Blog

by Morgan Campbell A common theme emerging within UnderReform case sites is a sentiment expressed by stakeholders: Smart City designation does not automatically make a city or citizens smart. Implementing a bike share station is ineffective if people don’t understand how to use it; smart roads are not smart if two-wheelers still drive on the … Read more

Want a quick overview of what the SCM is and what the Under Reform project is trying to do? Watch our short video explaining it all!

by Morgan Campbell The 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report on Road Safety identified India as having one the highest number of road-related deaths in the world; approximately 23 deaths per 100,000 people per year. Several factors contribute to dangerous conditions for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Roads requiring repair, lack of coordinated traffic laws and … Read more

By Morgan Campbell Constitutional attempts at decentralization India’s 74th constitutional amendment remains the country’s strongest attempt to decentralize decision-making powers to city authorities. Enacted in 1992, we can imagine the amendment as a clairvoyant anticipation of future urban growth and the need for a third tier of public representation and accountability. The schedule’s 12th amendment … Read more

By Louise Reardon (This post is also available on the Urban Transformations network blog.) Earlier this month I headed to New Delhi to learn more from national stakeholders about India’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM). Having now returned to the UK, unpacked and got over the jet lag, I reflect here on some of the key … Read more

A version of this post is also available on Greg Marsden’s personal blog page, where he writes on various transport and governance-related issues. My last blog post on the UnderReform project covered some of the dialogue we have had with stakeholders about what kind of initiative the Smart Cities Mission is. In this post, I … Read more

A version of this post is also available on Greg Marsden’s personal blog page, where he writes on various transport and governance-related issues.  Under Reform is 10 months into our two-year study of the Smart Cities Mission in India (SCM). With interview and documentary analysis coming in from Jaipur and Bengaluru and work about to … Read more

By Morgan Campbell Colloquially, special purpose vehicles in India bring to mind the hundreds of bright Tata, Ashok Leyland, and Mahindra vehicles that dominate the road space thanks to their size and bulk. Beautifully hand-painted messages such as Special goods carrier and Horn ok reinforce this specialness. Since 2015, however, the term Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) … Read more