Abstract
A theory is a simplified cognitive construct of a certain aspect of the reality built for the purposes of explaining that reality in a reasonably simplified form. Internal coherence is a central feature of a structure of any theory. One significant aspect of today’s city and urban planning in India is the reality of the smart city. Government of India is steadfast in developing 100 smart cities. A large number of seminars, conferences, and panel discussions are held since the last two years in the major cities of India involving global and local policy makers, business people, and academics examining and presenting policy elaborations, assessments, analyses and critiques. In view of this author, so far a theory of E-Governance specifically in the context of the Indian Smart Cities Mission has not been built and this paper is an attempt to fill this gap. One caveat however is necessary—a unique E-Governance theory for a smart city is necessary and possible for the Indian city given the special circumstances of Indian urbanization and its unique historical and cultural settings. The E-Governance theory for a smart city can be constructed in the form of a number of prominent nodes including use of information and communication technologies for enabling economic, social and political transactions, selective commodification and intense development of places within cities, intensification of inequalities within the city as conceived and defined by census, and development to be carried out through projects disconnected from city plans. In the understanding of this author, E-Governance theory should prominently focus on issues such as fairness of decision making processes in governments, businesses, NGOs, and most importantly decisions taken by the private sector and decisions taken by governments under the influence of the private sector. Second, E-Governance in Indian cities should focus on the nature of the technological agenda being pursued by governments and the private sector supported and promoted by big national and international think tanks. Third, the Indian E-Governance theory should also focus on reducing the material inequalities in the cities specifically related with access basic services such as clean drinking water, sanitation, education, health, and decent housing for all citizens. Fourth aspect of E-Governance theory is that it should encourage and promote economic activities that involve the city’s urban poor. No smart city can have an adequate theory of E-Governance without simultaneously looking after its citizens because E-Governance theory in a smart city is essentially for citizens’ welfare.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Giddens A (1984) The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. Polity Press, Cambridge
Friedmann J (2003) Why do planning theory? Plan Theor 2(1):7–10
Reade EJ (1987) British town and country planning. The Open University, Milton Keynes
Brenner N (2009) What is critical urban theory? City 13(2–3):198–207
Brenner N, Marcuse P, Mayer M (eds) (2012) Cities for people, not for profit: critical urban theory and the right to the city. Routledge, London
Census of India (2011) Provisional population tables, Census of India, Government of India, New Delhi
Carrizales T (2008) Functions of e-government: a study of municipal practices. State Local Gov Rev 40(1):12–26
Coleman S, Norris DF (2005) A new agenda for e-democracy, Forum discussion paper no. 4, Oxford Internet Institute, The University of Oxford, Oxford
Whyte A, Macintosh A (2002) Analysis and evaluation of e-consultations. E-Ser J 2(1):9–34
Marche S, McNiven JD (2003) E-government and e-governance: the future isn’t what it used to be. Can J Adm Sci 20(1):74–86
Sassen S (2005) The global city: introducing a concept. Brown J World Aff XI(2):27–43
Barthwal CP (2003) E-governance for good governance. Indian J Polit Sci 64(3/4):285–308
Ministry of Urban Development (2015) The smart cities mission, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, New Delhi
Ombudsman M (2009) Achieving fairness: your guide to dealing with government. Manitoba Ombudsman, Manitoba
Walzer M (2007) Thinking Politically: essays in political theory. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
Walzer M (1983) Spheres of justice. Basic Books, New York
Batty M, Axhausen KW, Giannotti F, Pozdnoukhov A, Bazzani A, Wachowicz M, Ouzounis G, Portugali Y (2012) Smart cities of the future. Eur Phys J Spec Topics 214:481–518
Kumar A, Sarkar PK (2016) Making Delhi a smart city: economic buoyancy with spatial justice. In: Vinod Kumar TM (ed) Smart economy in smart cities. Springer, Singapore
Kumar A (2000) Some problems in the coordination of planning: managing interdependencies in the planning of Delhi. India, Space Polity 4(2):167–185
OECD (2003) Promise and problems of e-democracy: challenges of online citizen engagement. OECD Publications Service, Paris
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kumar, A. (2017). The Indian Theory of E-Democracy and E-Governance and Its Linkages with the Smart Cities Mission. In: Vinod Kumar, T. (eds) E-Democracy for Smart Cities. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4035-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4035-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4034-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4035-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)