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Cities are the physical embodiment of power, capital and state control. Yet urban centres are heterogeneous and multiple counter-cities are created within the bounds of the city – contesting the mainstream logic of capital accumulation and hierarchical relationships of power. While one may first envision counter-cities as large sites of protest and consciously alternative communities, everyday counter-cities are also possible. This article combines three theories to develop a framework of everyday counter-cities, drawing together subaltern urbanism, prefiguration and reciprocal relations of care. This paper uses this framework to analyse qualitative research conducted with communities in two informal settlements of migrant communities in Kolkata to explain how these seemingly ordinary places form counter-cities. This paper draws on these examples to argue that a counter-city founded on an ethos of care and anticipatory action for the future is possible, even within situations of high income disparity and inequality. • Everyday subaltern communities create counter-cities based on hope and care. • A counter-city illustrates reciprocal care, prefiguration and subaltern urbanism. • A counter-city represents the intersection of social relations, space and temporality. • Migrant communities in Kolkata are ostracised but resist the label of 'slums' of despair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that sustainable Smart Cities cannot be delivered by profit-driven visions, but through a process that integrates the diverse aptitudes and needs of the city stakeholders. The study uses mixed methods to examine democratic participation in governance and the emerging notion of Smart City Citizenship in the context of India. Benchmarking and assessment of 21 smart cities reveals the existing participatory processes being "tokenistic" and a substantial deficit in democratic stakeholder participation mechanisms. A deeper assessment in Kochi and Nagpur exposes the existing barriers to citizen participation and reveals that the capacities of capable stakeholders and citizen groups can be channelised more effectively. This study promotes advancing the notion of 'citizenship' beyond the market to the commons. It suggests transforming urban governance into a more accountable and collaborative governance model with a stronger role and power to local government, residents, and democratic stakeholders. • Benchmarking and assessment of 21 smart cities and case studies of Kochi and Nagpur reveal that the existing participatory processes being "tokenistic" and a substantial deficit in democratic stakeholder participation mechanisms • The cities need to break the barriers of bureaucracy, corruption, marketisation, and capacity limitations. • This study promotes advancing the notion of 'citizenship' beyond the market to the commons. • The study suggests transforming urban governance into a more accountable and collaborative governance model with a stronger role and power to local government, residents, and democratic stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the economic determinants of female-owned proprietorships for 52 metro cities in India. The National Sample Survey (NSS) unit-level data are used for the analysis. The descriptive results show that women's proprietorship is much lower than its counterpart. The Probit regression results at the individual level show that women entrepreneurs do not have a bank account or computer but use the internet, are not registered under any act or authority, and do not expand considerably. They operate within household premises with a limited number of months and duration of a day, undertaking mainly contract basis. They also face several problems that hinder their activities. City-level factors such as work participation rate, consumption expenditure, higher levels of general and technical degrees, and vocational training are essential. The likelihood of becoming a female entrepreneur is negatively impacted by the two agglomeration variables of population size and participation in mixed activity. City-level poverty and inequality also adversely affect it. State-level Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, and Gender Inequality Index are also significant. Finally, we propose important policies to enable the city environment to improve women's entrepreneurship activities for higher and sustainable economic development. • Female-owned entrepreneurship (FOE) is essential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth in developing countries. • The agglomeration size, unequal economic distribution, and less female-friendly society discourage becoming FOE. • Knowledge spillovers, labour pooling, availability of public services, and infrastructure encourage FOE. • Cities need to increase investment, employment, level of education, and delivery of public services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Performance of cities is fundamental in growing the local economy by exploiting the opportunities for development and enhancing competitiveness. Cities engage in regeneration and business strategies linked to the property sector to advance their competitiveness. In this paper, a hierarchical model for city competitiveness linked to regeneration and business strategies is applied to five cities with different economic profile in India. The capacity of the model to evaluate the competitive performance of cities in emerging economies is assessed across three levels – cities, six operational components and 32 identified factors. The paper draws inferences concerning the linkages across regeneration strategies and property-led business strategies to advance the competitiveness of cities in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the assumption that redevelopment of slum settlements results in improved housing quality, by conducting a longitudinal study of an in-situ redevelopment policy in Ahmedabad, India. Under an in-situ redevelopment policy, apartment-style housing is built on the same site of original slum settlements. This paper examines housing quality in the same settlement, pre- and post-redevelopment, in comparison to a wait-listed slum that did not undergo redevelopment, to ascertain redevelopment impact on housing quality. It further compares housing quality of a resettled community at two time periods, 2.5- and 8.5-years post-redevelopment to determine durability of housing quality changes over medium-term. I use a mixed-methods protocol employing a standardized observer-based housing quality assessment tool with subscales, to identify specific aspects of housing quality that improved/deteriorated and gathered qualitative data from interviews and focus groups. The analyses reveal an improvement in overall housing conditions post-redevelopment, in the short term, though this improvement is not uniform across subscales. However, this improvement does not sustain as redeveloped settlement shows severe levels of deterioration over mid-term. The qualitative findings suggest that in redeveloped settlements, residents feel a diminished sense of control and ownership that precludes them from investing in structural improvements and maintenance of settlements. • In-situ slum redevelopment improves overall housing quality but basic services and crowding need further improvement. • Housing issues of structural quality, cleanliness and maintenance increase over medium-term in redeveloped settlements. • Mid- and long-term impact assessments of redevelopment policies are critical to identify sustainable housing solutions. • Comprehensive housing quality appraisals need to include quantitative and qualitative accounts to evaluate efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the growth of census towns in India's Capital Region because the unregulated growth of census towns has been the key feature of recent urbanization in India. The article first examines the population and municipal status dynamics, location and economic characteristics of census towns as well as their migratory and commuting patterns. The status and costs of providing basic amenities and social infrastructure are then analyzed. The paper emphasizes the contribution of contemporary theories that explain the growth of census towns and the role of secondary and primary data in capturing their characteristics. Taking advantage of the economic potential of India's urbanization as census towns will require the following: (i) the enforcement of reforms to empower Gram Panchayat for spatial planning and growth regulation; (ii) the discontinuation of subsidized infrastructure provision and charging development tax; and (iii) investment in decentralized infrastructure for more accountable and more efficient delivery of basic amenities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is often presented as a threat to national sovereignty and state security. It is time to formulate an alternative discourse - Urbanisation leading to migration (internal) and security threats in the state. 'Hyper-Urbanisation' in the form of 'Smart Cities' which involves rapid infrastructural development, and advanced capital investments occasionally becomes drivers for a threat to security. It is essential to look at the relation between Urbanisation and Migration from a security point of view. Urbanisation often leads to the exclusion of the village communities from the national mainstream development program. The exclusion and politicisation of migrants on the religious and political grounds causes resentment, making them anti-establishment. This paper aims to look at the relationship between urbanisation and internal migration and the challenges of health, education, employment, lack of natural resources and security threat. The paper discusses the two theories of Culture of Poverty theory and Social Disorganization theory and elaborates about the challenges that migrants face in the urban spaces causing denial of integration. • It is a commentary on the Smart City project of India. • Highlights the consequences of Hyper Urbanisation • Points out at problems like internal migration, quality of life, security threats • The certain recommendation in the context of the Indian case • Move from Smart city to Smart Villages [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban India, slum policies have become increasingly reliant on the market and on local ‘self-help’ agencies, a trend in step with the neoliberal turn across the developing world. The emphasis on local solutions is particularly interesting because the challenge of urban slums is now widely acknowledged to be one of global proportions. This paper examines the impact of this changing institutional environment on slum rehabilitation efforts in Mumbai. It provides an overview of Mumbai’s slums and slum policies and it presents a case study of a rehabilitation project in Ganesh Nagar D, a small community in the southern part of the city. While the case of Ganesh Nagar D appears a striking success, it is shown that it was only in part based in new policy schemes and that it in fact violated some of the main tenets of neoliberal policies. It is concluded that some new opportunities for rehabilitation strategies have arisen but that the fundamental conditions of neoliberalism in urban India are unlikely to be conducive to large-scale successes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Delhi is experiencing the highest population growth rate among mega cities in India. By 2021 its population is projected to be around 27 million. The consequence of rapid increase in population and the changing socio-economic pattern in Delhi has resulted in an acute shortage of housing and related infrastructure especially for the poor and low-income households. Nearly half the population however lives in conditions of miserable poverty, crammed into overcrowded slums and hutment. Delhi’s informal housing is a reflection of a poor and inappropriate urban planning system, with a lack of public investment and restriction in the formal land and housing market. This paper reviews the housing delivery system and the problems associated with the housing delivery system in Delhi and presents a broad guideline for policy makers to improve the housing delivery system in Delhi. It was found that to improve the housing delivery system of Delhi multiple sectoral approaches are required. The study demonstrates that the informal housing sector and its quality can be improved and transformed into formal housing by improving the essential infrastructure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper revisits the potential of urban cycle models to investigate the current challenges of urbanisation in India. It contributes not only by empirically examining the past, current and future trend of urban development, but also by predicting the demand for social infrastructure for sustainably accommodating the predicted growth. Using a non-spatial model, rapid growth is predicted in small cities in developed regions and in intermediate cities in developing regions. The adopted spatial model suggests a decline of megacity cores, but the growth of million-plus city cores and respective peripheries should be anticipated. Socio-economic factors are helpful for understanding the growth of million-plus city cores and megacity suburbs. In those cities predicted to grow, the provision of health and education infrastructure will be below the government norms. Given the data constraints, rapid growth and institutional constraints, this research develops and implements an analytical approach, thereby enhancing understanding of spatial development and elucidating the policy reforms needed to reduce the spatial disparities in India. This approach is transferable to the regions of the Global South facing similar constraints. • Urban cycle models are revisited to establish urbanisation stages in India. • Growth of small and intermediate-size cities is predicted. • Megacities core will decline and million-plus cities core will grow. • Provision of health and educational infrastructure is inadequate in cities. • Policy reforms for reducing spatial disparities in the Global South are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urbanisation process in the Global South is characterised by the blurring of the boundaries between urban and rural areas and the lack of institutional capacity, which have made the process highly unsustainable. In India, an example of such development is the rapid growth of "census towns". These settlements are not acknowledged as urban by the state, but they play an important role in accommodating population growth. This paper aims to elucidate and understand the process and characteristics of Indian urbanisation better in light of relevant theoretical discourses by using a mix of statistical analysis and field survey. It argues for moving from traditional master planning, which originated from the Global North to a more participatory and strategic approach in order to achieve infrastructure integrated development. • Contemporary theories are validated on census towns growth in India. • Mixed-methods approach helps uncover important characteristics of urbanisation. • Census towns are unplanned developments, but are crucial for Indian urbanisation. • A move from master planning to participatory strategic planning is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is a need for a closer understanding of transitions in periurban contexts. • There is a difference in North-South experience of Periurbanization. • Periubanization is better understood as concept and process rather than spatially. • Policy prescription for periurban spaces must pay heed to the implication of the periurban nature of the context. This paper reviews efforts at defining, conceptualizing and demarcating the periurban. We draw on different perspectives in conceptualizing and defining the periurban, employing a combination of primary data and a review of the global literature on periurban processes. The primary data is a result of longitudinal research following an empirically – inductive approach to arrive at this understanding of a periurban space and dynamics. The literature on the experience of periurbanization in India and other cities around the globe has been drawn upon; we look at different approaches and methods used to delineate, define and characterize periurban spaces as well as to address the governance and natural resource management challenges confronted by them. The limitations of these approaches are described. We conclude by making a case for a deeper understanding of the processes of transition underway in periurban contexts. These should inform approaches to policy and interventions, as well as shape efforts at theorizing about the periurban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]