‘Smart Cities’ has gained much attention after 20 Indian cities were selected, from a total of 98, through a first of its kind selection process in India. Selection timelines were met without extensions evidencing the intent and interest of the involved city managers and citizens to include their cities in the Smart Cities program. All cities put forth proposals for better infrastructure in terms of assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity, e-governance – and, importantly, citizen participation.
Bhubaneswar has topped the list followed by Pune and Jaipur in second and third places. JLL India’s Strategic Consulting team was instrumental in preparing the proposals for two of the selected cities – Bhubaneshwar and Chennai. Over the next two years, the Government will identify 40 and 38 more cities respectively through another round of competitive selection.
India’s Smart City Mission is India’s next phase of urbanisation. From the initial stage till implementation, one underlying question will be – what can citizens expect from these Smart Cities?
Better Public Transport
Growing urbanisation has increased the number of private vehicles on public roads, leading to massive traffic congestion in almost all Indian cities. Smart Cities proposes to provide easy access to public transport and enhance mobility by use of ICT (Information & Communications Technology) solutions. Public transport will aid in faster, easier and cheaper commuting, significantly mitigating inner city congestion. Pune, Jaipur, Surat, Davanagere, Indore, Belagavi, Udaipur and Chennai are focusing on ICT solutions for urban mobility.
Putting pedestrians first
Pune, Belagavi, Udaipur and Chennai are putting the pedestrian first, with Chennai becoming the first city to implement a Non-Motorised Transport Policy in India. Citizens will enjoy wide footpaths with public seating at regular intervals; easy mobility for the differently-abled and car-free Sundays will make streets available for citizens to interact and engage in street activities. Cities also plan to manage on-street parking to increase safety of pedestrians. Also, cycle sharing and feeder systems will help citizens achieve better Last Mile connectivity, a major hurdle. Citizens will have the option to use cycles to commute to their destinations from the public transport mode.
Availability of Adequate Parking
Intelligent parking management, a part of many of the winning Smart City proposals, will help citizens find parking with ease and even pre-book their parking slot along with online payment modes. On-street parking management will be a reliable revenue source for the cities, and can be used to further strengthen their public transportation systems. Managing on-street parking will reduce traffic congestion, increase the effective carriageway width available for vehicles and reduce fuel consumption and pollution, among other benefits. The cities which have identified this as a prime winning proposition in the Smart City contest are Bhubaneshwar, Davanagere, Indore, Udaipur, Guwahati and Chennai.
Reduced Traffic Congestion
Bhubaneshwar, Surat, Ahmedabad, Davanagere, Indore, Udaipur and Chennai are considering Intelligent Traffic Management Systems to manage city traffic via various ICT solutions. Citizens will enjoy easier transport modes and routes, and also have smart phone access to estimate travel time to their destination by Passenger Real Time information on arrival of buses, trains and e-rickshaws. Traffic Signalling Prioritization of BRTS buses and video surveillance will further ensure safety and prevent traffic violations.
Safer Living
Coimbatore, Kakinada, Udaipur, Guwahati and Chennai are also focusing on safety of residents. Initiatives such as LED street lighting will boost pedestrians’ safety, as will video surveillance via a Common Control Centre – which will simultaneously help reduce traffic violations and ensure efficient on-street parking management.
Hassle-Free Civic Services
The Smart Cities are also targeting e-governance, a single platform from where citizens can access all the details and help them get all services done. This will enable citizens’ engagement in all aspects of city functioning, as data sharing or transparency between government and citizens will act as a forum for citizens to understand exactly how their city is functioning. Bhubaneshwar, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Vishakapatnam, Davanagere, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Belagavi, Ludhiana and Bhopal are also considering integrated fare cards, smart unified city governance, ‘one city one website’, GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping and Wi-Fi hotspots.
Safety against Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are, almost by definition, impossible to prevent; however human interventions in terms of precautionary measures can help minimise loss of life and property to a great extent. Coastal areas are often badly affected by cyclones and flooding, so cities like Chennai and Vishakhapatnam will concentrate on ICT-based disaster management techniques like sensors, weather forecasts, zero flooding zones, storm water management, etc. to make them safer.
Neighbourhood Sanitation
Jaipur, Jabalpur, Indore and Kakinada are considering Solid Waste Management through smart solutions to ensure clean roads and a healthy environment. Recycling of waste will produce renewable energy, ensure safe disposal of solid waste, prevent soil and environmental pollution and reduce depletion of resources.
Easy access to all Basic Infrastructure
Smart Cities aim to maintain basic infrastructure with best quality and 100% efficiency. The efficiency of utilities in our cities has been elusive till date, due to inadequate monitoring and responsiveness. Electricity, sewerage, storm water drainage and water supply will be strengthened in the Smart Cities with a smart layer of ICT applications. Citizens in Pune, Kochi, Solapur, NDMC, Kakinada and Belagavi will benefit from ICT-enabled initiatives such as zero loss monitored by Smart Meters, LED street lighting, 24×7 water supply by source augmentation, waste water recycling and sensors to detect sewer system leakages. Pune is focusing on healthcare for low income households and providing training in digital literacy, and Solapur is incentivising conservation of water. Chennai aims to create water sources using desalination plants and recycling water to use for various purposes.
City Beautification
All identified Smart Cities are focusing on developing more ‘lung spaces’ within the city. Smart components like cycling, street furniture, jogging tracks, designated spaces hawkers, etc. will enhance the aesthetics of the cities. Green spaces will get a new dimension with new soft and hard landscapes equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots, providing ideal areas for citizens to relax, exercise and interact. These steps are expected to create a healthy and a sustained environment.
Implementation through the formation of SPVs is integral to success of these proposals and will determine the success of Smart Cities Mission as a whole; failure to consider this route seriously can prove to be a major stumbling block. Smart City citizens can expect their city authorities and involved nodal agencies to work efficiently towards finalizing and implementing the committed proposals, keeping them involved through the citizen’s engagement process, and to see their respective cities compete successfully with others in attracting investments.
A Shankar is Head – Strategic Consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle, Bangalore. JLL India’s Strategic Consulting team was instrumental in preparing the proposals for two of the selected cities – Bhubaneshwar and Chennai.
