The need of smart city in India
Author : Ajay Kumar
Chairman Fox Petroleum
Our prime minister’s smart city means, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete in due course of time”. i feel, PM meant to say, that without changing to much in the exiting developed city, turn into a modern with add in infrastructure like – road,sewage, water, waste,greenery, jobs creation in the vicinity and it&ites services for the city nad for the public use as well as self energy reliance and more. Development is about transforming the lives of people, not just transforming economies. Create with the heart; build with the mind.
Our Government wants smart city may therefore be more prepared to respond to challenges than one with a simple 'transactional' relationship with its citizens. In other terms that have been used for similar concepts include ‘cyberville, ‘digital city’’, ‘electronic communities’, ‘flexicity’, ‘information city’, 'intelligent city', ‘knowledge-based city, 'MESH city', ‘telecity, ‘teletopia’’, 'Ubiquitous city', ‘wired city’. It means SMART CITY is the collection and Organised form of all city development done by private players in the past in this Country. Major technological, economic and environmental changes have generated interest in smart cities, including climate change, economic restructuring, the move to online retail and entertainment, ageing populations, and pressures on public finances as well as community living at ease.
“What is the need of SMART CITY in India?” Unorganized colonization by developers as per demand in the market and sometimes developed by Government agencies need based has created a mesh of disordered developed infrastructure, which has lack of civic-socio-economic-security based living; Hence the making of SMART CITY is need of the time to recognize India as developed country. I agree to the Government stand to make –“SMART CITY”. SMART CITY - Through others we become ourselves; Prime Minister’s SMART CITY idea is not to develop a CITY—actually He(PM) wanted to envelops a CITY, because it’s more positive, what they are in existence.
Government has no definition of SMART CITY, hence, two SMART CITY can’t be of same criterion. The Government is not prescribing any particular model to be adopted by the Smart Cities. The approach is not ‘one-size-fits-all’; A smart city would thus be a city that not only possesses innovative technology in particular areas, but has also implemented this technology in a manner that impacts the local community in rising ease of living. The strategic components of Area-based development in the Smart Cities Mission are city improvement (retrofitting can be done in Banars, Patna, Jaipur etc), city renewal (redevelopment like Tangla, Nagpur etc) and city extension (greenfield development may be seen in NE states and some south city) plus a Pan-city initiative in which Smart Solutions are applied covering larger parts of the city. The Government plan to give house to everyone till 2020 can be fulfilled only by SMART CITY.
Some of the features which may attract an individual living in SMART CITY are : Promoting mixed land use in area-based developments — planning for ‘unplanned areas’ containing a range of compatible activities and land uses close to one another in order to make land use more efficient. The States will enable some flexibility in land use and building bye-laws to adapt to change; Like one can operate from home also as a Business Entity which is not permissible in some cases in metros. Fox Example, a Consultant/Advocate/Doctors/A Software Programmer and many more such operations need not to have a big office, he/she can operate his office address from home also.
Other best features are -Housing and inclusiveness — expand housing opportunities for all; SMART CITY Housing aims to provide a safe, welcoming home for Families/students/Veterans of all backgrounds and identities. We can also say that it may have structure with GENDER-INCLUSIVE HOUSING OPTIONS for security reasons; I mean - Residence may have different categories -Single or double rooms with a private bath, Single or double rooms with a gender-inclusive bathroom in close proximity, Single or double rooms with an attached bathroom (shared with another single or double room) Creating walkable localities — reduce congestion of traffic and parking, air pollution and resource depletion, boost local economy with market connectivity via eGovernance, promote interactions and ensure security. The road network is created or refurbished not only for vehicles and public transport, but also for pedestrians and cyclists, and necessary administrative services are offered within walking or cycling distance; It will ease traffic congestion i.e. Promoting a variety of transport options —public transport and last mile para-transport connectivity; From home by Cycle to Buss stand/metro –Cycle to office;
The real smartness will come when SMART CITY will be- Preserving and developing open spaces — parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces in order to enhance the quality of life of citizens, reduce the urban heat effects in Areas and generally promote eco-balance; Private developers has sold so many projects making each recreational activity as USP of The Project Developed.
The SMART CITY dwellers will have Good Governance by the help of eGovernance, by making governance citizen-friendly and cost effective — increasingly rely on online services to bring about accountability and transparency, especially using mobiles to reduce cost of services and providing services without having to go to municipal offices; form e-groups to listen to people and obtain feedback and use online monitoring of programs and activities with the aid of cyber tour of worksites; It will also have smart Solutions to infrastructure and services in area-based development in order to make them better. For example, making Areas less vulnerable to disasters, using fewer resources, and providing cheaper services. Like using Boats/Ferry rather than having bridges at too many points in some cases. Example is NEW YORK; New York has the best free ferry system connecting one part to another part of City.
SMART CITY will never have name based on foreign city names, which is very famous amongst the developers trying to sale in the name resemblance only, not having anything like that foreign location. SMART CITY will be named giving an identity to the city — based on its main economic activity, such as local cuisine, health, education, arts and craft, culture, sports goods, furniture, hosiery, textile, dairy, etc etc etc;
Globally SMART CITY is a trend, not a new thing; Examples of Smart City technologies and programs have been implemented in Dubai, Milton Keynes, Southampton, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Stockholm. We have seen Billion Dollars Townships developments but Development of Smart City nearly estimates that the global market for smart urban services will be $400 billion per annum by 2020.
“New streets of SMART CITY should be Twitter friendly and be named with hashtags up front. I’d build a house on ?#?LoversLane.” Your feedback is requested, as feedback is the breakfast of champions.