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VinayakChatterjee:Whatisa'smartcity'?
Hereare10attributesthatmaywelldescribeasmartcity
VinayakChatterjeeDecember15,2014LastUpdatedat21:46IST
TheNationalDemocraticAlliance(NDA)governmenthascertainly
focusedIndia'sattentionontheurbanisationimperativeandgotthe
"smartcity"conceptbuzzing.Asthingsstand,theurbanisationagenda
isinthreeparts:
urbanrenewalof500cities
rejuvenationofheritagecities(likeVaranasi),and
theimplementationof100smartcitiesunderstoodtobeboth
"greenfield"and"brownfield".
Whilerenewalandrejuvenationarerelativelyeasiertograsp,thereappearstobeonlyanevocative
imaginationinthepublicmindastowhatthecontoursofasmartcitycouldbe.
So,hereare10suggestedattributesthatmaywelldescribe,andtosomeextentdefineasmartcity.
(i)Information,communication,andtechnology(ICT)enabledgovernance:Theinternationaland
domesticbigdaddiesoftheinformationtechnology(IT)worldhave,withtheiraggressivepresentations,
virtuallyhijackedthesmartcitydefinitiontoonlymeanITenabledadministrationandgovernance.
Whilesucharestrictivedefinitionisundesirable,enablingICTisclearlyoneofthemoreimportant
planks.Oftenreferredtoas"smartgovernment",theuseofintegratedtechnologyplatformsthatare
easilyaccessibleacrossvariousdevicesiscertainlykeytoprovidingaccess,transparency,speed,
participationandredressalinpublicservices.Forexample,onDecember10,2014,thePresident
launchedtheKarnatakaMobileOneappinBengaluruthatwouldprovidecitizensarangeofe
governanceservicesovermobilephones.
(ii)Efficientutilitiesenergy,water,solidwasteandeffluents:Thisareaisoftenthemosttalked
aboutafterIT.Smartmeters,renewableenergy,energyconservation,waterharvesting,effluent
recycling,scientificsolidwastedisposalmethodsetalareallclearlythehallmarkofasmartcity.
(iii)MeaningfulPPPs:Thecreativeuseofpublicprivatepartnerships(PPPs)isakeyattributeofthe
smartcityconcept.PPPsaretobeusednotonlyasasourceofmuchneededcapitalbutalsoforthe
efficientdeliveryofutilitieswithagreedservicelevelstandards.PPPscouldrangefromhealthcareto
streetlightingandbeusedwhereverthereisaclearconnectionbetweentheprovisionofaserviceand
theabilitytochargeforthesamedirectlyorevenindirectly.
(iv)Safetyandsecurity:Thisaspectishighinpublicconsciousness,especiallywithdisconcertingnews
onthesafetyofwomen,roadrage,robberyattacksontheelderlyandjuveniledelinquency.Clearly,
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networksofvideocameras,brightlylitpublicareas,intensivepatrollingandsurveillance,identity
verifiedaccess,andrapidresponsetoemergencycallsareallontheexpectationslist.
(v)Financialsustainability:The74thAmendmenttotheConstitution(1992)enjoinstownsandcitiesto
"takechargeoftheirowndestinies".Nowhereisthismoreimportantthanfinancialindependence.Thisis
onlypossiblewithelaborateandextensivetappingofallsourcesofrevenuepropertytaxes,
advertisementsetalcoupledwithastutecollectionofuserpaychargesacrossthefullrangeofutilities.
Italsohastodowiththeelementsoffiscaldisciplinethatwouldenabletheraisingoflongtermdebtlike
municipalbonds.
(vi)Citizenparticipativelocalgovernment:Theenthusiasticparticipationofcitizensinlocalissues
needscarefuldesigningofelectoralandparticipativefora.Thecurrentapathytowardscivicelections
needscomprehensivereversal.
(vii)Sufficientsocialcapital:Smartcitiescannotbedevoidoftheappropriatelevelsofsocial
infrastructurelikeschools,hospitals,publicspaces,sportingandrecreationalgroundsandretailand
entertainmentvenues.Alongwithabrainthatworks,andhandsandlegsthatmove,itmustalsohavea
heartthatbeatstothejoysofdailyliving.
(viii)Transitorientedhabitats:"Walktowork"isthedreamsolutionhere.Nevertheless,conveniently
networkedpublictransportationwithfirstandlastmileconnectivitiesinplace,reducedmotivationto
usepersonalvehicles,useofelectriccars,andbicyclepathsareallintheexpectationmatrix.
(ix)Greenfeatures:Minimisingthecarbonfootprintandecofriendlinessarederigueur.Parksand
verdantopenspaces,absenceofpollution,useofrenewables,conservationandrecyclingaremandatory.
(x)Minimumpopulationcriteria:TowardstheendofNovember2014,PanasonicCorporation
announcedtheopeningofitsnewbusinessvectorthesustainablesmarttown(SST)atFujisawain
Japan.Ithasrooftopsolarenergy,electriccarsandelectricpoweredbicycles.However,itcomprises
only1,000homesover47acresthatwillhaveapopulationof3,000people.Thiskindofprojectisatbest
asmartenclave,andclearly,intheIndiancontext,cannotbeincludedinthedefinitionofacity.Indiahas
5,545urbanagglomerations.Class1towns(calledcities)arethosewithapopulationof100,000and
above.Thisshouldbetheminimumpopulationcutoffforasmartcity.
Achievingallthe10attributesmaywellbeUtopian.So,maybeevenifsevenoutofthe10attributesare
achieved,weshouldhavenohesitationindeclaringanurbanhabitationasasmartcity.
ThewriteristhechairmanofFeedbackInfra.
vinayak.chatterjee@feedbackinfra.com
Twitter:@Infra_VinayakCh

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