn pose. She continued to pose for more than two hours just for her fans to get a glimpse. She then moved from Hollywood to New York to pursue a serious acting career. In 1956 Marilyn started her own motion picture company. â€Å"Hollywood’s a place where they will pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. † (Monroe) In 1957 Monroe became pregnant by Arthur Miller and miscarries her baby and decided to take a break from acting. She then returned and started in â€Å"Some Like it Hot† and went on to win a Golden Globe award for her performance. She becomes pregnant by Miller in 1959 and miscarries again. Marilyn then married for the third time on June 29, 1956 to famous playwright Arthur Miller. In 1961, Arthur wrote a special part just for Marilyn in the film â€Å"The Misfits. † This would be Marilyn’s last movie. They then divorced on January 20, 1962. . â€Å"On-screen, she was usually happy and energetic; off-screen she was a complex, often unhappy young woman, obsessed with becoming a serious actress and uncomfortable with a public image that had become impossible to control. † (Unknown 36) During 1962 Marilyn met John F. Kennedy. A relationship began to grow between Marilyn and John F. Kennedy. Later that year, Marilyn moved to a new home in Brentwood. She choose this home to be closer to JFK and her doctor. Marilyn’s doctor was delivering therapy for her abuse of sleeping pills. Marilyn had overdosed on sleeping pills before and had to be revived. She also had her stomach pumped for drugs frequently over the past few years. â€Å"Sometimes [fame] makes you a little bit sad because you’d like to meet somebody kind of on face value. It’s nice to be included in people’s fantasies, but you also like to be accepted for your own sake. (Monroe 36) Bobby Kennedy started to gain an attraction to Marilyn but she had her heart set on John Kennedy. John would go and visit her at her house and they would see each other at the Lawfords. They were caught by one of Kennedy’s advisor making love in a bathroom. They also talked frequently on the phone. Marilyn has hoped that JFK would divor ce Jackie Kennedy. She had told her friends she imagined herself as the first lady. In April of 1962 Marilyn began to work on the movie â€Å"Something’s Got to Give. † Monroe was fired from this movie due to a production disaster and the movie was never finished. She then performed for John F. Kennedy’s birthday at Madison Square Garden. Marilyn had to be sown into the dress that she would wear that night when she sang to JFK. He thanked Marilyn for singing to him in such a â€Å"sweet and wholesome way. † During the summer of 1962 Marilyn was told to stop all contact and relationships with the Kennedy brothers. Marilyn was destroyed and her heart was shattered. She became extremely depressed and wanted to confess about her relationships with the brothers. The Kennedy’s paid her a million dollars to keep it a secret. Marilyn’s career was said to be at the highest ever and she was working on a number of new film products that were thought to be very successful. She was extremely excited about working on these. The weekend before her death she spent the weekend in Lake Tahoe with her second husband Joe DiMaggio. There was a rumor that they had planned to re-marry. Since the Kennedy brothers wanted to be sure Marilyn didn’t say anything to the press, they sent people to follow her and DiMaggio. The following weekend after Lake Tahoe with DiMaggio, she was found dead in her Brentwood house. She had over dosed on fifty Nembutal sleeping pills that her doctor had prescribed the day before. Marilyn committed suicide at 3:50 a. m. on August 5, 1962 at the age of 36. Many believe she was murdered because she knew too much, but no one has been able to prove this to be true. Marilyn Monroe was a beautiful and talented person, it’s a shame that her life came to end when she was so young and at such a high point in her career. â€Å"The curves, blonde hair, and enigmatic pout were part of Marilyn Monroe’s glamorous yet wistful appeal. Combined with her comedic talent in such films as â€Å"Some Like it Hot,† they made her an American legend. † (Unknown 36) She is now the most written about film star in history and it’s obvious why. Works Cited Monroe, Marilyn. â€Å"Icons of an Era: Unforgettable People. † The American Dream. Alexandria: Time-Life Books, 1998: 36 Unknown. â€Å"Icons of an Era: Unforgettable People. † The American Dream. Alexandria: Time-Life Books, 1998: 36 Monroe, Marilyn. Marilyn Monroe. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995. Luce, Henry R. â€Å"Marilyn Monroe. † This Fabulous Century 1950-1960. New York: Hornfischer Literary Management: 1970.

Dream Essay Sample - How to Make it More Interesting

Dream Essay Sample - How to Make it More InterestingIf you've ever read any of the other dream essays, you might have noticed that they use very similar wording throughout. In fact, if you look at just about every dream essay sample you'll see the same basic thing- the theme of your dream.Unfortunately, most of these dreams samples will only include the first paragraph of your dream, and the 'instrumental' part of your dream. What you're left with is one paragraph that repeats everything you'd already written on your own. That's not very interesting at all.Sometimes this may be the case, but even then the theme is the same. It might be something like 'One day I was in the clouds', or 'I thought I was in heaven'. But the thing is, you need to make it interesting. There are a few things you can do to make this a little bit more interesting, so read on.Now that you know what the specific situation is, you can apply that to your dreams. For example, if you dream about being back in schoo l, you can tell your dreams essay sample by making sure that you talk about yourself being back in school. 'I dreamed about being back in school,' could be your own personal way of saying 'I'm going to go back to school', or it could be saying 'I am going to take my classes.' Just remember to make it specific enough to really make an impact.When you talk about what you want in life, you can think about what you want in dreams. For example, if you want to have a beautiful house with lots of nice lawns, you could write about having a beautiful house. You can also talk about traveling and having a nice vacation.As you put together your dreams essay sample, think about what it means that you were a kid in the cloudsor a child in heaven. Remember how you were there, and start to think about the things you were in the clouds or in heaven, and then start thinking about what the opposite of that is. Think about what you want to be and write those down too.I hope this has helped you make you r dreams essay more interesting. Good luck! Have fun!

The Safety Man Cometh

The Safety Man Cometh Article Critique The Safety Man Cometh From the article, Safety Man Cometh by Mundy, the author described discussed various health and safety concerns existing in the company, which posed great danger to stakeholders including employees, owners, companies and the industry. The safety and health concerns are apparent as the author indicates the company did not have a formal safety and health plan to ensure safety in the construction process.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Safety Man Cometh specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Over time, the company had avoided inspection and potential hefty penalties. New employees received no or little training on safety matters and most jobs had no provisions for fall protections in spite of constructors working above the required heights. There was no PPE required unless contractor needed it, which posed major health concerns (Mundy, 2003). Worse still, Mundy revealed that the company did not adopt employee training on first aid to help victims in case of accidents (Mundy, 2003). It is important for organizations across the world to effect measures of helping workers at times of work-related accidents, which could negatively impact employees and the performance outcomes of firms. With the poor safety and health conditions, the company and employees stood in great danger because of detrimental implication of accidents and the resulting fines. Indeed, various injuries to employees often bore heavily on the company as they had to deal with insurance woes. Employees suffered from injuries such as sprains, cuts, broken bones and burns. Employees suffering from safety and health irresponsibility caused a lot in form of compensation, treatment and lost working time. Overall, the author portrays a company working under the major risks in construction including falling, strikes from falling objects, rough material, heavy loads moving, loud noise, slips an d trips among other dangers (Mundy, 2003). The article is precise in highlighting the deplorable safety and health conditions existing in the company, which could be very costly for both the company and its employees (Lingard Rowlinson, 2005). Following the change of ownership in the company, the new management introduced several healthy and safety initiatives through systematic management of health and safety issues in the company. Through the new initiatives the company implemented mechanisms to facilitate identification of hazards, operational guidelines, performance, and standards procedures.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The initiatives aimed at reducing risks for injury and the associated insurance costs, which affected the company’s competitiveness in the industry (Mundy, 2003). For effective implementation of the safety initiatives, the new owner hired a full time manager, with sufficient roofing experience to oversee the process. OSHA regulations and policies provided the framework for the new initiatives (Reese Eidson, 2006). Major areas of focus for success were changing employee attitudes through cultural change, implementation of fall protection, safety training for employees, and improvement of record keeping. In the new initiatives, the company complied with OSHA standards, which provides ways for systematic management of safety and health in the workplace. The design of constructions was affected by the new initiatives, as constructors, designers and other actors in the company had to consider safety and health issues in the actual construction, repair, or demolition of structures. Through the hazard, profiles in the new initiatives facilitated the identification of common hazards related to the roofing activities including the possible measures to ensure safe performing of tasks. The profiles also covere d training of the involved stakeholders. Safety measurement was an important way of ensuring standard performance of tasks and improvement of awareness on health and safety issues in the workplace. Supervisors were major stakeholders in the new initiatives as they had to ensure compliance with standard operations in daily activities. Overall, OSHA regulations and policies formed the basis of the new initiatives, which resulted in major improvements in the construction company (Reese Eidson, 2006). In fact, many firms to improve their performances through the adoption of the OSHA regulations and policies.. From the information discussed about the â€Å"safety man† and Mundy, the safety engineer, there is similarity in terms of the position description, which entails ensuring safety in the company. However, the roles are dissimilar because while the safety man focussed more on the aftermath of an accident, Mundy, as a safety engineer focused more on the prevention aspect throu gh compliance with health and safety standards. The safety man focused providing effective reporting of accidents to guide insurance companies in compensation while the safety engineer focused on ensuring the company reduces insurance costs through elimination of workplace safety risks.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Safety Man Cometh specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The position of the safety man was mostly meant for people who had suffered injuries as a way of avoiding compensation while the safety engineer was appointed to supervise implementation of safety and healthy requirements in the company. The safety engineer had adequate educational qualification and undertook continuous training to increase knowledge on workplace safety while the safety man had limited information other than the actual accident. Another unique aspect that could be noted is that the safety man was gender specific while th e safety engineer’s position did not consider one’s gender (Mundy, 2003). This could have negatively impacted the performance of the organization. References Lingard, H., Rowlinson, S. M. (2005). Occupational health and safety in construction project management. London, United Kingdom: Spon Press. Mundy, R. D. (2003). The Safety Man Cometh; Improving the perception of Safety in the Roofing Industry. Professional Safety Journal, 48(12), 1-151. Reese, C. D., Eidson, J. V. (2006). Handbook of OSHA construction safety and health (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC/Taylor Francis.

Taking another Pass at Passed

Taking another Pass at Passed Taking another Pass at â€Å"Passed† Taking another Pass at â€Å"Passed† By Maeve Maddox In my early days as a classroom teacher, I would occasionally finish giving a lesson on some aspect of English grammar or punctuation with the feeling that it had been so clear and so filled with wonderful examples that my students would never commit a related error again. It didn’t take me long to learn that common errors are common for a reason. Minds differ. Not everyone perceives things in quite the same way. A case in point is the problem that many writers have with the words past and passed. So far we’ve had two DWT posts on the past/passed usage: Alis Passed vs Past and my Confusing Passed with Past A recent e-mail question sent me back to read the comments and questions prompted by these posts. The comments indicate the extent and nature of the confusion that exists concerning the use of passed and past. Even some of the commentators who felt they understood the usage gave incorrect information in the explanations they offered. Some remarks suggest that the writer is trying to read more into the choice between passed and past than is warranted by a choice between a verb form and an adverb or a preposition. Dr. Babosar, the founder of GHB BioMedical Inc. who dedicates his life in the XXX industry for the Passed/Past 20 years. (the fact is he is still in this industry and still running the company) It doesn’t matter if the man is still in the industry or not. The word needed is an adjective: the past 20 years. It was the sound of horses being ridden past.†¨It was the sound of horses being ridden passed. The latter makes sense [says the commentator]. The horses pass the person, so they passed the person, therefore it is the sound they make as they approach and then pass the person. It more correctly describes the sounds. Again, too much ratiocination is going into this writer’s choice between past and passed. The function of the word in the sentence determines which form is called for. Ridden is a verb form. The word that follows it is an adverb. Passed cannot be used as an adverb. Past can. Precise Edit made this observation in one of the comments: In my experience, second-language learners are less likely to make this mistake [between passed and past] than native English speakers, perhaps because language learners write and speak from a background of training and not natural language use. I’m speculating, of course, but I wonder if direct training in usage and grammar affects this. It’s not speculation. From what I can tell, not much â€Å"direct training in usage and grammar† is going on in U.S. English classes these days. The teaching of formal grammar and rules of spelling and punctuation is perhaps seen as too much akin to that dreaded concept â€Å"rote learning.† Rules of standard usage are often arbitrary and confusing to an individual’s way of looking at things. For that reason they must be taught in the English classroom. Taught, not merely mentioned. The complicated efforts to determine whether to use past or passed in a sentence is a symptom of the way U.S. children are taught to approach all learning. What do you think? How do you feel? Such appeals to the individual have their place, but not when it comes to basic information. Some things need to be memorized and drilled. The parts of speech and the parts of the sentence fall into this category. One more time: passed is the past tense form of the verb to pass: to pass: transitive verb meaning â€Å"to go beyond a point or place† The principal parts are pass, passed, (have) passed, passing Examples: I pass my evenings alone. Please pass the potatoes. I am passing my days in the garden. I am passing all my courses in college. The truck passed the house. His uncle passed away. I have passed my driving test. Charlie has passed out the papers. The cat had passed beyond the fence before we noticed she was out. The word past can be used as more than one part of speech, but never as a verb. past: noun meaning â€Å"that which has happened in past time.† Ex. That’s all in the past. It’s usually preceded by the word â€Å"the.† past: adjective meaning â€Å"gone by in time; elapsed.† Ex. I haven’t seen him for the past month. past: adverb meaning â€Å"beyond.† Usually the point of reference is supplied by the context. Ex. I cowered as the bullets whizzed past. past: preposition meaning â€Å"beyond.† It differs from an adverb because it is followed by an object. Ex. The bullet whizzed past my head. Two more handy tips: The only verb that belongs in front of passed is some form of have: The days have passed quickly. He had passed his exams before his father lost his job. The horse has passed the finish line. If the verb is is, don’t use passed: For, lo, the winter is past. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should KnowIn Search of a 4-Dot EllipsisPunctuation Is Powerful

Greed and Grievance in Civil War Research Paper

Greed and Grievance in Civil War - Research Paper Example The author explored the greed theory, preference, and grievance and rebellion in relation to the onset of the war. Using 78 large civil wars in existence, they found that constraints of resources evoke the sense of rebellion and subsequent conflicts. In addition, the authors discovered that during the American Civil War, for instance, there were over 1,000 combat-related deaths. Besides, the authors identify that the war was caused by two main structural and system malfunction. Notably, using preference and constraints as key elements, they noted that Civil war was more prevalent because constraints to rebellion were typically weak. It meant that the group could advance its agitation with limited control from any authority. Secondly, the war started because preference to rebellion was typically strong. In addition, they identified political scientist analysis that the war was advance further by the existence of diversity that includes racial, tribal and religious groups. Political re pression, discrimination, and racial segregation are noted as the leading causes of the civil war. In addition, it notes that rebellion and social movement was the biggest platform that pushed for preference and later rebellion.Moreover, the authors studied labor organization movement and agitation for better working conditions and good wages as the fundamental contributors to rising of the war. Evidently, the authors found that it took 500-5000 employees rebellion from a workplace to instigate a wave of the civil action in the firm.

Mobile Phone Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mobile Phone Marketing - Essay Example Failure to do so will eventually turn out to be counterproductive and can lead to the degradation of the brand being marketed (Hendery 2). The dearth of relevant technologies is one other big problem being faced by the proponents of mobile phone marketing. Considering the immense potential of the mobile phone marketing, this channel is gaining an enhanced acceptance amongst the marketing professionals. The corporations are well aware that a mobile phone is something that a person carries everywhere and therefore ample budgetary allocations are being made to launch and support interactive marketing campaigns (Long 1). Infact the potential of mobile phone marketing is much higher as compared to the internet marketing component, as the number of cell phone subscribers is very large as compared to the number of people who own or use computers (Long 1). As per a survey conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association based in Colorado, US, the total number of mobile phone subscribers around the world stands to be a mind boggling 1.4 billion, which is way ahead of the total number of land line phone subscribers throughout the world (Long 1). In the US alone, more then 65 percent of the population owns cell phones (Long 2). Also the text messag ing is gaining much popularity amongst the mobile phone owners (Long 2).There exist many valid reasons that will make mobile marketing really popular amongst the top brands in the UK. First and foremost, the mobile phone marketing enables the brands to interact with a specific target audience (Business Wire 1). Secondly, it enables the brands to ascertain how a user responds to a particular marketing message (Business Wire 1). Last but not the least, mobile phone marketing enables the companies to certify, whether a particular message has reached the customer or not (Business Wire 1). Mobile phone operators also stand to gain from this trend as it promises lucrative revenue opportunities for them. As per a survey conducted by Airwide Solutions in the UK, by the end of 2008, nearly 89 top brands in the UK will resort to text and multimedia messaging to communicate with their potential customers (Business Wire 1). Nearly one third of these brands are expected to allocate more then 10 percent of their marketing allocations to mobile phone marketing (Business Wire 1). Such budgetary allocations are expected to augment to more then 25 percent in the next five years (Business Wire 1). Small screen size of mobile phones was one major barrier to the mobile phone marketing (Shea 1). In the last few years, the mobile phone manufacturers responded to such consumer expectations by making the mobile phones smaller and smaller. Thus the small phones with their small screen sizes severely limited the scope and potential of mobile phone marketing (Shea 1). However, last year this trend was reversed with the advent of Apple's iPhone, which is a small phone with a big screen (Shea 1). Considering the current trend towards bigger screens in association with the recent innovations in the cellular technology like wireless internet capabilities and high speeds, the mobile phone

Sustainable Urban Development In India Environmental Sciences Essay

Sustainable Urban Development In India Environmental Sciences Essay India is the worlds largest democracy and second most populous country and is emerging as a major power. Since 1991, India has seen a far-reaching, rapid and successful transformation of its economic order, making the country one of the most dynamic in the world. This process was driven by high levels of productivity in services and manufacturing. According to the commonly used development indicators, India is progressing at a rapid pace, second only to China. The incidence rate of poverty has declined. However, India is still tackling huge social, economic and environmental problems. With rapid expansion of urban population around the world there is an increasing awareness about minimizing the environmental costs of urbanization. Concerns are raised at environmental damages and depletion of nonrenewable resources and rising levels of pollution in urban areas. In recent times urban centres have become places of urban environmental degradation and wasteful use of resources, which is proving to be costly to generations present and future. Sustainable urban development is achieving a fine balance between growth, development of the urban areas and protection of the environment with an eye to equity in employment, shelter, basic services, social infrastructure and transportation in the urban areas. Brundtland Commission (1983) describes sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The UN Conference on Environment and Development (also known as Earth Summit) held at Rio-de Janeiro in 1992 adopted an action plan, popularly known as Agenda 21. The agenda 21 promised to reduce poverty, provide clean water and health care, and protect the natural resources for sustainable development. The Millennium Declaration by the General Assembly of the United Nations in September 2000 reaffirmed its commitment to the right to development, peace, security and gender equality, for overall sustainable development. Countries were expected to take efforts in the fight against poverty, illiteracy, hunger, lack of education, gender inequality, infant and maternal mortality, disease and environmental degradation. Millennium Development Goals have urged for ensuring environmental sustainability and reduction of the percentage of the population under extreme poverty. Thus all the initiatives taken so far on environment and development have stressed on economically viable development, socially equitable development and protection of the environment .Attaining sustainable development requires addressing social and environmental equity in development in ways that are socially, economically and politically acceptable. STATUS OF URBANISATION IN INDIA India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today. Economic growth rate of 5.5 per cent per annum during 1981-2001, accelerated to 7.7 per cent per annum during 2001-02 and further to 8-9 per cent per annum GDP growth in 2010-11Economic development also leads to rapid urbanization .As an economy grows, its towns and urban centres expand in size and volume and the contribution of the urban sector to the national economy increases. The contribution of urban sector to Indias GDP has increased from 29% in 1950-51 to 47% in 1980-81. The urban sector presently contributes about 62%-63% of the GDP and this is expected to increase to 75% by 2021 . According to census of India, the urban population in the country as on 1st March 2001, was 286 million. This constituted 27.8% of the total population of 1028 millions. The rapid pace of urbanization has resulted in explosive growth of urban centres, This phenomenon has led to tremendous pressure on civic infrastructure systems, water supply, sewerage and drainage, uncollected solid waste, parks and open spaces, transport, etc. It has also led to deterioration in the quality of city environments. In several urban centres, the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, poverty, inadequate housing, crime, and social unrest are assuming alarming proportions. As per Census of India 2001 has grown upto 23.5 per cent of the total urban population and projections for 2011 indicate that this percentage is likely to go up to 30 per cent .In some urban centres, the proportion is 40-50 per cent. The proliferation of slums in metropolitan urban centres has become so extensive that as of 2001, 54 per cent of the total population of Mumbai lives in slums. Slums generally lack basic infrastructure, housing, social amenities and this has implications on health and productivity of the people living in such areas. This also has serious implications for future generation of people residing in such areas.In some urban centres, the proportion is 40-50 per cent. The proliferation of slums in metropolitan urban centres has become so extensive that as of 2001, 54 per cent of the total population of Mumbai lives in slums. Slums generally lack basic infrastructure, housing, social amenities and this has implications on health and productivity of the people liv ing in such areas. This also has serious implications for future generation of people residing in such areas. The trends of urbanization in India in the recent decades indicate the following key features: The degree of urbanization in India is one of the lowest in the world. With about 27.8% of the total population living in the urban areas, India is less urbanized compared to many countries of Asia, viz., China (32%), Indonesia (37%), Japan (78%), South Korea (83%), and Pakistan (35%). There is a continued concentration of the urban population in large urban centres and existing city agglomerations (Class I urban centres with population over one lakh) account for 68.9% of the urban population and this proportion has been growing. The growth of rural settlements which are acquiring urban characteristic is very slow and there is reluctance on the part of the States to notify the rural settlements as a town. There are large variations in the spatial patterns of urbanization across the States and urban centres. The pattern of population concentration in large urban centres reflects spatial polarization of the employment opportunities. Urban India is thus undergoing a transition in terms of physical form, demographic profile and socio-economic diversity. The important role of urban centres in national economic process and their global linkages demand more attention for their development, Urban centres are expected to perform efficiently in keeping with emerging demands for employment, commerce, trade, industry and other services. Urban centres have to attract investments for improving their efficiencies by way of upto date infrastructure, improved governance and affordable housing/ living with modern amenities. The urban centres of India need to be prepared for playing their new role of hosting rapid growth and providing services for an inclusive society. Not only do urban centres need much more by way of basic infrastructure but systems have to be put in place so that A socio-economic environment can be created, Affordable and Effective delivery of public services for all Affordable housing for the poor. This would require more public financial resources and more public goods, bringing the delivery of services to standard norms for all, greater willingness on the part of citizens and businesses to pay taxes and user charges for services, and a process of complementary urban-rural development. It is a challenge for policymakers, planners, intellectuals, officials, administrators and city manager and leaders to re-engineer urban planning especially settlements for better living conditions and better quality of life of all the citizens, especially the urban poor INSTITUTIONAL SET UP India is a federal polity with division of powers between centre and states. In the Federal structure of the Indian polity, the matters pertaining to the housing and urban development have been assigned by the Constitution of India to the State Governments. The Constitutions (74th Amendment) Act have further delegated many of these functions to the urban local bodies. State Legislatures also authorize the Union Parliament to legislate. Government of India plays a pivotal role and exercises influence to shape the policies and programmes of the country as a whole. The National Policy issues are decided by the Government of India which also allocates resources to the State Governments through various Centrally Sponsored schemes, provides finances through national financial institutions and supports various external assistance programmes for housing and urban development in the country as a whole. Policies and programme contents are decided at the time of formulation of Five Year Plans. The indirect effect of the fiscal, economic and industrial location decisions of the Government of India exercise a dominant influence on the pattern of urbanisation and real estate investment in the country. The Ministry of Urban Employment Poverty Alleviation is the apex authority of Government of India at the national level to formulate policies, sponsor and support programme, coordinate the activities of various Central Ministries, State Governments and other nodal authorities and monitor the The Ministry was constituted on 13th May, 1952 when it was known as the Ministry of Works, Housing Supply. Subsequently it was renamed as Ministry of Works Housing when a separate Ministry of Supplies came up. The name of the Ministry was changed to Ministry of Urban Development in September, 1985 in recognition of the importance of urban issues. With the creation of a separate Department of Urban Employment Poverty Alleviation on 8th March, 1995, the Ministry came to be known as the Ministry of Urban Affairs Employment. The Ministry had two Departments: Department of Urban Development Department of Urban Employment Poverty Alleviation. The two Departments were again merged on 9th April, 1 999 and in consequence thereto, the name has also been restored to The Ministry of Urban Development. The Ministry has again been bifurcated into two ministries viz : (i) Ministry of Urban Development; and (ii) Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation. The Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for formulating policies, supporting programs, monitoring programs and coordinate the activities of various Central Ministries, State Governments and other nodal authorities in so far as the relate to urban development concerning all the issues in the country. programmes concerning all the issues of urban employment, poverty  and housing in the country. HOUSING Housing, besides being a very basic requirement, holds the key to accelerate the pace of development. Investments in housing like any other industry have a multiplier effect on income and employment. It is estimated that overall employment generation in the economy due to additional investment in the housing/construction is eight times the direct employment1. The construction sector provides employment to 16% of the work force .Housing also has a direct impact on steel and cement industry, which accounts for considerable contributions to the national economy. Housing also contributes substantially to the services sector of the economy, which leads to generation of employment. Other significant aspect of housing development is its potential to generate employment for a wide section of population with varying degrees of skills and education. Housing Shortage and fund Requirement Urbanisation factors are coupled with housing shortage and insecure housing conditions, inadequate infrastructure transportation leading to a diminished quality of urban life in urban centers in majority of developing countries. In India ,according to the report of the Technical Group on estimation of housing shortage constituted in the context of formulation of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, housing shortage is estimated to be around 24.71 million. As per Planning Commission earlier estimates for the 10th Plan beginning in 2002, the urban housing backlog was 8.8 million dwelling units and the total requirement was 22.44 million dwelling units. The overall housing shortage thus during the plan period (2007-2012) including the backlog was estimated as 26.53 million. About 99% of such households are from EWS and low income groups (LIG). For estimating the investment requirements for the Eleventh Plan, the Working Group on Urban Housing made different assumptions on unit cost of construc tion of houses in million plus urban centres and other urban areas. The total investment requirement for meeting the housing requirement would be of the order of Rs 361318.10 crore consisting of Rs 147195 crore required for mitigating housing shortage at the beginning of the Eleventh Plan and Rs 214123.10 crore for new additions to be made during the Eleventh Plan period This includes pucca ,upgradation of semi-pucca, and kutcha housing units and investments in housing by individuals and corporates. POLICY INITIATIVES The National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy provide the basic framework for achieving the objective of shelter for all. The policy was evolved in 1998 with the long-term goal of eradicating houselessness, improving the housing conditions of the inadequately housed, and providing a minimum level of basic services and amenities to all. It was formulated to address the issues of sustainable development, infrastructure development, and for strong PPPs for shelter delivery with the objective of creating surpluses in housing stock and facilitating construction of two million dwelling units each year in pursuance of the National Agenda for Governance. However, the housing sector has witnessed several changes since then. The 1998 National Housing Policy has been replaced by a National Habitat and Housing Policy, 2007 with land and the development of civic amenities to make land habitable as its two critical elements. In order to improve the quality of life in urban areas, it is of critical significance that the housing stock is improved through urban renewal, in situ slum improvement, and development of new housing stock in existing urban centres as well as new townships. However, despite many policy measures and initiatives, the coverage of urban poor with these intended benefits has not been achieved to the desired extent. Expanding equitable access The 11th Five Year Plan adopts inclusive growth as the theme for planning. An inclusive city requires all marginalized sections of urban society to function affectively in their social, economic, political and cultural domains and also needs to preserve its cultural identity absorbing dynamic population growth. It is important to integrate urban poor, women, destitutes, widows and children and old-age people in the city life and fabric. Developing inclusive urban centres of Slum-free Urban India is the challenge. In order to improve upon the living conditions in slums, the Government of India had launched The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).JNNURM is the largest initiative ever launched by the Government of India to address the problems of infrastructure and basic services to the poor in urban centres and towns in a holistic manner. The Mission is being implemented over a period of 7 years (2005-2012) with Central Assistance to States to the tune of Rs.50,000 crores. The objective of the Mission was to give focused attention to integrate development of infrastructure services, establishment of linkages between asset-creation and asset-management through reforms, ensuring adequate funds to meet the deficiencies in urban infrastructural services, planned development of identified urban centres including peri-urban areas, outgrowths and urban corridors leading to dispersed urbanization, provision of basic services to the urban poor including security of tenure at afforda ble prices, improved housing, water supply and sanitation, and ensuring delivery of other existing universal services of the Govt. for education, health and social security. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) provides a new paradigm for inclusive city building inclusive urban communities based on holistic approach. It envisages reform-driven, fast-track and planned development of urban centres, with focus on efficiency in urban infrastructure/ service delivery mechanism, community participation and accountability of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) towards citizens.The Mission covered both components from core infrastructure as well as last mile services to the urban poor, ensuring convergence with the sectors of human development as well. The two sub-missions for 63 identified urban centres are: Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) The Ministry of Urban Development is dealing urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme in Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). The Ministry of Housing Urban Poverty Alleviation is dealing with BSUP IHSDP especially the slum dwellers. JNNURM contemplates that urban centres develop planned urban perspective frameworks for a period of 20-25 years (with 5-yearly updates) indicating policies, programmes and strategies of meeting fund requirements. This perspective plan is to be followed by preparation of Development Plans integrating land use with services, urban transport and environment management for every five-year plan period. Access to land and legal security of tenure are strategic prerequisites for the provision of adequate shelter for all and for the development of sustainable human settlements affecting both urban and rural areas. The major challenges facing is the scarcity of land for planning of housing for slum redevelopment projects for urban poor. This has been accentuated due to high cost of prime land where the slum dwellers reside. The present policy of the Central Government lays stress on an enabling approach. While recognizing the existence of different national laws and/or systems of land tenure, governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, are striving to remove obstacles that may hamper equitable access to land and ensure that equal rights of women and men related to land and property are protected under the law. The Jawahar Lal Nehru Mission and Rajiv Awas Yojana gives an institutional framework by focusing on 7 point charter and creating tenurial rights for slum household especially women as joint ownership. This has been further strengthened in the Rajiv Awas Yojana wherein each state has been requested to create legislative and enabling environment for slum free India. JNNURM with its focus on important aspects like urban reforms, pro-poor infrastructure investments, inclusive urban planning, integrated management of urban infrastructure, slum rehabilitation including affordable housing and tenure security is a very positive step towards achieving the goal of inclusive and sustainable urban centers. However, challenges facing urban local bodies needs to be seen in the emerging scenarios of urbanization, inclusion and financial challenges. Sustainable urban development in INDIA therefore requires holistic and integrated planning with optimum use of resources within a good governance FRAMEWORK for creating sustainable human environment. This requires paradigm shift in the existing institutions and the institutional framework for implementation. The decision making needs to be decentralized and resources financial and manpower needs to be devolved to the urban local bodies i.e. urban centres (urban local bodies) with replicable, scalable, flexible institutional format.