by Mr. Shubhranshu
Pani, Managing Director – Strategic Consulting, JLL India
Going by the growth
plans envisaged by the current Government, India will need to invest more in
its cities to make them more livable. Urbanization is increasing at a rapid
pace, and currently about 30-33% of Indians live in cities. This is estimated
to reach upwards of 40% by 2030.
The urban population would be about 600
million people at that point. It is further estimated that the number of cities
with populations of a million or more are likely to double in that time.
A large component of
this urbanization would in the form of migration to the existing cities, which
would expand and grow in size. Unfortunately, most Indian cities are currently
decidedly challenged in terms of infrastructure, and their inhabitants' access
to basic services continues to be poor. An increase in urbanization will result
in more stress and breakdown of these cities; quality of life there will
deteriorate.
To be able to continue with the required momentum, it is expected
that India would need at least 100 new cities over the next 10 years.
These cities would
essentially be Greenfield (built from scratch) entities adjacent to existing
cities, and developed and dependent on the existing cities. These Greenfield
cities will be built around economic drivers like industries and industrial
clusters, SEZs, transport nodes and satellite or intermediate cities.
Over the next few years,
India is going to see a fair share of such Greenfield cities. One envisages
that these cities will be developed in a structured manner and built for the
future - in other words, they will be future-ready. They should have adequate
control on their natural resources, and will need high-grade urban planning.
The dynamic changes in
physical, economic and technological environments across the globe have
resulted in cities using smart elements to improve the quality of life of their
citizens and provide superior services to businesses.
Smart cities provide a
high level of livability, work environment and sustainability to their
residents through superior urban planning and adequate provisions for base
utilities and control of resources. The conceptualization of a Smart City
varies from city to city and from country to country, depending on the level of
development, willingness for changes and reforms, availability of resources and
aspirations of the city residents.
In developed countries,
a Smart City is one where existing infrastructure is augmented, monitored and
controlled, leading to highly sustainable development. In the Indian context,
the approach is necessarily different. Since many cities lack basic
infrastructure, institutional frameworks and proper governance, a Smart City
initiatives will first and foremost involve providing basic civic requirements
and making the infrastructure robust and scalable.
Indian cities today face
significant challenges such as:
· Increasing
population
· Lack
of physical and social infrastructure
· Environmental
and regulatory deficit
· Declining
tax bases and budgets, and
· Increasing
costs.
They have to learn to
identify new and smart ways to manage the complexity of urban living, and
problems ranging from pollution, overcrowding and urban sprawl to inadequate
housing, high unemployment, resource management, environmental protection, and
rising crime rates.
Long-standing urban
challenges include those in terms of:
· Housing
(especially for low-income populations)
· Infrastructure
provision
· Delivery
of a variety of services including water, sanitation, education and healthcare.
These challenges can be
met in two ways - building new (Greenfield) cities or transforming existing
ones.
Greenfield Cities..!
With a view to
modernizing India and accelerating the process of urbanization, the incumbent
Government has launched two flagship schemes - the Smart Cities Mission and
AMRUT (for urban renewal and retrofitting). The mission is to develop 100
cities all over the country, making them citizen-friendly and sustainable. The
vision is to develop satellite towns of larger cities and modernize existing
mid-sized cities, with the aim of:
 |
| Shubhranshu Pani, JLL India |
· Better
serving citizen by providing infrastructure and improving their quality of life
· Managing
the existing infrastructure with efficient use of available assets
· Offering
adequate economic activities, and
· Boosting
investment and employment opportunities.
Setting up a new
Greenfield city has its own set of unique challenges, which is why Smart City
implementation requires the assistance of experts in various fields such as
consultancy, development, operation, financing and management. One of the very
effective models of implementation is Private Public Partnership (PPP) through
which the Government of India is developing these projects.
Many private investors
have also shown interest, as have developers, designers, service providers and
consulting firms.
There are obviously vast opportunities for private players in
every sector on the path of making the mission possible. One must realize that
building a city is a very long-term undertaking that takes upwards of 10 to 25
years, so the urban planning must be robust taking into account changes over
such long periods of time, interactions with the regional development and
interaction with the hinterlands. It is not only important to focus on a single
city but on its interactions with the whole region.
While India embarks on
this journey, early movers will definitely have a massively uphill task.
Major Challenges Which A Smart
City Is Likely To Face:
· Regional
plan:
Urban planning is the backbone of every city development;
however, as already noted, Smart City planning is not a 1-year exercise but
more of a 20-year plan with high importance given to the region's overall
development.
What this implies is that the city must be envisaged vis-a-vis its
existence as a member of the region, and the interactions and impact must be
carefully studied.
The region's planning must augment the city's plans to be
able to provide a uniform experience
· Economic
drivers:
Economic drivers are the key for the setting up of a Smart
City. A clear plan of vibrant economic growth of the city based on multiple
economic drivers must be the focus area of smart city, especially if it is a
Greenfield city.
· Obsolescence
of technology:
In the Indian context, control of infrastructure and
resources is envisaging huge investments in technology. Whilst the investment
is a small percentage of the overall infrastructure, all this investment is
being done with a horizon of between 5-10 years - and technology leapfrogs in
much shorter times than that.
For example, we have quickly moved from 2G to 3G
and on to 4G, from a wired world to a wireless world and from cables to optical
fibers. Technology evolves faster than a city, and there must therefore be
options to adapt as technology changes or gets obsolete. Technology protocols
must be amenable to modification and upgradation.
· Urban
mobility:
A smart city encompasses many dimensions, and a reliable,
affordable and sustainable transport system is at its core. Along with public
transport systems, development of last-mile connectivity is necessary for
optimal utilization of mass transit systems.
This is why Smart Cities around
the world think about urban transport in a comprehensive manner to improve
accessibility and mobility. India's public transport has not been adequate
because of the high density of population, poor urban planning and zoning and
also lack of investment. As we build new cities, public transport must be the key
focus.
A new city's mobility
system must be integrated with the regional transport system and may need
augmentation of existing regional infrastructure. For instance: Pune's MIDC has
a developed an infrastructure network; however it is not matched by the municipal
networks, resulting in bottlenecks.
In another example,Lavasa as a city
requires external transportation links, which implies that Smart Cities cannot
plan and invest in matching regional infrastructure. This would devolve on the
state or national infrastructure planning authority.
· Water
management:
The Water Cycle (water resource, production, distribution,
consumption, collection and treatment of waste water) plays an integral part of
an urban system.
Water and its sustainability are of key importance in new
cities, which must aim to be water neutral or positive as much as possible.
· Waste
management:
Sustainability in solid waste management calls for a new
approach to solid waste and converting it as a resource. There is a need for
solid waste management through smart solutions for clean roads and a healthy
environment. Unfortunately, India has just not woken up to this. Cleanliness
and hygiene call for a baseline cultural change.
Technology could help;
however, the upfront investment in some of these technologies or the minimum
scale investment is high. Nevertheless, it is imperative that this be planned
for.
· Social
infrastructure:
A city needs social infrastructure for making it
habitable, and most of this social infrastructure needs a critical mass of
population and consumption to be viable.
This means that in the initial years,
participation of private enterprises would be limited. It also means that to
start a new Greenfield city, either the projects need to be funded by the
promoting government or subsidized. City planners need to plan accordingly.
· Funds:
A
new city would take a long time to develop both the requisite economic drivers
and the infrastructure - only after that will it see people stepping in to
stay. By the time the city is habitable and has a basic population, the project
would at least be 7 to 10 years in the making.
Unfortunately, the current funds
available for this sector are only for the short-term of 10-15 years. Unless
the development of the city is done out of funds that have a 20 to 30 year
horizon, these projects are unlikely to survive.
India needs a sea change in
the way it looks at funding these cities, or their infrastructure.
· Employment
generators:
It is important to plan along with the regional planning
and Government on job creation in these cities. A critical focus on job
creation is not only on the primary economic jobs created, but on service jobs.
The city has to be serviced by people working on the support infrastructure.
· Rental
housing:
There is considerable need to develop a rental housing market
to ensure that more people can move in and work in a smart city without needing
to buy properties there.
The real estate laws for a Smart City must be such
that investors will come in and provide rental residences to people who move in
to stay there.
· Phasing:
A
Greenfield Smart City must necessarily be built in phases on the basis of real
demand, and demand should drive investments beyond the basics. Otherwise, we
will wind up with ghost cities where infrastructure has been built, but with no
takers.
· Maintenance:
Building
a Greenfield city is relatively easy; however, it is continuous maintenance
which differentiates a great city from the rest.
Smart cities should be easy to
maintain and be taken care of to extend, modify and accommodate the growing
needs of citizens. Smart cities need to be smart for the long haul, not only at
the outset.
To
Summarize:
As much as the vision of
Smart Cities in India is both vast and rational, their implementation within
the context of existing socio-economic conditions might be a tad difficult.
However, as a rapidly developing economy, the country must doubtlessly keep up
with global standards.
The execution of the Smart Cities plan can take India
onto a major leap forward in the race of development, so no efforts must be
spared to make them happen.
About the author..
Mr. Shubhranshu Pani, Managing Director – Strategic Consulting, JLL India
+91 22 6620 7575
For media contact
Arun
Chitnis,
Head –
Corporate Communications & Media Relations
JLL
India
Level
6, Amar Avinash Corporate Plaza
Bund
Garden Road,
Pune
411001.
Tel:
(020) 30930441 Fax: (020) 40196101
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