Clever Move To Get Street-Smart

Context: Expansion of Smart City Mission is the key to address India’s urbanisation challenges.

Four underlying trends which will shape the future of urbanisation in India -

1. Urbanisation to continue rapidly for next few decades: From 62 million in 1951, India’s urban population went up to 377 million in 2011.
   • At about 32% of India’s population, it is well below the global average of over 50% and far below 80% of developed economies.
   • It is projected to cross 600 million by 2030 and go over 850 million by 2050.
2. Cities as engines of economic growth: Will be fundamental to success of India becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2030. Cities not only accommodate growth but also enable it.
3. Potential of High-density urban geographies
   • Will allow more sustainable transport systems: Like walking, cycling and public transport., desirable to mitigate climate change and air pollution, as well as to conserve natural resources.
   • But, also enable a rapid spread of epidemics like the ongoing pandemic, and densely populated cities may cross-carrying capacity limits.
4. Emerging technologies: Making it possible to secure benefits of agglomeration.
   • For E.g. Projects like regional rapid transit system (RRTS) allow Delhi to disperse over a larger area, while IT facilitates people to work smoothly from remote locations.
   • These developments are likely to permit a more decentralised form of urbanisation.

Challenge: India is resource-constrained, making efficient use of natural resources a must.

• With 18% of the world’s population, India has only 2.5% of the global landmass and 4% of freshwater resources.

About Smart City Mission (SCM)

• Covers 100 cities and aims to demonstrate how urban areas can be resource-efficient in becoming true engines of economic growth through a set of ‘area-based and ‘pan-city
  • Area-based initiatives: E.g. Improving road design, upgrading neighbourhoods and making sanitation more efficient.
  • Pan-city based initiatives: Public transport and IT-based governance systems.
  • An integrated approach to develop specific areas of the city offers lessons for scaling up in future.

Way forward: Turning the mission into a movement

• Deploy the learnings to all cities: As highlighted in the housing and urban affairs ministry report, ‘Making a City Smart’, there is a need to amplify the learnings and replicate successful models.
  • Surat: Use of IT to optimise the scheduling of bus services with significant time and cost savings.
  • Ahmedabad: Developed an app to help motorists find parking slots easily.
  • Bhopal: Introduced public bike-sharing systems to nudge people towards sustainable transport.
  • Chennai: Shown how improved road design can encourage more walking and cycling.
  • Integrated Command and Control System (ICCS): As a city’s brain and nervous system, it has provided citizen-centric applications, including disaster management during Covid-19, floods and cyclones.