Naya Raipur and Palava City: A Lesson in Aspiring Smart City Planning

Building new cities and townships from scratch is often more appealing in theory than practice. Chhattisgarh state’s new capital Naya Raipur, which is struggling to achieve its perceived urban potential is an example. Palava City, an upcoming project Palava City in Mumbai is another instance of a new city being built in the outskirts of Mumbai and has ambitions to become the model for Smart City projects in India. This study showcases that while the aspirations while developing their plans have been the same i.e., to build efficient urban living spaces well-equipped with smart city level infrastructure, the outcomes may come out differently. While the project locations might be a huge factor in these differences, this study discusses the other urban planning aspects which might have caused them. This study also looks at Palava City’s plan from a critical view and discusses if the already celebrated project (by Harvard University) would have the intended effects to the anticipated extent or not.