Land Redevelopment, Real Estate and Capital in Urban Place-making: A Case Study of Siliguri, India

Abstract

The geographies of real estate, land redevelopment and capital play crucial roles in India’s contemporary urban place-making. There is a significant knowledge gap in understanding the role of real estate development and the linkages with capital, the pre-existing propertied business class, emerging markets, and associated aspects in the rapidly changing non-metropolitan, medium-sized cities’ (MSC) context. This study analyses urban transition in Siliguri, a fast-growing MSC in eastern India. Unlike the large megacities, real estate development here has witnessed a considerable capital shift in a speculative property market. Real estate growth is primarily led by the local business and propertied class that eventually emerged as developers. The efforts have resulted in urban place-making of newly built environments, consumption spaces and gated condos through the land redevelopment process.