Contesting the Indian City: Global Visions and the Politics of the Local

According to United Nations projections, India’s urban population will grow faster than that of any other country over the next 30 years, increasing by more than 350 million during that period. Despite this transformation, there are as yet few book–length treatments that address the political economy of the contemporary, post–liberalization Indian city in comparative perspective.  Contesting the Indian City examines the contradictions and contestations of India’s current urban moment, as historically entrenched urban forms, rooted in cultural dynamics and legacies of Nehruvian state–sponsored modernization, face mounting pressure with the emergence of powerful new political actors around the push toward economic growth and the commodification of urban space. Bringing together a collection of theoretical explorations and empirical studies, the volume offers important insights into issues of politics, equity, and space relating to urban development in modern India. In doing so, it deepens theoretical understandings of the changes that Indian cities are experiencing, and of the comparative implications of the Indian experience for contemporary debates about urban politics. Enlightening and timely, Contesting the Indian City contributes greatly to urgent debates about the political dynamics that underlie urban development in contemporary India.

Series Editors’ Preface ix Preface and Acknowledgments x 1 Introduction: Contesting the Indian City: Global Visions and the Politics of the Local 1 Gavin Shatkin and Sanjeev Vidyarthi 2 Contested Developments: Enduring Legacies and Emergent Political Actors in Contemporary Urban India 39 Liza Weinstein, Neha Sami, and Gavin Shatkin 3 Conflict and Commensuration: Contested Market Making in India’s Private Real Estate Development Sector 65 Llerena Guiu Searle 4 “One–Man Handled”: Fragmented Power and Political Entrepreneurship in Globalizing Mumbai 91 Liza Weinstein 5 Power to the People? A Study of Bangalore’s Urban Task Forces 121 Neha Sami 6 Social Conflict and the Neoliberal City: A Case of Hindu–Muslim Violence in India 145 Ipsita Chatterjee 7 Gentrifying the State: Governance, Participation, and the Rise of Middle–Class Power in Delhi 176 D. Asher Ghertner 8 Becoming a Slum: From Municipal Colony to Illegal Settlement in Liberalization Era Mumbai 208 Lisa Björkman 9 Building a “World Class Heritage City”: Jaipur’s Emergent Elites and the New Approach to Spatial Planning 241 Sanjeev Vidyarthi 10 Planning Mangalore: Garbage Collection in a Small Indian City 265 Neema Kudva 11 Comparative Perspectives on Urban Contestations: India and China 293 Gavin Shatkin Index 311

Gavin Shatkin is Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. His research focuses on contemporary urban redevelopment practices in Asian cities, urban inequality, and community organizing and collective action around issues of shelter and infrastructure delivery. His book Collective Action and Urban Poverty Alleviation: Community Organizations and the Struggle for Shelter in Manila was published in 2007.