Urbanisation and land challenges for smart cities in India

The book is based on a year-long research undertaken by a dedicated team of researchers in the School of Economics led by Dr. Mohanty and Dr. Mishra under the HUDCO Chair Programme. This book acknowledges the hard work and dedication by young researchers.

Planned urban development will be a vehicle of India's transformation to a developed nation. Economically efficient, socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable and financially viable cities will drive the country's progress to prosperity. Agglomeration and knowledge externalities in cities will present cost-effective ways to accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty. India needs to invest in cities to speed up the structural and spatial transformation processes. The country must harness the opportunities unleashed by urbanisation.

The Government of India has recently launched the Smart Cities Mission with the objective to promote sustainable and inclusive urban development. Smart cities will provide infrastructure facilities that use "smart" solutions to improve service delivery. They will create replicable models to be implemented by other cities. Efficient land management will be critical for the success of smart cities. It will be the key to make serviced land and floor space to meet the demands of economic growth and quality of life. In this regard, spatial planning, land assembly, inclusionary zoning and housing and land-based financing of cities, including resource mobilization through property tax are amongst the key issues of urban development in India. This book draws lessons from theory and practice to address the issues of urban land policy.