Women in, at the margins, and against the smart cities: lessons from India

Abstract

Smart city initiatives, practices, and technologies are growing in the Global South, and it is critical to examine the role women play within, at the margins, and against the smart urbanism trends from above and below. This article is informed by 40 interviews with a wide range of stakeholders from the civil society and government in India. In particular, we feature six individuals or groups identified throughout our research to unpack the women’s roles in, at the margins, and against smart city development across India–with the hope of advancing gendering smart urbanism, shedding light on its multiscalar, multimodal, and yet fragmented notion. In our analysis, taking an intersectional feminist lens, we show how class, caste, religion, and territory have been reinforced in the women’s struggle for their right to the smart cities in the Global South.