WORLDING DREAMS, MESSY REALITIES: DECONSTRUCTING DIALECTICAL IMAGES OF URBAN FUTURE AND THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE IN NEW DELHI SMART CITY

Abstract

In 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 100 smart cities under the central government’s initiative of Smart Cities Mission (SCM) programme, with the goal to improve the urban infrastructural crisis of the nation. As often seen from other smart city cases around the world that center capital cities as pioneers of these innovative initiatives, it was unlikely that the capital of India – New Delhi – would not be chosen. Using Ananya Roy and Aihwa Ong’s (2011) concept of worlding, this dissertation examines New Delhi smart city – assessing the aspirational claims and situated practices of worlding unfolding in New Delhi – and contributes to smart cities research in the Indian context. Drawing from methods of discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews, online survey questionnaires, and participant observations, this dissertation argues that India’s rising global relevance is at the center of smart city discourse of both the central government and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Both the national and municipal actors actively leverage New Delhi’s status as the national capital and its symbolic position as a global contender to justify and advance New Delhi smart city and its initiatives. What remains underexplored in worlding is the everyday improvisation and engagement by urban dwellers as they locate themselves within worlding projects, such as smart cities. Rohan Kalyan’s (2017) discussion on urban métis and Amit Rai’s (2019) on jugaad helps to illustrate such active and agential role of urban dwellers. Contrary to the policy discourse, stakeholders’ narratives emphasize how New Delhi smart city initiatives are reinforcing exclusivity despite existing diverse socio-economic differences. Furthermore, on-ground realities showcase everyday engagements with smart city initiatives where urban dwellers improvise and remain skeptical of big, bold promises made by New Delhi smart city and by the SCM program more broadly.