SMART CITIES-3; HOW TO MAKE EXISTING CITIES SMART

SMART CITIES-3

HOW TO MAKE EXISTING CITIES SMART

The present Govt. has embarked upon an ambitious program to create or develop 100 smart cities. Many existing cities have been identified and now, news reports indicate, the Government has also shortlisted consultants to help it take the process further. This issue has been one of great interest to me and I have already published two posts on this. In the present post I would like to share my own thoughts on how to go about making existing cities smart.

Most Indian cities have evolved in a haphazard manner and without much control being exercised on what gets created where. It is surprising that the evidence of some form of town planning can be seen in ancient cities but this went missing in modern India

Post-independence the instances of planned cities being developed can be counted on fingertips. Chandigarh is an example which readily crops up in our minds. However a visit to the city will reveal how slowly but steadily the special features are being eroded the city has started to go the way of all other cities.

Lavassa is another name but on all accounts it is still not out of woods. This aspect of intelligence by hind sight by the regulatory authorities also needs to be squarely addressed.

Delhi represents a typical example of how not to allow a city to grow.

Area of New Delhi, which got planned and developed in British era; colonies such as R.K. Puram, Sarojni Nagar, Laxmi Bai Nagar etc. developed by the Ministry of Urban Development for residences of employees of the central Govt.; private colonies such as Greater Kailash, South extension, Green Park etc. developed by DLF fall in one category. This was followed by some areas developed by DDA for plotted and Gr. Housing and there rests the story.

Nestled in between these ‘developments’ were villages which lost their character as a village very soon and grew up as clusters which had no civic amenity/planning but earned value from the fact that they were situated close or within other planned developments. Typical examples are Zamrudpur, Kotla Mubarakpur, Pillanji etc. Development within these urban villages was aided and abetted by unscrupulous elements who paid scant regard to the problems that they were creating. All attempts to regulate or improve were negated. Even where the developments were razed down, as in Pillanji village next to Sarojni Nagar, they soon resurfaced and with vengeance. This was of course under political patronage and bureaucratic apathy.

Even in other planned developments by DDA or DLF rampant encroachment, illegal construction has ruined the areas and stressed the civic infrastructure. Problem is compounded by the fact that most illegal construction/alterations have weakened the structures and made them more prone to damage in case of any earthquake. It is common to see that in 4 storied DDA flats the occupant of the top floor has added another floor on the terrace, balconies have been added where none existed, residents of ground floor have opened windows in the walls thus further compounding to risks. Encroachments on ground have reduced parking places and made approach for emergency vehicles next to impossible.

I have focused on the problems of Delhi because I live here and also because if it is happening here in the capital city one can well imagine the plight of other cities and towns. The situation is not good and this makes the task of converting these into ‘smart’ cities all the more difficult.

To move forward on this long road/journey here is my take on what can be done.

1.    The entire package has to be taken in a holistic manner and under leadership of one authority which in turn must have a well-defined organizational structure and must be given a set of measurable targets to be achieved

2.    Each aspect of civic infra must be taken up as distinct field in first instance. Following are areas which should be considered for evolving plans and implementation

a.    Roads & footpaths and street lighting systems

b.    Traffic management

c.    Water supply

d.    Sewerage system

e.    Storm water drainage

f.     Electricity distribution and management

g.    Parks and other green areas

3.    The city/town then must be split into smaller segments which can be developed independent of the other segments in the segments mentioned above. In each city there will be some areas where one or other service/infra could be improved with little effort. This is what has to be targeted straight away. Harvesting of this low hanging fruit will help establish the efficacy of the program/plan and will be a source of inspiration and example of what can be achieved for other areas and what benefits can be drawn by citizens. This will be a huge incentive in moving forward. Only issue that has to be taken care of is that some works which may be easy to implement may have to be redone at later stage as other works get done or planning will have to account for the likely disturbance caused by subsequent works. This can be avoided by good foresight and by sharing with citizens that the plan is not being implemented because of technical concerns.

4.    Management and enforcement must be segregated. It is not necessary that a domain expert implementing or managing a sphere may be a good enforcer. So it is necessary to segregate these. As a typical example traffic management & enforcing of traffic rules should be segregated. There is no point in same entity discharging both functions.

5.    After the basics have been got right necessary IT tools must be introduced to help manage the systems in a better and more coordinated manner. These IT tools can be generic which can be applied to all cities which cross the basic infra requirements. Rolling out generic IT solutions over a large number of centers will help keep costs within limits

6.    On issue of implementation I am of the opinion that selection of agency can be considered for a cluster of cities as it will enhance the package size. This is because the basic items of works will be common and working conditions will also be, more or less, similar. However management of work for each should be decentralized as each site will be distinct and can move independently of other sites.

7.    There have been lots of reports on the costs involved in developing smart infrastructure. There is no doubt that large amounts of money will be required. However while computing this I am of the opinion the direct and indirect benefits also must be monetized and deducted from project estimates. I am of the opinion that the value of the benefits that will accrue should be directly funded by a designated authority. For balance funds it would be worth trying to get private equity by allowing them to charge for the services rendered and by allowing them to exploit other areas. These areas can be in waste to energy, from advertisements being permitted on roads etc. This will further reduce or distribute costs over a larger period of time.

While getting basic infrastructure is very important this is something which seldom gets noticed if it works efficiently. What gets to be seen is the green areas and architecture of a city. This aspect must get enough importance. The latter needs special mention. Modern architecture as seen today has hardly anything to be commended for. One rarely sees ‘beautiful’ buildings. It is not to say that I am any expert on this subject. My intention is that while looking at compliance of building plans the aesthetics must be given consideration. Along with this, at least for large projects at present, aspect of buildability must also be taken into consideration.

I am of also of the opinion that all new urban developments must be repeat must be very carefully planned keeping in view current and future needs and a propensity for us to encroach and dilute what is good.

A request to all who may read this post to please share their views and thoughts and indicate what may have been missed