Leaderspeak | 2022: Defining Key Urban Trends
Key Trends to Steer Urban Story in 2022 Cities in the last two consecutive years lived under the threat of Covid-19. Cities mainly focused on Pandemic management, building resilience to health disasters, adapting to digital technologies for better service delivery and efficient communication with their citizens. The Pandemic did slow down several urban agendas, but it accelerated efforts in some areas. The Year 2022 has arrived with new hopes and aspirations. With India achieving over 150 cr vaccine doses, the threat of the virus is gradually fading, and cities are pulling up their socks to be back on track to achieve what they desired and envisioned in pre-Pandemic times
Ranjit S Chavan | President, AIILSG
ities are changing with the physical and social alterations in urban ecosystems. So are citizens and their demands. Their demands, needs and also operational mechanism are witnessing a major shift. India still majorly lives in its villages, about two-thirds of the total population. The situation will change in the coming decades. Despite global trends suggesting a decline in overall population growth, the number of people living in urban areas is bound to grow due to various social and economic factors. For this, cities need to be prepared.
Outcome of Smart Cities and SBM Projects
This year will be a defining moment for the success of the Smart Cities Mission
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January 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
launched in 2015 by the Government of India. A majority of the works proposed under the Mission will see the light of the day. It is to be noted that over 5000 projects worth `200,000 crore investment are proposed in 100 smart cities. While 6723 projects costing 188,735 cr have been tendered, 6123 projects costing 163,029 cr are in the work order stage. And, 3423 projects worth 58000 cr have already been completed. The successful smart cities will become lighthouses for other cities and towns which were not part of the project. The successful emulation and scale-up of such projects will trickle down to smaller towns and cities, which could lessen the burden on metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Indian policymakers, planners, politicians and the public will
