Actors and shifting scales of urban governance in India

Abstract

Starting in the 1990s, a series of reforms began to reshape state action and representations of the city in India. Economic reforms and the 74th Amendment aimed at empowering urban local governments were especially significant. This chapter analyses how urban governance has evolved in the aftermath, comparing arrangements across several megacities. It discusses how the increasing importance of megacities as sites for economic growth and global competitiveness has generated tensions as the interests and aspirations of various social groups collide. In particular, it examines how state actors leverage urban space to promote economic development and the governance implications. Specific examples illustrate how spatial technologies are used to redefine territorial jurisdictions and create parallel governance mechanisms – for instance, via zones of exception that bypass elected local bodies. These rescaling processes question local government sovereignty, urban sustainability and citizenship in cities where the urban poor constitute the vast majority of residents.