Learning from Small Cities is an ESRC-ICSSR co-funded research project that seeks to understand how smaller second-tier cities that are part of the 100 Smart Cities Mission in India are coping with the planned digital urban transformations. With a focus on three cities - Jalandhar, Nashik, and Shimla - the project traces the histories of planning and the politics of their translation into lived experiences. The project is headed by Prof. Ayona Datta (UCL) and Prof. Sanjay Srivastava (UCL/IEG). I have been a part of this project as a Postdoctoral Researcher from September 2018 to August 2020. To know more about publications and research outputs visit the project website.

Read the full project report here.

Photo: Street Scene in Shimla 1885

Source: British Library archives