SMART CITIES IN INDIA A REALITY ?

This is a century of digital technology. Innovations are made on a daily basis to prosper the growth of mankind in numerous ways. After the industrial revolution, it is the digital revolution that has brought radical changes to the way we live, speak, eat, think and communicate. From the advent of personal computers in 1970s to the mobile phones in 2000s, technology has travelled leaps and bounds. It was only imagination that we could to our phone one day as our personal assistant, but that too has changed with apps like Siri, Cortana and Google Now. Social networking is yet another area that has helped bring people all over the world together on many occasions. In short, electronic devices have become an integral part of our daily lives. All of this gives rise to the concept of – Smart City.

            All over the world, urbanization and globalization is increasing tremendously. The population of India is set to double in the next 70 years. We will need at least 300 more cities to accommodate the increasing population. With this view, the Government of India has launched the Smart Cities Programme this year. The government has declared the mission of creating 100 Smart Cities across the nation based on better technology, superior management and modern governance. In a simpler way, smart city is a city where smart things happen. The idea of Smart Cities ranges back in 2008 when IBM started the ‘Smart planet Initiative’. There will be advanced infrastructure, integrated townships, futuristic communication technology. Economic development will be sustainable and better educational and employment opportunities will be provided. Smart cities are created in such a way that it will benefit everybody including government, citizens and the environment. The cities selected for the initial project are Kochi, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Manesar, Khushkera, Krishnapatnam, Ponneri and Tumkur. 

           

The question that comes to our mind is regarding the feasibility of these projects. We all are aware of the problems India faces with respect to cleanliness, poverty, education and others. Our government has a lot to do before it starts rolling out a smart city. It has to influence entrepreneurs and investors to participate in this development. The reality sector too needs a boost in order to adjust to a futuristic society. Many new technologies have to be implemented and citizens need to be adaptive to the change. The planning needs to be fool-proof and couple with long term insights. The way we build a smart city will surely be a test of perseverance of India’s youth as well as the government. Detailed consultation with many companies is going on at an advanced stage. Public-Private partnerships will be key to the growth.

What was once a visionary is now the new normal - Technology is as essential as the three utilities – food, clothing and shelter. Technology infrastructure has to be built keeping in mind the approach to revitalize an existing city or designing a futuristic smart city. We have many examples to follow including Amsterdam, Cairo, Lyon and Vienna. Our nation undoubtedly has the potential to develop smart cities with an ecosystem of urban areas having world class facilities. On the whole, it can be said that everyone has the dream to live in a smart city and India can achieve it within 20-25 years provided we get active support from the authorities.

” The more successfully a city mingles everyday diversity of uses and users in its everyday streets, the more successfully, casually (and economically) its people thereby enliven and support well-located parks that can thus give back grace and delight to their neighbourhoods instead of vacuity” –Jane Jacobs