Musknagar
SpaceX's city in Texas has a message for urban regeneration in India: involve big business
Musk company SpaceX's rocket-launch site in Texas is now incorporated as a new city. Locals who're not workers at SpaceX fear closure of a beach and a state park that the company eyes, and which get barred from residents' time to time for launch-related activities. In its seven years, SpaceX has reshaped the sleepy town, as any industry does. It reportedly looks like a science fiction movie set, has rows of identical houses – and a massive bronze bust of Musk. Locals fear it gives Musk 'too much control'. The county keeps what US media reported as 'more pedestrian aspects of life' – clearly both literally and metaphorically.
There's nothing new in entrepreneurs building cities out of their company bases. India has a long list of such townships. Govts have long collaborated for cities to grow out of industrial bases built by business pioneers, steel tycoons, mill owners – from Tatanagar to Modinagar and dozens others. PSUs all have urban centres that develop and expand around their plants. But dreams of India's urbanisation have morphed into a nightmare the last three decades. Under several govts, city-building initiatives have been embarked upon, but all have got railroaded by lack of investment despite early interest, and overall administrative incompetence. Politician-land shark-builder nexuses have flourished in that vacuum – a chicken and egg story really – making a costly mess of urban development. Even the Smart Cities project has practically wound down – a govt release noted all pending projects were to end by March 31, 2025.
Connectivity, water, power, open spaces, affordable housing – no Indian city govt today can claim to be able to handle its waves of migrants or ability to upgrade infra to meet a growing city's demands. Delhi to Mumbai, Bengaluru to Kolkata, and even Corbusier's Chandigarh are struggling. In late 1960s, it was suggested Chandigarh be made a chartered city for Delhi to host global events. Chartered cities are enclaves with autonomy to carry on business and cultural activity, like the city of Geneva in New York. Fate of cities should not be left to govts alone. Without private sector collaboration, it looks near impossible for our local govts to cope with city demands – no matter the funds. This is not about a lonely tony Gurgaon reaching to the skies in potholed Haryana, or private hill station Lavasa going bust, but more about imagination, transparency and accountability, and an efficiency associated more with private sector than any govt ever.
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This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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