New city making process and socio spatial transformations

Abstract

The process of economic reforms is changing the urban structure of India. It has newlinestrengthened the role of four mega cities in the urban system along with other large cities to newlineemerge as the nerve centre of Indian economy. In recent years, the secondary metros such newlineas Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore have emerged as the IT hubs. The power of globalizing newlineprocesses can be seen in the city spaces and lives of the people. The metropolitans are newlinebeing restructured in order to make them investment friendly for the global capital. The newlinedevelopment of privatized new townships in India is one of the contemporary example of newlinechanging urban forms. The construction of these townships is mainly happening in the newlineperiphery of the cities. Increasing demand of land for urban expansion has resulted in the newlineconversion of surrounding villages into urban agglomeration. newlineMagarpatta Township is located in Pune Solapur highway, in the Hadapsar ward newline(periphery) of Pune city. Among contemporary private cities in Pune, Magarpatta is unique newlinebecause it is the first voluntarily formed land co-operative in Maharashtra. When Pune newlineMunicipal Corporation categorized Magarpatta land as future urbanisable zone, the land- newlineowning farming community decided to develop their agricultural land into township and newlinethey together formed the land collective. In this way, the change in land use from newlineagricultural land to township did not change the ownership of farmers over the land. newlineMagarpatta is a functioning township now; the glassy buildings of IT Park are part of newlineidentity of this township in Hadapsar. The township is spread over 400-acre land; it newlineconsists of an IT Park and residential spaces along with school, hospital, park and mall. newlineMagarpatta land collective emerged as the public institution in order to avail the benefits newlinefrom the development of the urban corridor. The ownership in the peasant community to newlineownership in the capitalist community is a regime change. The involvement of public (the newlinefarmers in this case) for converting their Individual property (agricultural land) to club newlineproperty (township) in order to take advantage of market, Magarpatta provides the ground newlinefor studying the nature of private and public in case of provincial neoliberlisation (where newlinemarket is searching new spaces in traditional community and community is adapting to newlinemarket) in the periphery of Pune. However, this is not simply the emergence of a new town from the hitherto agricultural land. This new built environment is shaping the idea of newlineprivate urbanism and in the process; the powerful dominates their urban imagination over newlinethe imagination of powerless. The emergence of luxurious township with world-class newlineinfrastructure and services in the periphery of Pune raises crucial questions about land, newlinelandlessness and power. newlineThe thesis has used qualitative research method with an ethnographic approach to newlineunderstand the emergence of new urbanism and city building process in the context of newlineneoliberalism and emerging globalisation with special reference to Magarpatta township. newlineThe experiences of this development process by the powerful land holding community is newlinecompletely different from the landless agricultural labourers. The question of social and newlinespatial justice in this privatized township of Pune must start with the understanding of the newlineinequality of power and privilege that exist since the beginning. Magarpatta township is the newlineresult of farmers collective but it has also segregated the others. Hence it is important to newlineunderstand the current form of this township in terms of the collective vs. others and also newlineexplore old labour forms that have been destroyed and the new forms of labour that has newlineemerged in the processes. newlineThe right to the city framework helps to understand the very crucial questions about newlinespatial justice and social space in this new placemaking process: who is exercising their newlineright in the making and remaking of city spaces and whose rights are being ignored? newlineI argue that the practices of exclusion continue to be reflected in this new built environment newlinein terms of accessibility, differentiated kind of surveillance, availing the rights etc. newlineMagarpatta township is transforming from club good to the privatopia because of its newlinecertain characteristics ranging from its governance structure, marketization of the township newlineand gatedness. newline