Challenges of urban informality in Indian smart cities

Abstract

India's smart cities initiative signals a clear turn towards the corporatisation of urban governance by entrusting planning responsibilities to special purpose vehicles (SPV) constituted as public sector companies in place of elected municipal governments. This commentary argues that the depoliticised approach of the SPV-driven smart city plans could be detrimental to the informal economy in the long run. Municipal politics has been a useful platform for the urban poor to negotiate their claims over the city, as there is a clientelistic relationship between urban informality and political actors. The scope for such negotiations has considerably shrunk in smart cities, with elite coalition bureaucrats and technocrats steering planning decisions.