Utopian urbanism and representational city-ness: On the Dholera before Dholera smart city

Abstract

This commentary responds to Ayona Datta’s critique of India’s smart city agenda by emphasizing the representational work that urban futures require. In the context of Dholera smart city, I draw attention to the discursive terrains – around city-ness and utopianism in particular – mobilized by the state in order to normalize the inevitability of exclusionary urban planning and imaginations. I suggest these representational fields are key battlegrounds for critical urban geography.