Managing The Unceasing Migration Is Crucial For A Successful Smart City

In India, the growing urbanisation has fueled the need to invest more in its cities to make them more habitable and comfortable. At present, nearly 30 per cent of India's population lives in urban areas. Market experts predict that by 2030 it will increase to 40 per cent. Migration primarily is triggered by economic reasons; people move to cities with a stronger economy as it offers better livelihood and living conditions. This has largely been concentrated to a few big cities in the country which has resulted in a population explosion in those cities bringing them to the brink of collapse. To cope up with the continuous migration, India needs to develop more new cities over the next decade.

Developing Greenfield cities

The government needs to start planning for development of fresh cities and townships adjacent to the big metros. Called the Greenfield cities, these can be built around industrial clusters, SEZs or the adjacent cities.  

People migrate to urban areas primarily in search of a better future. So, developing a Greenfield Smart city should be done with a robust planning where the present substructure is improved, monitored and controlled. But a majority of Indian cities lack basic infrastructure. The players who are digging their nose into the development of smart cities should learn to identify new and smart ways to deal with the complexity of urban living. There can be two options – either built the cities from the scratch (Greenfield smart cities) or transform the existing cities. Transforming the prevailing cities might come as a challenge due to the burgeoning urban population. 

To fast-track the process of urbanisation, with a view of reforming India where migration can be regulated in a certain manner – the initiative by the government of launching the Smart Cities Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) will make the process of urbanisation smooth and sturdy. These schemes open huge opportunities for private players as well. 

Also read: 5 Things You Did Not Know About Migration Within India

The challenges – and how to deal with them

Optimise the region with smart planning: Building a new township adjacent to a developed city needs careful planning. It involves a thorough research of the infrastructural requirements, and the additional burden it will impose on the adjoining areas. The entire region's ecosystem has to be developed accordingly so that there is uniform growth.

Upgrade the technology: To make the smart city mission a success, it needs a solid technological foundation. These systems will need to be checked from time to time, modified and upgraded regularly.

Also read: 10 Challenges Before India's Smart Cities Mission

Connectivity: Development of last-mile connectivity is essential in a modern working class city. It ensures public safety and ensures a balance in housing as people don't just concentrate on areas around their workplace. It will also encourage people to use public transport and hence help fight pollution. 

More job creation: Migration happens in search for better employment structure which small towns fail to offer. Government needs to ensure that businesses get proper support. Incentive driven approach can be handy in the early stages. Just government jobs will not be able to sustain a large migrant population. Private businesses must feel welcomed in the area. This will require a less demanding bureaucracy and a healthy public-private partnership.