A smart city is a urban area which monitors and manages traffic and transportation systems, power and water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, community services like hospitals, libraries, schools, based on integration of information and communication technology (ICT) and various electronic data inputs to manage asserts and resource efficiently.
The networking of information from different sources helps the city officials to optimise city operations efficiently by interacting directly with community and city infrastructure to monitor services and to take stock of the situation and implement remedial actions in real time. The concept of using ICT is to enhance quality, performance and interactivity of urban services so as to reduce costs by managing limited resources effectively and maintain an interface with citizens electronically. For example, in case of an accident the surveillance devices will flash the electronic message/ images to the police and the police vehicle nearest to the site will reach the spot in minimum time and take remedial measures to restore the traffic.
What are the advantages of a smart city? India plans to create 100 new smart cities by 2020 to support the country’s 380 million urban population (or 31% of total population). By 2030, India’s city dwellers are projected to cross 600 million and a third of families will have to struggle to have basic amenities like electricity, piped water and sanitation within their premises. The intentions of the government for smart cities are to ensure adequate water supply, assured electricity supply, sanitation with solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and transport system, affordable housing for all, robust information technology connectivity and digitalization, e-governance with citizen participation, sustainable environment, citizens safety and security particularly women, children and elderly, health and education. These offer a varied menu of technological solutions for better cities in a policy framework.
The smart city will transform the way our cities look, function and how we live with cutting-edge urban planning, modern infrastructure with systems relying on technology-driven solutions. The largest chunk of spending will be in real estate according to a white paper released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The total capital investment proposed for the first 20 cities will be Rs 48,220 crores, of which 89% will be spent on building environment, transportation, water and wastewater management and energy. So the smart cities will create more jobs facilitating the economic development of the urban centers. As the vision of building over 100 smart cities is realised, real estate’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to rise to 10-12% by 2022. The synergy of public and private spheres through partnerships will play a key role in building the smart city. The development will also push the demand for other asset classes such as hotels, service apartments and shopping malls.
What are the disadvantages? According to the report of Delhi-based Housing and Land Rights Network the mission does not focus on the specific needs and rights of women, children, and marginalised groups, minorities, migrants, domestic workers, and persons with disabilities.
Furthermore, the report points out that the attention and funding given to only 100 of India’s more than 4000 cities and towns is discriminatory. It also faults the Smart Cities Mission for promoting greater urbanization while failing to address structural causes of migration: an agrarian crisis, drought and floods, lack of jobs in rural areas and failed land reform.
The flagship project managed and funded through “Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV),” which are public-private entities created under national law, can potentially bypass elected governments and local bodies. For example, for Panaji city the SPV will be Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited which will consist of board of Directors to plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects as per guidelines formed by the central government. In that case what will be the role of CCP?
In the research published in “Contemporary Urban Affairs,” Prof Hugh Byrd, a specialist in urban planning from the University of Lincoln, UK, conducted a detailed analysis of the environmental implications of the planned developments- replacement of medium-rise housing with high-rise towers. He used an ‘extended urban metabolism model’ as a means of analysing the area, providing a basis for measuring flows of resources that are both consumed by and flow from the city. It compared the existing urban form with the proposed form, considering factors such as numbers and heights of buildings, density of dwelling and population, parking provision, open space, landscaping and street frontages. The analysis was then extrapolated to predict the overall impact on the city if similar developments were to be carried out in the City of Mumbai. The results suggest that for this type of city where repeated electricity black-outs, water rationing and inadequate waste and sewage treatment are commonplace, increasing population density will have a significant further detrimental effect on the environment.
A lot hangs in the balance for the Smart Cities Mission as 63% of the country’s GDP will be generated in these cities. The time has come for India to pull the existing technological tools to develop new smart cities and transform existing ones, and unleash their true potential as centers of opportunity in terms of employment, economic growth and prosperity. Let’s wait and watch the outcome.
(The author is a scientist and a freelance writer).
