How different is the idea of a smart city from JNNURM? Experts say JNNURM was focused on creating city-wide basic infrastructure whereas the Smart Cities Mission follows an area-based development approach, demonstration projects in a selected area which are later expected to be scaled up by the city in the future.

“With respect to transportation, JNNURM provided substantial funds to create sustainable transport infrastructure, however many large cities utilised this money to create infrastructure for cars, such as more roads and flyovers,” says Aswathy Dilip, senior programme manager at the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) in Chennai.

Urban planner Aneeta Gokhale – Benninger, who is director of the Pune-based Centre for Development Studies and Activities, says, “There is not much difference between the JNNURM launched by the UPA government and the Smart Cities Mission. Both these plans have failed to evoke public participation and have not yielded any substantial results. But still, one can say that Smart Cities Mission is a little better than JNNURM as some projects, though fancy, are visible”. She adds, “There is no change in urban infrastructure or quality of life. Both these plans have failed miserably and one of the main reasons is that domain experts and citizens were excluded from the process”.

Under the Smart Cities Mission, notes ITDP, it is mandatory to use the funds for demonstration projects which focus on sustainable transport and hence expansion is expected using the city’s own budget. “One detail to be wary about is that the ‘digital’ component should not take the centre stage. Cities should not prioritise providing IT before creating basic infrastructure. For example, many cities today are trying to implement smart signal system without redesigning the existing intersections,” says the ITDP expert.

That said, how exactly feasible is the idea of a smart city in India today? According to the ITDP, it depends on how you define ‘smart’. Smart does not necessarily mean state-of-the-art technology; more often, all it takes to make a city ‘smart’ is the essential infrastructure designed for the users — the people, reasons ITDP’s Aswathy Dilip. “Basically, it’s all about creating ‘people-friendly’ cities.”

The ongoing Smart Cities Mission is a great opportunity for cities to establish a good urban framework, from embedding best practices into policies, setting up an integrated institutional framework, to monitoring and evaluation, she says. “A solid urban framework is the game changer to implementing sustainable projects on-ground.”

The experts say that in the realm of transportation, a smart city should have well-connected streets with wide and obstacle-free footpaths, segregated cycle tracks, safe pedestrian crossings, organised parking, and high quality public transportation. Providing high-quality walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure is not only healthy for the people, but healthy for the city’s environment too. It needs to be accessible by all users, regardless of age, gender, and physical ability.

Transportation systems should be integrated with one another physically, to facilitate seamless movement from one mode to another. “Now, that is smart. These are certainly feasible in today’s times and are already being accomplished by many cities like Chennai and Pune,” says Aswathy.

But is it the best part of a smart city? The digital aspect makes up for a small part of a ‘Smart’ city, warn urban planning scholars. “For instance, when it comes to ‘multi-modal integration’ of transportation systems, the required physical infrastructure is the first and most important step, since the users need to move from one system to another seamlessly,” according to ITDP. “In order to facilitate this integration further, a smart mobility card is recommended which will allow a user to pay with a single medium across different transportation modes. Thus, while the digital part of a system/city could enhance its smartness, the basics in the form of infrastructure play a more critical role,” Aswathy adds.

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