This morning consisted of listening from industry and government leaders at the AIMA’s MSME Convention at India International Center. https://www.aima.in/media-centre/events/aima_5th_msme_convention.html
Please discuss the challenges that India faces in stimulating the small to mid-size enterprises that accounts for about 45 per cent of the manufacturing output. How are SME’s critical to the smart cities of the future.
This afternoon concluded our program with an inaugural sessions with key firms and research institutions associated with building of smart cities: IBM, Cisco, IIT-Delhi, Deloitte Consulting and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
Please write your concluding executive summary of your trip on this blog – three pages in length single space -commprehensive & all encompassing.
I came to India expecting to learn about smart cities, but in the process I learned a vast amount about India’s rich culture, my ingenious classmates, and myself as well. It is absolutely fascinating to have visited India at the helm of its rapid development and hear how experts in academics and business plan to not only tackle the needs of the urban poor but make India’s cities smart as per Modi’s smart city initiative. By receiving such vast, diverse information and resources, I am confident that all of the groups can find inspiration from at least one of the lectures or presentations and add incredible value to their respective cities.
We began the trip by learning that Ahmedabad, while rich in history, is facing some serious challenges of growth. We came in looking for the American definition of a smart city, which is installed sensors in everything, using information technology, and better management of city resources. But Indian cities like Ahmedabad experience unprecedented growth and face problems that our American cities faced long ago. Therefore, the Indian definition of a smart city is something closer to matching the infrastructure and management of a city presently existing in America or Europe. We listened to various speakers about smart metering, the importance of walking/cycling, analysis of water data, and rapid transit with the key takeaways being that as these Indian mega cities grow they have access to technology that our cities did not years ago when they were experiencing the same growth — allowing them to leapfrog in a few parts of their growth. I was fascinated by the bus rapid transit system and the intricacy in its planning and management (such as reducing fare jumping by changing station guards every 15 days). Moreover, Ahmedabad achieves the efficiency of rail at the far cheaper price of buses and maintains the integrity of the system through a novel private/public partnership.
A ways away from the center of Ahmedabad, we had a remarkable discussion on cultural cacophony at the MICA campus. We discussed the importance of cultural norms and avoiding assimilation of cultures in an increasingly global society. Moreover, we discussed the importance of dissonance in society. The way this thinking can apply to our research on smart cities is that in developing them, the country/state/province must not lose its identity. The architecture in the Dholera clip that we viewed early in the morning showed nothing that would make the city seem like it was in India — rather interchangeable with a modern city in America. A city that is smart must not only provide its citizens with a more comfortable and sustainable way of life than before, but appeal to their cultural and community needs to actually keep them from moving away.
Much like the clip of Dholera we saw with a westernized, futuristic looking city, we visited GIFT city on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. As we drove up, I must admit that I was skeptical that this was going to become a tech and finance hub because there were simply two 28 story buildings standing next to each other in a rural area. However, once we entered the GIFT city headquarters and received a presentation on the planning of the city, I was reassured that the location and development of the city was extremely strategic. Not only was it placed near the Ahmedabad International Airport, but the land was given to the GIFT city corporation in a novel public-private partnership. Companies that want to develop pay a nominal development fee and yearly land lease that comes out in the hundreds of American dollars. By keeping development costs so low, the city allows for more rapid development and will provide office space that is far cheaper than Delhi or Mumbai. Because GIFT is a specialized city waiting for International certification (to be the first city to be certified to conduct trade on Indian soil), the corporation is not worrying about profit/loss at this point — rather creating a city that will provide 500,000 indirect (service) and 500,000 direct new finance and technology jobs in India. Moreover, every aspect of living and working in the city has been planned out in terms of creating the most advanced and efficient infrastructure and using one interface in two control centers to control every single building and utility. The interface was so simple yet amazingly precise in that one could change the temperate for one thermostat on the 15th floor of a specific building or check the status of one fire alarm on another floor. Every building in GIFT will have this level of control, so this makes me extremely excited to come back in 2022 at estimated completion to see the efficiency achieved with such intricate planning and management interfaces. After GIFT, we also went to Priya’s home for a New Year’s celebration where we ate barbecue, listened to both Indian and American music, and launched lanterns with our New Year’s resolutions into the sky! Having one of the only two lanterns to successfully launch (with the help of one of my colleagues) was a very exciting way to start the New Years!
The next day, we visited one of Ahmedabad’s premier universities and were surprised to receive an award for collaboration from the education minister! I think it is our responsibility as ambassadors of Haas to follow through on the collaboration not only with educational connections but all of our partners in India. The only way we can add value back to them after they have given us the opportunity to meet and learn with them, is to ask what we can do for them. And then not only must we listen, but we must come back with solutions or we risk losing those partnerships. So now we must not ask what the education minister can do for Haas, but think of ways that Haas can help the education minister and his goals. One way we are already doing this is by marketing Haas’ international presence with this trip in India. By showing that we care about the award received on the Haas blog we are taking the first step in giving back to the education minister through appreciation of his effort. We as ambassadors have to be open to receiving those from India just the same as the minister received us, and I think this would be a great time to discuss exchange/study abroad partnerships in areas where Haas can add value for Indian students and where Indian universities can add value to Haas students.
Once we got to New Delhi (the capital of India), we learned in our first lecture that the city is facing some serious issues that were addressed years ago in American cities. One of the panelists presented to us the issue of lack of sewer and runoff infrastructure (55% of Delhi is not covered), and he presented a plan that would be able to cover that 55% in three years as opposed to the government’s current 20 year plan. So what I took from this is that because of the amount of bureaucracy in government, sometimes the most inefficient plans are the ones that pass. This makes me a strong believer in the public-private partnership because the government sets the rules and boundaries and then a private company whose goal is to create the most sustainable and efficient business model will take care of implementation far better. Next, we heard from Teri and saw how comprehensive their sustainable social projects were. There is no other organization like Teri in the world. As for how Teri could help with smart cities — Teri tackles socioeconomic issues that often get passed up in favor of using IOT in smart cities. When I asked what we could take from India back to America, the speakers pointed out increasing our happiness and addressing the socioeconomic and race issues in the country. Lastly, we went to AIMA and learned about how to approach group situations and leadership. Our speaker told us about her method of gaining a groups trust before she makes a large change. We must do the same in our own city groups as well as when we approach the leaders of the city we’re working with. In order to create a smart city, the catalyzing parties must all trust each other if innovation is to take place.
Shifting in focus to a corporate presentation from HCL, my key take away was that we can use these large technology companies to make our companies more efficient — but that does not define a smart city. As one of the executives pointed out, a city is not smart immediately — there is not one plan that can make a city smart overnight. A city must try, fail, and evolve in order for it to become smart. That said, Param Singh pointed out that we can’t just start with one company’s solution or a plan that only addresses one problem in a city — there must be a framework by which we analyze the problems at hand, the players and the audience affected, and create a sustainable and scalable plan from the collected data. My personal idea of a framework is something that ANY city can use, is programmed with ambiguity to encourage innovation, and is horizontally designed so that it includes all affected parties (political, industrial, and citizens). Param discussed the importance of human centric design because ultimately the humans are the ones living in the city (not the tech companies pushing smart technologies). Therefore, I believe a framework should start with a human centric survey, decision making, and proposal process at the forefront. My first step would be a survey to figure out the citizens’ idea (not the city officials’) of the social, political, and economic problems the city is facing and which ones they would like to see addressed the soonest. Second, I would create a centralized board of officials from each sector of city services, top private companies, academics, and social sector heads to look at the data and decide what problems they can reasonably address given the amount of funding available and political boundaries. After the problems to address have been decided, private companies should be allowed to propose their plans for addressing the problems and a corresponding business model that shows scalability, sustainability, and ROI for the city. After all proposals have been seen by the board, there should be a vote in which all members of the diverse board will choose the optimal proposal. That way, because of the diversity of members on the board and the use of private companies in a public-private partnership, a city looking to become smartER will choose the proposal that has the maximum benefit to the maximum amount of citizens at the maximum efficiency.
The day after our presentation from HCL, we heard from another company involved in making cities smarter, Tyco, who also happens to be our sponsor. Tyco touches virtually every part of our lives in the U.S. (as well as India) with security and fire sensors in airports, retail stores, malls, office buildings. Their systems have only grown more advanced in recent years with centrally integrated systems that allow tracking of all sensors. However, my main takeaway came when asking the representative of Tyco if there are plans to make the systems more open to new technologies. Many times, companies or governing bodies will fail to break even before the technology comes outdated. These technologies are typically looked at on 5 to 10 year life spans — so in our smart city plans we must make sure that the technologies we suggest can be paid off (or preferably profitable) before the technology becomes obsolete. By using any technologies from companies like Tyco, HCL, CISCO, IBM, or any other city involved in the “smart city” space we must realize that their goal is not to create open source technology, rather to maximize profit for shareholders (and possibly provide social utility like Tyco’s fire/security sensors).
The same day, we also heard from Airtel, India’s largest telecommunications company, to find out how they are getting involved in the smart city space. Airtel’s offerings for smart cities were actually so comprehensive that they touch Healthcare, Education, Government, Transportation, and Safety. Their main service is providing the SIM card and/or connectivity for smart sensors or applications in these areas. However, what Airtel does differently than IBM, CISCO, or even AT&T in the U.S. is that it takes responsibility for the management of its technologies. One of our speakers alluded to the typical practice of IBM or CISCO consulting companies, making recommendations, and stepping back. But Airtel prides itself on being a “one stop” solution for smart technology and connectivity solution. Moreover, I was very surprised that Airtel took vertical integration a step further by having an in-house development team to create platforms and apps for its smart technologies. Through this vertical integration, Airtel puts itself as the name brand in smart connectivity for India as well as an innovator in Telecommunications by providing services that its U.S. counterpart, AT&T, has not yet offered.
Overall, I could not have asked for better lectures, better presentations, better sponsors, or better lodging on our travel study in India. Most importantly, I could not have asked for a better group of intelligent and vibrant students to work with. I am incredibly thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from Professor Darwin, Tyco, and Haas, and eagerly look forward to collaborating and innovating with all of my classmates for an entire semester!
Wow, I’m surprised that it has all come to such an abrupt end. Arriving to Ahmedabad on Day 1 seemed like it was such a long time ago. We were lucky enough to be able to interact and connect with such wonderful and helpful people throughout our whole trip. We talked to many influential people throughout the entire formal sector including universities, think tanks, corporations, government departments, transportation companies, and even GIFT city. It was a very thorough look at SMART cities from all angles. I think the best part of the trip was that we were able to just jump right into it, and although at times it was a challenge trying to piece all the bits of knowledge together. It was a worthy endeavor and good practice for real world problems. So to structure, this summary – I think it will be best to write down my 3 main takeaways that I’ve observed to be patterns/trends in the current SMART city discussion.
1) SHARING IS CARING – A very simple lesson that we’ve learned throughout preschool but often times forgotten- many of the presentations have repeatedly mentioned the importance of not working in silos, and they have show how efficient and better off everyone will be if cities were to share knowledge, ideas, and resources. This was highlighted on day 2, when we met with the IIT Gandhibagar’s faculty, where they talked to us about how sustainable energy and recycling biomass involves multiple stakeholders. And we can continue to recycle if we were to all integrate horizontally. Another noteworthy, example would be creating more open source databases. At IIM (day 3), Professor Anil Gupta talked about his Honey Bee Network that he is willing to share with Haas-Berkeley, and then we met with the IIT Delhi (day 5) faculty members began creating databases to start organizing their mappings of natural drains. There was a lot of thoughtful research being done, and we saw data about energy usage, congestion, and transportation. I think the emergent of this open source information and data is so important as the free circulation makes it more accessible for many people at all levels to try to tackle the issue.
And bringing this down to a personal level, I hope that all the groups that we have formed for the four cities we will be working with – will be willing to share knowledge to spice up the classroom discussion and better each other’s frameworks. And perhaps, the plans that we suggest to the mayors can include sharing resources (i.e: between Oakland and San Francisco).
2) EVERYONE IS AN ENTREPRENEUR – Innovation can be found at all levels of society – from serial entrepreneurs to innovations at the margins. This really hit home for me with Professor Anil Gupta’s speech about frugal innovation. He showed us many pictures and examples of sustainability created by locals. There was one about using tree roots to create a bridge for people to cross-rivers in a rural village. There was another one about displaying fine art pieces in front of the trees to display public values to a small city (a form of innovative governance). Finally, my favorite one was using a rice maker to make frothy cappuccinos in the mountains.
Innovation is for everyone at every level of society, from big airlines like Lufthansa reusing chairs to a man changing the wheels on his lawn mower to make them less slippery. There are “golden nuggets” of innovation everywhere, and it needs to be shared!
So again, bringing this down to a personal level, I think when we go back to the states and start thinking about SMART cities…not only do we have to look at the formal sector (the big institutions) but even the informal sectors. We need to look at people who are often missing at these discussions – the silent majority.
3) SMART CITIES IS ALL ABOUT FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE – throughout our entire discussion about SMART cities we kept on moving back and forth from the extremes of culture, poverty perspective vs. the technological/automate everything perspective. For many of us, it was hard to keep track of as we gravitated from various extremes depending on who the speakers were. However, I think at TERI (day 5) when we talked with Ms. Priyanka Kocchar, a Senior Programme Manager, and at AIMA with Ms. Rekha Sethi, both gave us key and valuable insights about the objectives of SMART cities. They explained that SMART needs a focus on meeting basic needs of people, and pushing cutting edge technology. Maintaining the cutting edge technology will make India relevant to the IT center that it is becoming today, but addressing the needs of the people is important as it will prevent mass uprisings that could possibly stifle growth. It’s a delicate balance. And even with innovation, especially with GIFT city (day 3) – it’s important to not emulate certain ideals and retain remnants of India’s rich culture (this could come in the form of using stone/cement to make buildings instead of glass to better suit weather conditions), but at the same time there is an understanding that India needs the infrastructure to become great. And that’s what GIFT city is going to be a financial hub, and that the people who will be living there will bring their own dynamic culture. Ms. Rekha Sethi at AIMA really drove home the point about the importance of political balance. In finding the right balance for public-private partnerships – to somehow reap the efficiency of corporate decision-making but at the same time benefiting the public. I think with all big projects, it’s important to balance the interest of the social, political, and economic…. and to reiterate Dr. Geetam Tiwari of IIT Delhi’s point, it’s about finding the balance between the formal and informal sector.
Overall, I think that SMART cities are a collective project and there isn’t much of a matter of prioritization but setting up the framework to get everyone on board. It’s about recognizing that everyone is an entrepreneur and sharing our innovative ideas to create a highly integrated and livable city. These are some of the brief lessons that India has taught me, and I’ve gained a lot of appreciation and perspective for this culturally rich and technologically savvy country. I cannot wait to come back to India in a few years, because it will be a global leader in both technology and social services.
Thank you Professor Darwin, Tyco, Berkeley-Haas, and all the other wonderful connections we made along the way for making this opportunity happen, thank you so much for your leadership, initiative, and efforts to give students a wide perspective and global education! It’s been an amazing experience!
I. Intro
Before coming to India, I expected to become immersed in the culture and learn about smart cities as technological systems that solve many of the prominent problems in major cities throughout the world. However, what I learned is that neither India’s culture nor smart cities can be easily defined. India is an incredibly diverse country, and every city has a unique way of life and distinct culture. Similarly, bounding smart cities by technological parameters and a single image would be to lose sight of the importance of frugal innovations, addressing basic needs within villages in “smart” ways, and social and political factors. Overall, this trip was an unforgettable experience that taught me an immense amount about India and open innovation, and I look forward to using the lessons from this trip to consult Bay Area cities in the upcoming semester.
II. Role of Technology
Technology is central to the traditional image of smart cities and will play an integral role in helping to conserve energy, reduce waste, improve the quality of life, and provide many other economic, social, and environmental benefits. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from many companies that contribute to the integrated city model, such as Cisco, IBM, HCL, and Airtel. No single company has the complete capabilities for developing smart cities, but they all provide solutions that can be combined to create fully integrated systems. For example, HCL offers many platforms such as e-Governance with an online portal, a smart card that delivers food subsidies, and cloud based IT systems for hospitals, while Airtel enables the connectivity and also develops various platforms. These types of technologies make up the core system that defines the traditional smart city, and they can be integrated within both existing and new cities. India’s future financial hub, GIFT city, is being built from the ground up with this technology fully integrated from the start. Meanwhile, existing cities within India are currently being selected to integrate this technology as a solution to their various challenges.
While the traditional model of a smart city solves many of the common issues in major cities, this is not the only use for these innovative technologies. India’s population is over 1.2 billion people, and 60% live within rural areas that will not benefit directly from these smart city projects. Therefore, government agencies such as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and companies such as Airtel are extending this technology to address the needs of those living in poorer cities. The DoT has allocated $5 billion to establish connectivity in villages using fiber optic cables, and once connectivity is established these villages will be able to benefit from services such as eEducation, eHealth, and eGovernance. Also, the DoT is fostering greater knowledge sharing through connecting all universities and their libraries on a single network. These solutions do not fall within the realm of “smart cities,” but they are innovative ways of using technology that cannot go unnoticed.
III. Role of Frugal Innovations
Another key lesson that can be taken away from India is the importance of frugal innovations. In our discussion with Professor Gupta, he discussed how many of the most innovative ideas risk being unrecognized and come from children or adults directly facing the challenges; these people are not necessarily formal experts but can still act as thought leaders as they learn to adapt to challenging environments. Professor Gupta gave the example of a poor individual that made a refrigerator that uses the heat generated from cooling to boil water and keep food warm. Although no major refrigerator manufacturer has created one that serves these functions, a person that does not have the luxury of having instantly available hot water or heat generation came up with this ingenious innovation. This is just one example of the thousands of frugal innovations that exist and are being created each day, and the Honey Bee Network was established to provide these inventors with an identity, voice, visibility, and viability. We cannot attempt to solve many of the world’s most pressing challenges until we first understand them from the perspectives of the people directly facing the challenges, and this is a lesson we will take with us as we try to understand the issues within major Bay Area cities.
IV. Role of Culture
The next main takeaway is that any type of change, whether technological or social, may face either support or resistance due to the influence of culture and established mindsets. It is very easy to believe that technology presents the solutions to most challenges, but many solutions are actually adaptive and require shifting mindsets. For example, Teri’s solar lantern initiative, “Lighting a Billion Lights,” addresses the lack of electricity within poor villages, but it has not been as successful as expected since many villagers are not open to using complex technologies. Similarly, Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) needed to address technical challenges such as accurate arrival times, and also social challenges such as the stereotypes associated with using public transportation. These social challenges may have technical solutions—the BRTS addressed this stereotype by making the stations relatively private and ensuring the reliability of the system—but they still require a deep understanding of the underlying cultural and social factors that are influencing decision-making. This will be a key lesson to bring back to the Bay Area, since all 4 cities we will be consulting have rich histories and heavy influences by culture; an example is San Francisco, which is a city known for its progressive nature and extreme diversity.
V. Shared Economy
Next, we learned from both Professor Darwin and various speakers about the importance of not only physical innovations but also innovations that promote a shared economy. The car utilization rate within the United States is very low, and yet people continue to purchase vehicles and this results in many “dead assets” sitting on the roads. The solution to this lies in services that enable people to share goods, and an example of this is the ShareHero app being developed in India. This web/mobile app enables people to share and borrow items such as books or instruments, and it incentivizes this behavior through real-world rewards and a review system. When communities share goods in this way it eliminates waste, makes the economy more efficient as a whole, and has many other environmental benefits. However, India is similar to the United States in that it has an excess of vehicles on the road that pollute the environment and waste resources. In many of our discussions, we learned about how a simple solution is redesigning city roads to better accommodate walkers and bikers. In India, the most common mode of transportation remains walking, and yet the percentage of walkers would be even higher if the cities encouraged this behavior. Another solution is ride-sharing applications and services that will continue to encourage utilization based on need.
A shared economy depends on the sharing of knowledge, and during our trip Berkeley-Haas received an esteemed award from Gujarat marking the beginning of a collaboration that will involve unprecedented knowledge transfer. UC Berkeley will be a pioneer is this avenue and both faculty and students from Berkeley and Gujarat will be involved in this knowledge sharing through projects and regular communications. This collaboration reflects a level of knowledge sharing that will pave the way towards a more sustainable future.
VI. Public-Private Partnerships Model
An interesting aspect of India’s approach to development is its use of public-private partnerships, in which government agencies create mandates for companies but then allow them plenty of leeway in decision-making. In this model, the government agency protects stakeholders and determines the end goal, and the private corporation maximizes efficiency and profitability. Two examples that we observed are the Delhi Metro and GIFT city. The Delhi Metro is one of the most efficient metro systems in the world, and some of the contributing factors are its 1) fast-decision making, 2) involvement of the community, 3) culture emphasizing accountability and transparency, and 4) local knowledge sharing, and 5) sustainable financial model. Although it is possible for government agencies to act as efficiently, U.S. and Indian government agencies alike are hindered by too many layers for decision-making and bureaucratic red tape. GIFT city is another example of a public-private partnership in which Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) will allocate development rights, bring in financial institutions to the city, and make other key decisions to maximize profits while carrying out the government mandate. While these partnerships have many benefits such as greater efficiency and sustainability, one downside is that it is very costly for companies and extending this model to other countries may not be possible.
VII. Making a Business Case
As business students, we learned from Tyco and other speakers about how to make an effective business case for city decision-making. The main takeaway is that there is an inflection point in which the maximum number of people will be willing to use a service or purchase a product. For example, the inflection point for purchasing a Tesla may be around $30,000, and services such as FasTrak or BART have their own inflection points. Also, when making a business case it is important to understand that every city’s service is paid for by taxes, tolls, or other revenue sources that residents pay for, so there must be a balance between financial sustainability and meeting the inflection point pricing. Finally, more specifically, we learned that the integrated city technology can be very expensive upfront and becomes more sustainable as it scales over time. These considerations will the driving force behind our recommendations for Bay Area cities and will be our greatest challenge this upcoming semester.
VIII. Conclusion: Definition of a Smart City
Finally, all these factors warrant the discussion of what constitutes a smart city. In my opinion, the integrated technology is essential for all major cities since it has many economic, social, and environmental benefits, but it is not the end solution for these cities. Each city has a diverse vision and distinct challenges, and the solution may require changing mindsets, influencing political figures, or understanding how to integrate solutions that do not infringe on cultures and city history. Also, while the traditional smart city model is limited to cities with high-rise buildings and large populations, this more broad, human-centric approach also applies to smaller cities with localized needs. For example, GIFT city has received attention for being a smart city, but I believe that its defining factor is that it will serve as a financial hub and its greatest challenge will be building its global reputation. The technology has been developed in recent years and major cities will all be expected to have these solutions, but the defining factors and challenges will still be unique to each city and require unique solutions.
After 2 weeks of knowledge sharing and immersing ourselves in Indian culture, I have only cracked the surface of what will become one of the most commonly discussed phrases of the next decade: smart cities. Although it is a multifaceted topic still in need of agreement and collaboration by various stakeholders, what I can say for certain is that India is one of the most forward-thinking states in this arena, and we will have much to learn from India in the coming years. In order to summarize our trip’s findings as succinctly as possible, there are 4 main areas that are important to address: 1) smart metrics, 2) smart technology, 3) smart people culture preservation, and 4) smart businesses. All of these factors have high degrees of relevance in the building of any smart city, whether we are building cities from ground zero or transforming existing cities into more livable conditions.
1) SMART CITIES DEPEND ON “SMART” METRICS
One of the most agreed-upon takeaways from our discussions with government officials, businesses, and independent field experts is that every city’s definition of “smart” will be different, because every city has its own set of issues. For instance, Dholera became a natural destination for manufacturing given its existing infrastructure in the space, but GIFT city had the opportunity to brand itself anew as a financial services hub. As a result, Dholera’s metrics for success may revolve around number of manufacturing businesses attracted to the region, number of manufacturing jobs created, and output level as a percentage of the country’s manufacturing GDP. On the other hand, GIFT city’s metrics may focus more on number of international financial institutions represented, number of affordable housing units provided, or percentage of energy emitted reused into building utilities. A city is only as “smart” as its metrics dictate, and its metrics are only as “smart” as they are suitable to the role and economic activities of the city. Therefore, the first stage in smart city planning should revolve around the questions: What is the city’s vision for itself (i.e. tech hub, manufacturing-centric area, financial services capital, etc.)? Then, what are the main social, political, and economic issues preventing the city from reaching that goal (i.e. lack of foreign investment, absence of manufacturing plants, insufficient number of employable people)?
Furthermore, my hypothesis about the discrepancies surrounding different definitions of smart cities is that they are largely due to the personal interests of different governing bodies. For example, Cisco’s goal is to use the Internet of Everything to make services easier and more accessible through their own technological platforms, and Airtel hopes to increase mobile penetration in rural areas in order to provide mobile connectivity to more people. Think tanks such as ICRIER also hold personal interests in building cities that are particularly resilient to climate change, as this is the focal point of their research. However, I do believe that these varying interests help smart cities become as comprehensive and encompassing of all social, political, and economic issues, and for the technology implemented to be as smart and feasible as possible. Without different viewpoints, all cities would look, feel, and serve the same types of people—which is not the reality—and this means that the sharing of resources and collaboration on ideas are core to creating solutions tailored to the needs of each city’s residents.
2) ROLE OF “SMART” TECHNOLOGY
Leading players in “smart” technology such as HCL, Airtel, Cisco, and IBM showed the importance of cutting-edge technology in generating cost savings and minimizing environmental impact. However, one of the most moving concepts I have learned on this trip was “Jugaad Innovation.” Frugal innovation represents inventions that produce zero waste, because any energy or byproducts produced can be reused as inputs for a new product. They are often inspired by the common man living in dire conditions, who must conserve as many resources as possible and creatively design ways to resolve everyday problems with minimal social and environmental impact. This lesson taught me that “smart” technology does not always stem from the most complicated design by the most intelligent field experts. Similar to the motto of Anil Gupta’s Honey Bee Network, children and non-experts can be thought leaders behind practical frugal innovations. Becoming agitated with a problem and living under problematic conditions daily are often the best sources of inspiration for the most creative, low-cost, high-impact innovations.
After establishing the city’s needs, the second question to ask may be: Are basic or smart enablers lacking in the city? Deloitte made an appropriate distinction between basic enablers and smart enablers. “Basic enablers” encompass basic infrastructural requirements for a livable city, such as laying of transmission mains, pumps, expansion of distribution lines, electromagnetic water meters, etc. “Smart enablers” are one step above basic enablers in terms of their technological capabilities, such as sensor-based transducers and flow meters, integrated GIS with simulation applications, and online water quality monitoring. Initially I believed that a city would not be able to implement “smart enablers” without first having the “basic enablers” in place, but Deloitte’s research showed that investments are much higher for overcoming deficiencies in basic enablers than smart enablers, which poses an attractive opportunity for smart enablers to be implemented from ground zero for many developing cities in India. Parallel to our studies to India, however, Bay Area cities already have many “smart enablers” in place, and my hypothesis is that we will need to determine which enablers must receive the most attention and the largest budget allocation.
3) ROLE OF “SMART” PEOPLE AND CULTURE PRESERVATION
A critical element to smart city planning, as outlined in our conversation with urban planner Param Singh, is that every city has its own unique cultural mosaic that must be assessed in the planning of a new city and preserved in its transformation. Smart cities should not simply be defined by a city with the most cutting-edge technology and the largest access to the Internet of Things—it should be cities with technology driven by economic development and government efficiencies, targeted at the core needs of citizens and businesses through collaboration between the city, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and citizens. Therefore, before jumping straight into assumptions about what a city lacks and needs, a smart city framework needs to first include a local-cultural assessment of the people’s aspirations, the people’s needs from their own perspective, and the programs needed to help them develop the right skills for new types of jobs.
This was particularly important in our discussions with TERI and AIMA, in which they both stated social perceptions and societal norms as the primary inhibitors for rapid social change. As part of Indian culture, many people harbor age-old perceptions about how resource efficiency and green technology are only for the poor, and skilled labor in blue-collar jobs such as plumbing or mechanics are only for lower-class citizens. However, given the dramatically changing economic landscape of many Indian cities, it is a vital responsibility of both the wealthy and the poor to be resource efficient, and there is a growing excess of jobs in the skilled labor market. TERI hopes to mobilize residents in more affluent communities to limit wasteful spending on energy and resources, and AIMA is spearheading skills training programs that increase awareness for jobs that can actually pay more than the highly coveted white-collar jobs designated to college graduates. Encouraging community engagement is core to the success and sustainability of smart cities—so as a next step, what are the social inhibitors preventing Bay Area cities from adopting necessary changes?
4) ROLE OF A “SMART” PRIVATE SECTOR
Finally, government-funded infrastructure and social mobility alone cannot drive successful smart city creation—private sector partnerships are the engine for sustainable economic activity. Our class has been working hard at finding the answer to the questions: what are the business models and financial incentives that must be in place for private businesses to partake in public projects? How can we make a business case for using private dollars to address social and political issues? One potential solution that has driven worthwhile initiatives for both the private and public sector in India is public-private partnerships. With private incentives, businesses are able to make triple bottom line profits on public goods that are still convenient and affordable to city residents with government support and intervention when necessary.
GIFT city and the Delhi MRTS are examples of effective public-private partnerships. With GIFT as the decision-making unit for GIFT city and a separate non-government technocrat as the decision-making unit for MRTS, both parties are able to make more efficient, flexible, and cost-minimizing decisions for their individual business units. At the same time, there are larger government bodies that still oversee the project as the representatives for city residents. Both governing bodies also provide additional social benefits, such as affordable housing for GIFT residents and cheap fares for MRTS commuters. In addition, MRTS funds its own projects through foreign investments and the building of their own real estate and shopping malls. As case studies, Bay Area cities can learn significantly from India’s recognition that public projects do not need to be entirely public, and private businesses do not always have solely private incentives. Under the appropriate partnership structure, decisions can be made under little bureaucratic regulation and the correct property rights can be assigned to those will can create and capture the most value. Now the largest challenge for Bay Area cities is to readjust public-private incentives to allow for closer collaboration and sharing of resources.
Ultimately, “smart cities” in the United States will look very different from “smart cities” in India. While we continue to grapple with what these differences will look like, our class can learn significantly from the frugal innovation, issue-based city planning, local-cultural assessment and private-public partnerships that many Indian cities have already spearheaded and shown is possible. The private corporations and think tanks that we conversed with also provide a plethora of intellectual resources in our planning of smart city solutions for the Bay Area. With uncontainable excitement and greater curiosity for the subject, I look forward to working with my classmates and field experts to provide actionable recommendations for high-impact cities in the U.S.
India. A place of exploding colors, smells of incense and burning trash, the magnificent Taj Mahal, and (population of India) people. With its unique culture, India is on the brink of change and development. As the average age zeros down to 26, and more and more graduates finish their education with white collar degrees (the two most popular are biological sciences and engineering), India’s social, economic, and political needs continue to grow. For example: what jobs are in place for these graduates? How does transportation need to be reorganized to increase mobility for the Indian population? In an effort to face these overwhelmingly mounting issues, the Prime Minister of India, Modi, released a statement that India would be working to build 100 Smart cities. As undergraduate students of the Haas School of Business, we travelled through some of India’s main cities, Delhi (the catalyst in so many new developments) and Ahmedabad (the start-up city of India). To begin understanding India’s landscape, we met and heard from top education, business, and political leaders.
The main issues that we learned that need to be addressed when building smart cities are as follow: 1) a clear focus for fixing issues, 2) transportation and mobility disparities, 3) a value creating economy, 4) retaining of a country’s culture, and 5) technology’s role in addressing various needs.
I. FOCUS:
On our first day, we learned how important it is to focus on the right issues. The first speaker we heard at CEPT was Dr. Pimal Patel, who spoke to how important it is to focus on solving problems in places that really require the help, like India, instead of trying to fix some, non-important issues in California. For instance, people in Silicon Valley are working to create solar trashcans while India is still struggling to provide basic needs, like food and water, to its citizens. It is the duty of students like us, and other innovative individuals and organizations to create solutions to meet India’s needs.
II. TRANSPORTATION & MOBILITY:
One of the greatest issues surrounding the creation of smart cities is the disparity of transportation and mobility in India because of lack of enforced rules and underdeveloped intersections and roads. Representatives from the Bus Rapid Transportation System suggested some solutions to increasing mobility in India. With so many modes of traffic- from rickshaws, bicycles, motorcycles, to cars and buses, it is vital that India has a clean, well-functioning and organized transportation system. With the BRTS, the solution focuses is on the system so that each worker feels like an important and necessary part of the system. After, we studied how by reorganizing one street intersection in Ahmedabad into an organized, safe, and efficient intersection allowed for people in the Ahmedabad community to instantly feel safer. Additionally, there was traffic reduction in the intersection. I would also like to add that on day one I began to understand the people of Ahmedabad who are both living in a chaotic environment while staying calm. Something really interesting about India is that since most functions of society are run by people, not by technology (ex: in the airport, the flights are handwritten), people rely heavily on each other. Because of this, India has an even greater challenge shifting from human reliance to technology reliance, which smart cities require to properly function.
Another solution that is already being implemented in India I the Metro in Delhi. On Day 9, the Executive Director of the most successful Metro Railway stations in the world told us that the DRC is so successful (actually makes revenue) because of its work culture and ability to generate revenue from retail. Their work culture really emphasizes making quick change through political mobility. The culture has deep roots in encouraging its employees to take ownership of their ideas by quickly implementing the changes they want to see occur. The Executive Director told us a stark example, the Phase 1 of the project was promised to be finished in ten years. However, because of the efficient work culture of the DRC, the phase one was finished in a little under 8 years. He said that the best way to prove people wrong that are considering investing in you is to just start building quickly. The investors and political leaders will have no reason to doubt you anymore and will want to invest in whatever it is that you are working towards. Lastly, and I personally find the most interesting fact was that the DRC has a very unique management style. Each employee is given a copy of the book Pirva Gita. This book goes into great detail about karma, living life in honesty, how much food to eat, and how to avoid being a demotivated warrior. I believe in terms of recommending this model to future smart cities, I agree fully with creating change quickly. One of the biggest blockages for innovation in companies or in any sector is the slow pace of change. Many studies prove that after an idea is sparked, if it is not acted upon in due time, it will be quickly replaced or forgotten. Because of this, to keep growing as Professor Darwin suggested, it is important to allow for innovation to occur in a future city. Due to this, making change occur quickly is definitely viable for future cities. The requirement of every citizen to read the Pirva Gita may not be a good solution for all places or cultures in the world because it is an Indian text and the translation could be misunderstood or other problems could arise for future cities, but teaching employees to take ownership of their work is important for any successful company. I think that the DRC provides us with an important lesson- sometime the solution is not obvious (the work culture) but it simultaneously effective.
As a last note on transportation, on Day 10, the woman from IIT-Delhi said that technology is not the one-all solver of transportation. So many companies try to push technology to make their profits. However, she is saying that some communities simply need other solutions to their transportation issues which don’t include technology.
III. VALUE CREATING ECONOMY:
It is important to set up smart cities in the sense that they are established as value creating economies. To begin creating a value creating economy in India, the Deloitte representative made an important pointed out that the government needs to release one single definition of what a smart city is. In the first lecture of day 2, Professor Darwin began the day by taking us step by step through how an economy functions. I learned that open innovation is the key to creating a lively and well-functioning economy. Also, creating value is the number one most important aspect of an economy and every other moving part within that economy thrives off of that center of value. In relation to smart cities, as my group will work with the City of Oakland- I will use Professor Darwin’s framework to frame my thinking and remembering to create value. For the employment side of the economy, the CEO of AIMA (one of my favorite speakers) told us that since there will be more white collar workers and less blue color workers in the employment sector, there needs to be more and more jobs open for the college graduates. As well, there needs to be bigger incentives to go into blue collar lines of work. It might be beneficial for smart cities like more public private sector businesses run by the government. For the financing sector of the value creation cycle, the researchers of ICRIER said that Indian smart cities will need financing beyond basic needs, including both financial and manpower.
An excellent example with how to implement value creation in an economy is Maulik’s (our host in Ahmedabad) new phone and computer application. His app is both innovative and addresses the need for asset utilization by allowing for people to share their objects with each other while gaining reputations online as share heroes. This program will be especially helpful in a place like India, or another condensed environment where people live very closely together and don’t necessarily have the room in their properties to fit all of the assets they want or need to use. Malik’s application helps eliminates waste because it brings together neighborhood goods. As for smart cities, Share Hero would be great because every asset is fully being used- and a sense of community is created while helping businesses.
On the flip side, I created my own way to consider how to set up smart cities with the following framework. My personal smart city’s framework would first be culture surrounding everything within the framework. This is heavily important because although a city could be technologically advanced, it is important to incorporate a culture into its main idea because the essence of a culture is what brings in tourists, retains community happiness, and allows for a population to thrive. My framework is also a cyclical moment instead of a horizontal analysis stacking one on the other. The catalyst to my cycle is the social, economic, and political needs of a city. Following, the next part of the cycle would include the education and business sectors because they are the parts of society that actually tackle these issues. For example, education is a great example, like Google and most of Silicon Valley emerged because of its close location to prestigious universities (Stanford and Cal) with deep ties and resources to open source innovation and entrepreneurship. Business is the second sector because businesses are constantly trying to innovate to stay afloat and create revenue for their businesses. They do this by addressing society’s needs- such as the social, political, and economic needs. A smaller circle that envelops both education and business would be the technology aspect of innovation because technology is a main driver of innovation across the world. Specifically, this sector includes incubators, venture capitalists, and serial entrepreneurs. As humans progress, we rely heavily on education to get us where we need to be. The last part of the cycle is user participation. This is actually the most important part of the entire cycle because to implement any change, is it vital to have people, citizens using and applying the new technologies and changes. People must embrace the change. This cycle moves together and overlaps. This is the framework that I believe is best to implement. The difference between my framework and Piram’s framework is that my framework is one that is weaved together and is brought together in a non-horizontal way.
IV: RETAINING CULTURE:
Dr. Nagesh Rao, the Director at MICA gave one of my favorite lectures that lasted with me throughout the trip. He made each of us question and confirm our personal cultural differentiations and identities. For example, I spoke how as a Jewish, American, Russian, I have a tri-cultural identity and the most important aspect for me is community and being authentic to yourself and the people around you. I am applying Dr. Rao’s lecture to smart cities in the sense that even as India grows and builds its smart cities, it should still try to retain what makes India unique to India. For example, as we watched the traffic video of a random intersection in India, it showed how people in India work so much together to just even cross the street. This aspect of working together should reverberate in the making of the smart cities.
Visiting the GIFT city made me reflect on how India will be incorporating its culture into its smart cities. This city is attempting to create a financial hub in Gujarat because Mumbai doesn’t fully fit the financial center need that India requires. A struggle I have with this concept is that it might not satisfy the needs of people on every level, for example, people living in the slums. However, on the other hand, it is not the responsibility of the developers of the GIFT city to satisfy everyone’s needs, they are just trying to establish India as an economical leader. This smart city though is very smart because it will look absolutely cutting edge and the people in it will be able to effectively work together. I also want to point out that there will be training centers that teach specific skills to people to help them rise in social economic status. GIFT city is also a great example with how each smart city will vary from the other, depending on the community’s needs- whether it be a financial hub or an agricultural-focused smart city. Day 4 was exciting because we got to finally walk the streets of India and experience India’s culture first hand. The first building we saw on the heritage walk had a smart way of utilizing rain water to provide water for the entire building while recycling it to other parts of the building. I think that as we begin our smart city planning, we will be able to take away key components of the way they organize their water. As we finished out walk, we were able to see how the people of Gujarat live in the old road area through secret doors and pathways- all showing how well thought out the people planned their neighborhood. By seeing how Indian people live through their unique culture, it strengthened my opinion that even with India’s growth in smart cities, the government and businesses must work hard to retain India’s culture.
V. TECHNOLOGY:
Sewage & Waste: On Day 5, the first speaker was at the IIT of Delhi who spoke about Delhi’s sewage system. Delhi is the first city in India to map out its sewage system which is a huge step forward for building smart cities in India. Something interesting that the panel spoke about was converting the cities into Swacch cities which disposes waste in a sustainable and safe manner. To implement this into smart cities, different industries will need to collaborate. For example, the government will have to utilize students, businesses, and grassroots efforts to create solutions for cities in India. As well, it is important to educate your citizens about sewage issues and possibly incentivize them to participate in the program, either through local police or other measures.
Energy: At TERI, the organization which created the rating system of buildings across India for environmental control. It is important to apply efficiency to waste management. Already existing cities should have new smart technologies applied specifically to them instead of just starting new cities with pre-determined smart technology applied to them. To build sustainable cities of the future, we could learn to use their system of making solar lanterns and not just giving them to the people but making a rental program for the people which women run. There needs to be more women in power in India- many of them are highly educated and compassionate for the environment and the world.
Fire Security: On Day 8, the General Manager and former CFO of Tyco spoke to us about how sensors are the nervous system of a city. I love this image because it exemplifies the importance of sensors in a city. Tyco will be vital in the development of smart cities because they will literally be the ones connecting transportation to fire security to other important elements of a smart city. I also found the new video surveillance technology interesting. This technology utilizes biometric identification to send information to a database to ensure that people are who they say they are. This technology could also be used in smart cities in creative ways, such as entering your home, instead of a key, it could just use a face recognition software to allow you into your home- saving time and allowing for people to do more with their time. This face recognition could also be used to ensure that only certain people are allowed into a high level security building to elevate security. Another way of putting this is intrusion detection which protects businesses and people 24/7 around the clock to make sure that people and property remain safe. This is vital when creating and framing smart cities because people must feel safe and free to create businesses thanks to Tyco. The last key takeaway I got from the Tyco presentation is the importance of partitioning what is private and what is public is a great challenge when framing smart cities.
Climate: The IBM representative, Yogish Sabharwal discussed how IBM is utilizing its weather technologies in developing countries to compute a platform that will warn citizens of impending climate changes. This technology will be vital for India as global warming worsens because climate changes will become more and more extreme.
Overall, this trip changed my entire perspective about India from smart cities to the different rotis that can be eaten and made. After hearing from leaders across businesses, education, and government agencies, the greatest takeaway that I have gotten is that different sectors must collaborate in India to build and create smart cities. Throughout the process, India needs to resist falling to the global pressure of sacrificing its unique culture for a more western framework. I am excited to help improve the City of Oakland to become a smarter city and even more so, in the coming years, I look forward to doing business in India and mobilizing change across the world through what I have learned on this trip.
My experience in India has been a personal development experience, as my eyes have been opened to the work being done by academia, social organizations, corporations, and policy makers as the country develops and changes. Through this opportunity to explore smart cities and infrastructure as it relates to business models and community needs, I have gained a broader understanding of not only the technological aspects of what makes a city smart, but also the sociocultural factors that contribute to any smart city.
As one of the first people to arrive in India, I began the journey with an impromptu adventure to a carnival, which gave me a true taste of India and Ahmedabad. Our group immediately became the major spectacle at Ahmedabad’s winter carnival, where we were stared at and even followed as we walked through the crowd. As we stopped to take a picture near the lake at sunset, our photographer was surrounded by a crowd of locals, all pulling out their phones to snap photos of us. This first taste of India presented a bit of culture shock to those of us who had never been before, and the reality of the country in terms of crowds, lack of access to the resources we are used to, and way of life really hit me. This realization would be reinforced and expanded as we continued with the rest of the journey.
On our first official day working day in India, we had the pleasure of hearing from quite a few incredibly smart and forward-thinking individuals who are working to improve the city planning, water availability, power usage, and transportation systems in Ahmedabad. At CEPT, our first speaker shattered our preliminary perceptions of smart cities by drawing attention to the fact that India is still working toward basic infrastructure and environmental sustainability in order to progress to later stages of development. With this in mind, we were able to listen to our other speakers with a new perspective about what is possible in India versus the United States, and understand what a large accomplishment the projects such as BRTS are for the future of Ahmedabad.
Day 2’s speakers gave us a new perspective on how to approach topics of smart cities, although through many different points of view. One thing that we were able to glean from Professor Darwin’s lecture and the directors of MICA and IIT is that by assuming that India is best off following Western modes of development, we may be ignoring possible modes of value creation and cultural maintenance. By questioning the status quo and figuring out what will be best for India specifically when it comes to environmental, cultural, and educational sustainability, we will be better able to approach smart cities in the Bay Area with a more efficient perspective.
In addition to the perspectives of academia, we also had the pleasure of hearing from business people and entrepreneurs in Ahmedabad. With lectures from our guide in Ahmedabad (Maulik Pandya) regarding his startup company called Share Hero, we were able to gain insight into the ways that innovative people in India are using entrepreneurship to make their ideas a reality. This made me see startups from a perspective other than my own in Silicon Valley, and it was amazing to see Maulik’s idea put to use later at night when we used Share Hero to borrow traditional Indian clothing for our New Years Eve celebration, held at the Parikh’s house. We saw how using Share Hero could help us bridge the culture gap between Priya and her friends, and help give us a glimpse into what it is like to be a young person living in Ahmedabad. The use of technology is powerful not only as it can be used in a smart way to share objects, but also how it can bring people together and help present a new perspective on Ahmedabad.
With Share Hero’s emphasis on sustainability by decreasing the purchase of goods in mind, we shifted gears to hear from Akhand Kumar from Tyco. Tyco’s security solutions and fire protection services are developing with a focus on sustainability and efficiency by giving all collected data to a single vendor command station, lowering cost for users and providing collective data reports of energy usages based on sensor data. Its integration aspects offer many technologies in a more efficient manner, and these models, along with allowing certain technologies and data to be open and accessible, will be leading forces in determining the technological building blocks of the smart cities of the future. After this, we travelled to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), where we had the pleasure of hearing from Anil Gupta about this idea of a “Honeybee Network,” where there is a way to learn from different domains and build bridges across boundaries to create a truly smart solution that is sustainable in the long term. It was very interesting to hear Tyco’s presentation followed by Anil Gupta’s, as both gave us ideas on what sustainable and “smart” really means, yet from two very different perspectives that we can incorporate into our idea of what a smart city truly is.
When we were finally able to travel to Gift City, these perspectives gave us the means to inquire about what modes of sustainability they were employing to build this innovative city from the ground up. It was inspiring to see all of the ideas put in place, from energy usage to resource allocation and sensor systems that would ensure more adequate energy consumption and less outages throughout the city. While it is still abstract how we will apply these concepts to cities that are already developed in the Bay Area, we all came away from Gift with a better understanding about what is possible when thinking about cities from a “smart” point of view.
After a long night of dancing and fun at the Parikh residence for New Years Eve and only two hours of sleep, our team rallied for a heritage walk through the old city of Ahmedabad. Today we learned so much about the place we had been staying, as we were able to see some of the old buildings and homes that had been around for many years. Our guide showed us secret passageways and historical detailing of the architecture and religious structures. After this, we headed to a presentation from the Minister of Education for Gujarat, where Professor Darwin was presented with a much deserved collaboration award from the minister. This token of gratitude from the state made me realize what a unique position for collaboration we had been given, and offered insight into what opportunities may be possible in the future between UC Berkeley and India for smart city innovation. Before catching our flight to Delhi, we made a pit stop at Gandhi’s Ashram, where we were able to see the house he had lived in and truly appreciate the change he had made in country. I was truly inspired and will remember and appreciate freedom and peace as we move forward in our adventure to Delhi.
Our first day in Delhi consisted of meetings with IIT Delhi, TERI, and AIMA, which gave us a very holistic and varied approach the topic of smart cities in India, focusing not only on the hard facts but also on the social issues that India faces. While we had been hearing about many technical viewpoints from professors at the universities we visited, speaking to the women in charge of the initiatives at TERI inspired us to see from an action-oriented perspective what the true issues are in implementing environmental initiative within India. The programs that have been executed by organizations such as TERI and research that is being done to improve the way of life is very impressive, yet as our AIMA hosts told us, there are many social changes that need to take place before the country can move to the place that its leaders desire. I thought it was extremely interesting that Ms. Rekha Sethi of AIMA pointed out that it is important for India to balance its technological advancements through smart cities with programs to elevate the poor. What I took away from these presentations is that these shifts will come through skills-based learning, maintenance of Indian culture and values, and emphasis on environmental sustainability.
From the corporate perspective of HCL, we gained insight into the complicated technological infrastructure for what we would consider “smart.” However, with the multiple perspectives we have received over the course of this trip in mind, many of us were skeptical at the necessity, social inclusion, and ramifications of HCL’s smart city presentation. When these concerns were voiced, Param Singh helped us to understand a collaborative framework for approaching the development of smart cities, which allowed all of us to gain a better understanding of how the process actually works. However, if I were to change Param’s framework, I would consider not making technology and the social/environmental/political aspects completely independent of each other as he showed on his diagram. My perception of a smart city now focuses on the use of technology to better address social and environmental issues in the infrastructure and maintenance design of the city. This will enable us to better incorporate all of the ides we have learned over the course of this trip.
Similarly, our experience from Airtel gave us the opportunity to hear how the telecom giant is contributing and playing a role in the development of smart cities across India. Airtel’s business model and approach to smart cities focuses not only on the local administration and municipality level, but also includes a look into the physical, institutional, and economic infrastructure, as well as the education and transportation aspects of connectivity within a city. This holistic view from a corporate standpoint is extremely important for the development of a city, as it takes into account many important issues that ultimately contribute to the sustainability of the city. This was extremely interesting, as it allowed us to see what how other corporate entities are aiding in the process of developing and implementing smart city frameworks from a holistic viewpoint.
In addition to all of our hard work, we also had the opportunity to have fun and experience the wonderful country of India. In Agra, we had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the Taj Mahal, which was unbelievably beautiful and absolutely amazing to experience. I couldn’t help but think about how we have been learning about smart cities and architectural innovations, yet this structure is still standing in perfect condition after 400 years, with all aspects perfectly symmetrical and intricately designed. This, in addition to the Agra Fort and palace, was truly inspiring.
At this point in our journey, we were ready to start consolidating all of the information we had gained from our speakers and start thinking about how we would like to apply their ideas to Bay Area cities. Within my group, we discussed how we would like to approach smart city implementations for San Francisco, and drew out a new flow chart that we agreed would better incorporate social issues into our development of technology for San Francisco. This took awhile, as we began to realize how truly difficult it is to address multiple issues and aspects within a city into a cohesive plan of action.
To supplement our viewpoints of city management and planning, we experienced public transportation in Delhi through the metro system. I was amazed at the efficiency and cleanliness of the system, with buses coming every two minutes and huge plans for rapid expansion. We learned that the system had been rapidly completed in 2002, and transports about 2.6M people per day—very impressive! As we met with those in charge, it was clear that the metro corporation had close to perfected the systems and processes, and when the speaker was asked about his management strategy for the metro, he directed us to the typically religious text of the Bhagavad Gita. I was amazed at the way he related personal management and Hindu teachings to the frugality and success of the metro organization, and I agree that instilling these values and goal-oriented nature in employees is key to a business’s success. This will be important all areas of focus in smart cities, as efficiency cleanliness, and frugality should be the foundation of any city or organization.
In addition, our interactions was with the Department of Telecommunications, and we were given the unique opportunity to hear from policymakers in this space that will build the governing infrastructure for all cities. While our conversation was relatively short, I could see that one key issue for the department is helping to facilitate and moderate the Public-Private Partnerships that we have been hearing so much about from all of our speakers. Pleasing all constituents and working toward the best options for all is never an easy task, and I could see that these people were struggling to develop an encompassing strategy that would meet all needs. This is something that even my group had trouble with in simply developing a basic framework for smart cities, and I could see that the policymakers are grappling with how best to approach Modi’s vision to make it a successful and sustainable reality.
As this journey ends, my group and I will be bringing back what we have learned to tackle the difficulties of smart city planning in San Francisco. As a result of our time in India, our group has come up with a framework for San Francisco as a smart city from speaking with Professors at IIT, IIM, CEPT, and Mica, as well as the gain a corporate perspective from leaders at AIMA, Tyco, and Airtel. Our vision for San Francisco as a smart city incorporates the social and cultural aspects that we have learned are crucial to cities in India, and we hope to emphasize human centric design as a result of our experiences in Ahmedabad and Delhi. We would like to thank our sponsors, Tyco, AIMA, and TiE for giving us the opportunity to gain this perspective and bring home key aspects of what we have learned from smart cities in India. We are looking forward to spending the next three months incorporating what we have learned into San Francisco’s smart city development.
Executive Summary
Studying and evaluating the open innovation process in India this winter was one of the most fruitful experiences I’ve ever had. With the help of our generous sponsors and hosts, I had the opportunity to tune in on the lessons being learned about smart cities in India by professors, researchers, engineers, government officials, investors, and business leaders. Although I was unsure in the beginning about how I could apply my learning to already developed cities in the bay area, my confidence in applying frugal innovation to the process of urbanization grew with each lesson.
-Foundational Framework for Smart Cities-
Before studying the development process of smart cities in India, it was critical to know how cities operate. During professor Darwin’s lecture, I learned that cities are like companies – similar to a profit maximizing company, a city operates under a business model. It creates value through its 1) resources, 2) activities, 3) partners, and it captures value through citizen participation. A value proposition of a city may include community building, efficient methods of transportation, and increased safety.
I also learned that while most cities are good at creating value, a vast majority of them struggle to capture value. More specifically, cities have a hard time increasing their triple bottom line (profits) because the investment cost, which is the primary initiator of creating resources, activities, and partners, is large. In order to be both sustainable and profitable, cities need to focus on innovation, which is the process of turning knowledge into money, research, the process of turning money into knowledge, and catalysts, the vehicles through which value is created.
-India, the birthplace of frugal innovation-
In India, there is a focus on frugal innovation. Populations in cities like Ahmedabad and Delhi are growing, but fixed infrastructure and limited funding from local governments make it difficult for cities fully accommodate population growth. The main challenge in building smart cities in India is accommodating the growing urban population under a constrained financial and natural resource environment. Such constrained environments encourage organizations to resort to cheap, but frugal solutions. These solutions include 1) working to reduce energy waste and prevent storage of energy by accurately generating electricity according to the demand during peak and non-peak hours, 2) recycling water and reallocating amounts of water using information on water usage, which conserves water and enables to municipal to meet the water demands of all cities, and 3) minimizing traffic congestion and time of commute (while increasing the number of people transported) by reorganizing traffic lanes, thereby allowing people to move from one place to another faster and safer. In the developing areas of India, value is created not through sensor and automation technology, but through strategic planning and seasoned technology.
-Role of private sector on the development of smart cities-
Companies in the technology sector are becoming key ingredients in the making of smart cities, for they are the primary innovators that enable cities to become more efficient and productive with their resources. When companies come together and make their technology cheaply available to the masses, they effectively transform the quality of life in both underdeveloped and developing communities. We were fortunate to hear from a number of large corporations and their role in developing smart cities in India:
1) HCL, an IT services company, plays a huge role in setting up IT powered infrastructures that provide cloud-based solutions. Most of HCL’s initiatives use smart card technology that enables easy/fast access, real time updates, and transferring of information. With the help of HCL, hospitals and pharmacies can easily find patients’ medical history, traffic checkpoint sites can quickly verify driver and car information, airports or DMVs can virtually pull identity data, and people can transfer and borrow money with very little fees.
2) Tyco, the world’s largest fire and security company, prides itself with its diverse product and service offerings including traffic cameras, life safety products, and installation services. It secures the safety of cities through its products and services including video surveillance, access control, and identity management systems. Once their technology is implemented, business owners can be alerted through alarms in the case of burglary, employers can grant restricted system access to employees, and buildings can allow access to affiliated individuals through fingerprint scanning, facial recognition, or voice detection.
3) Airtel has three core businesses: 1) retail business, which produces and sells SIM cards, and 2) enterprise business, which focuses on B2B systems, and 3) government business. As one of the biggest telecommunications companies in India, Airtel contributes to smart city development by connecting people to the cellular network, enabling them to communicate wirelessly, and access internet through the network. By partnering with government and other private enterprises, Airtel enables systems to connect existing systems to an online or cloud network so organizations can reduce everyday congestion or waste by making information-powered decisions.
A foundational part of building a smart city is the setting up of a network infrastructure. In order for a city to be smart or intelligent in generating energy, transporting people, or preventing fire, it needs to record and store data. Companies like HCL, Tyco, and Airtel make that possible, and allow cities to make intelligent decisions.
-Role of public sector on the development of smart cities-
In partnership with private enterprises, public enterprises play a large role in building sustainable and efficient cities. In a developing country like India, there is a need for an incentivized platform on which both nonprofit and for profit businesses can conduct equitable and fulfilling business.
1) Government is the only institution that can create this platform. The creation can be in the form of financial aid, discretionary regulation, flexible trade policies, and many others. Once a platform has been established, private enterprises will be able to partake in initiatives that are mutually beneficial for the citizens and the business, and solve societal, economical, environmental problems by freely conducting business. Construction companies can build buildings and lay roads, transportation companies can build metros and run buses, utility companies can provide electricity and clean water, and technology companies can sell phones and connect people to a centralized network.
2) Department of Telecommunications has the power to speed up the development process of cities. Currently, the main challenge of India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is reducing the cost of bringing digital connectivity to all members of the country by encouraging more private partnerships. Data connectivity is still very expensive today, and for that reason, only 40% of India is covered. If the DoT encourages private and public partnerships by reducing the level of regulation on trade and startups, then covering the remaining 60% will come at a lower price and a faster rate. Bringing Internet connection to the rest of the country is necessary for the development of smart cities because it creates an ecosystem where businesses and consumers can access information 24/7. In the 21st century, Internet is what enables manufacturing, services, and information industries to thrive. For example, Internet connection enables 1) distributors and retailers to exchange order information quickly via online chat or email, 2) restaurants to take orders via their websites or mobile applications, and 3) customers to check availability of items from various stores. I believe India’s DoT, in partnership with various private enterprises, has the potential to power India’s economy through digital connectivity, and build smarter cities more quickly.
3) The Public Transit System makes navigating through a city easier and faster. The benefits of having a metro, like the Delhi Metro, or buses, like the BRTS, include fewer accidents, time savings, and reduction of carbon emission in the city. In population-dense and heavily traffic-congested cities, the public transit system reduces congestion since it transports tens (in buses) or hundreds (in metros) of people per vehicle instead of 1-5 (in cars) people per vehicle.
-Final Thoughts-
By studying the different components of a city, I learned that every city aims to fill the personalized needs of its citizens. The needs of citizens in developed cities like San Francisco or New York are quite different from the needs those in developing cities like Ahmedabad and Delhi. This is why San Francisco’s definition of a smart city, which is a city powered by sensor and automation technology, is different from Ahmedabad’s definition of a smart city, which is a city that uses widely available technology to solve the basic needs of its citizens. I can confidently conclude that the “smart” in smart cities does not have to mean adopting sensors to track and control objects. It could simply mean using heat from refrigerators to warm food, or using rice cookers to brew an early morning cup of coffee. With the beginning of the semester approaching, I’m excited to apply India’s frugal innovation to make San Francisco a smarter city.
UGBA 193I Travel Study Executive Summary
Part I: Lessons from “Smart” Cities in India
Our two weeks in India have been professionally, academically, and personally rewarding. As a whole, my global understanding, perspective, and opinions have been challenged. Specifically, my experience in India has taught me (i) the multiple layers of technological and social infrastructure that define a smart city, (ii) the need to cultivate forward-looking innovation by looking back, and (iii) that a “smart” city begins by defining and addressing its’ users – the citizens – needs through a self-sustaining business model. Ultimately, these lessons have led to our user-focused for “smarter” cities.
i. Defining Smart Cities
First, I now define “smart” cities are defined by their ability to cyclically gather, assess, and respond to needs and issues in a community. Before embarking on this study, I held a very superficial view of smart cities. I believed them to be cities that use technological innovation to maximize user efficiency and convenience. However, on our first day in India, Professor Bimal Patel shut down that notion. He described the integration of internet-of-things technology to all aspects of urban living as wasteful and frivolous. Professor Patel’s perspective began my interest in exploring the various aspects of what makes a city “smarter.” Now, however, I see that the definition of “smart” cities can evolve over time because it is multifaceted. What ultimately makes them smart is the ability to collect, use, and respond to two different types of data. The first is data collected from information-of-things sensors throughout the city. Second, data is collected from a city, regional, and global social, political, environmental, and economic assessment. Ultimately, these two forms of data provide a cohesive assessment of the state of a city and provide insight on how to best address the most pressing issues.
ii. Old Innovations
I learned that many frugal and efficient urban innovations exist, but they have been overshadowed by a movement towards Westernization and technology. For example, our heritage walk in Old Ahmedabad revealed a copper gutter system used to capture rain water and keep it in underground, antibacterial, limestone storage as drinking water. The home was also designed to stay cool in hot weather through intelligent window and ceiling design that allows hot air to escape and a breeze to circulate. Moreover, our excursion to the Taj Mahal gave a deeper understanding of human-centric design. The trips to Old Ahmedabad and the Taj Mahal proved that to look forward and create a “smart” city, we must look back to innovations that have long-existed and, in many places in the world, are forgotten. Thus, our ability to cultivate “smart” cities is only possible through the willingness to move forward by looking backwards.
iii. Stakeholder Needs
The foundation of a “smart” city is that it addresses the needs, issues, and concerns of its citizens and stakeholders. As described by researchers at The Energy Resource Institute, a “smart” city transcends the implementation of internet-of-things technology. Rather, it uses technology as a tool to address pre-existing needs without creating unnecessary new ones. Researchers at the The Energy Research Institute contextualized “smart” cities in key metrics. Specifically, the researchers emphasized the need to prioritize metrics like happiness levels over pure efficiency. TERI’s perspective underscored the need to assess the needs and issues of a city on multiple levels, beyond solely implementing IoT.
iv. “Smart” City Framework
Using all we learned, our team created a framework focused on user-needs. Our framework for developing “smart” cities is derived from the social, political, environmental, and economic issues and needs of individual cities to better quality of life for all city stakeholders. We then integrate human-centric design in the technology, city planning, infrastructure, and user participation models of the city. This framework will be central in designing innovative solutions and assessing those solutions as we develop “smarter” cities in the Bay Area and beyond.
Part II: Building “Smarter” Cities in the Bay Area
The above mentioned three key lessons have fostered focus areas for fostering a “smarter” San Francisco – (i) transportation and sustainability, (ii) governance through a business model, and (iii) addressing social issues.
i. Transportation and Sustainability
We have been tasked with applying our framework to tangible difference in the realm of transport, sustainability, and other physical issues. From our discussions, we found the most effective tool to simultaneously minimize traffic congestion and pollution are higher parking rates and, contrary to popular belief, less lanes on roads. In the context of the Bay Area, parking has to be significantly more expensive than public transportation to motivate people to stop driving. As a byproduct of increasing parking rates and decreasing the size of roads, asset utilization rates for cars would increase as drivers not wanting to take public transportation would be encouraged to use car sharing services.
Transportation efficiency is key – but only one element – in making a city more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Unlike GIFT City, San Francisco is not being built from the ground up and does not have the ability to centrally control all of its buildings. However, doing a city-wide assessment of energy usage and helping individual buildings to decrease energy usage will provide long-term benefits to the city. Moreover, the drought has contextualized our environmental state for many Californians. A regional education-based approach for energy efficiency can aim to change consumer behavior.
From what we learned at The Energy Resource Institute, energy-efficiency projects must be user-accepted to be successful. Heavily studying transportation and energy consumption patterns will help our team create data-driven decisions to maximize the environmental livelihood of Bay Area cities.
II. “Business Model” Governance
Efficient and equitable governance is central to the sustained longevity of a “smart” city. Governance of “smart” systems, however, should incorporate a business model. From the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) we learned the ability of a government vision to be self-sustained by business means. Even more, we learned the means in which the DMRC is managed with efficiency, frugality, innovation, and a user-centric mentality. The DMRC taught us how manage effectively by providing ownership to various stakeholders in the system.
III. Social Issues
The most challenging element of creating “smarter” cities is addressing – and not worsening – social issues. Many Bay Area cities are facing a serious gentrification issue. “Smart” cities must integrate policy, technology, data, and governance to assess and address these issues. Addressing social issues, however, is not a topic we got much exposure to in our lessons. Rather, we just heard that we must address them. Thus, the challenge remains up to us to figure out how to meld all aspects of creating “smarter” cities.
Part III: Conclusion
Ultimately, to create a “smart” city, we must integrate human-centric design with technology and citizen participation to become more sustainable, make data-driven decisions, and improve the quality of life for all stakeholders.
Beyond this project, I have learned how business and government can – and, sometimes, must – work together to innovate sustainable, tangible solutions to everyday issues. And, personally, this trip has challenged how I think, analyze, and learn. I look forward to using all lessons I have learned and humbly apply them to developing a “smarter” world.
Our two weeks in India informed us about Indian culture and introduced us to a wealth of knowledge pertaining to smart-city initiatives throughout the country, thereby challenging our very understanding of the expression “smart city.” Before arriving in this beautiful and historic country, my definition of a smart city was somewhat analogous to that of a smart phone. As an iPhone uses technology to monitor information and communication in order to simplify the user’s life, so would a smart city, equipped with IoT technology and metering. It didn’t take long, however, for this simplistic definition to unravel with complexity.
After over thirty hours of travel, we arrived in Ahmedabad within the state of Gujarat. Fighting exhaustion and the temptation to sleep, a group of nine of us eagerly set out to explore Ahmedabad at a winter carnival in the heart of the city. Along the way, we braced ourselves among the chaotic traffic as our taxi shared the road with camels, cows, pedestrians, and rickshaws. We enjoyed our first taste of the culture at the carnival in Ahmedabad, despite the overwhelming crowds. We quickly learned that as the only group of tourists among thousands, we were a carnival attraction ourselves. After just a few short hours and a quick glance into Indian culture, it became apparent that a “smart city” in one country will not and cannot look identical to a smart city in another country.
On our first official day in Ahmedabad, high school graduate Priya Parikh eloquently delivered key facts and context for our upcoming experience in the world’s third fastest growing city. Priya’s critical insight about the history and current lifestyle in India, the state of Gujarat, and the “best Indian mega-city to live in,” Ahmedabad provided key background knowledge for our study of smart city initiatives in India. Following our brief introductory meeting, we had the privilege of hearing from accomplished professionals in the fields of entrepreneurship, city planning, energy efficiency, and transportation. Dr. Bimal Patel’s discussion was particularly intriguing. Dr. Patel questioned our present understanding of what it means to be a “smart city” and stated that the “juicy problems” are in India, not California. His discussion provided some much-needed perspective as we began our journey to discover smart cities.
According to Professor Darwin, it is essential when building a smart city to structure it as one would structure a business model. He has imparted to us the opportunities for innovation when creating and capturing value for a city. This understanding proved fruitful when we heard from Dr. Nagesh Rao about cross-cultural communication. Dr. Rao discussed the present challenges that confront businesspeople in an increasingly globalized marketplace. To convey his message, he showed us a YouTube video of 32 out-of-sync metronomes that slowly sync together into perfect harmony. Dr. Rao asserted that dissonance is an integral part of harmony and that “resistance is part of the journey.” Dr. Rao’s insistence on maintaining cultural identity and welcoming a diversity of perspectives initially seemed to be in conflict with the idea of a smart city, which appeared to prioritize standardization and efficiency above preservation of culture. This tension between standardization and culture is a concern that was later echoed in our meeting at IIT Gandhinagara. The worry that smart cities may damage the integrity of what Dr. Rao refers to as “cultural dissonance” proved to be a critical component of our discussions as we attempted to balance the technological ideals of smart cities with the desire to safeguard cultural values and practices.
Maulik Pandarya and Anil Gupta’s enthusiastic presentations illuminated the importance of open innovation. As an aspiring entrepreneur, Maulik provided details about ShareHero, a mobile application that allows individuals to lend and borrow items that are owned but go unused. Users are then rewarded with “medals” that can be redeemed for a variety of discounts at restaurants and other retailers. This app is founded on the idea of collaborative consumption and maximizing asset utilization. This alliance between NGOs, users, and vendors is an efficient and “smart” way to reduce wasteful consumption and has the opportunity for growth into international markets. Similarly, Anil Gupta focused on the idea of collaborative and open innovation. Gupta stressed the importance of sharing information and research in order to improve upon existing societal solutions. He further asserted that we need to connect ideas of technology to real needs of real people and that smart cities need to create opportunities to exchange knowledge. Gupta’s presentation provided intriguing insight into the necessity of smart cities to provide not sophisticated technology, but rather the solutions to fundamental issues.
Hearing from our sponsor, Tyco, aligned perfectly with our visit to the smart city, GIFT City on our third day in Ahmedabad. Tyco International can contribute to the technological infrastructure of future smart cities. Throughout our trip we heard from two different Tyco executives who reviewed Tyco’s various fire safety and security products. While fire safety products will inevitably play a role in creating sustainable smart cities, I found that the security and identity management systems were the most relevant to implementation in smart cities. The use of RFIDs, sensors, biometric identification, and automatic vehicle identification will certainly be integral products in adding value to the creation of future smart cities, such as GIFT City. Currently in its initial phase of construction, GIFT City is predestined to become the financial capital of India. With an intricate and complex monitoring system, GIFT City is being built from the ground up to ensure energy efficiency and ultimate convenience for residents. While I feel that this endeavor has the opportunity for success, GIFT City prioritizes maximum technological efficiency and focuses on one industry, leaving potential for cultural tension and division. This echoes the concerns of previous speakers and Dr. Rao’s call for cultural dissonance. As we experienced more of Indian culture with an incredible New Year’s Eve celebration at the Parikh residence, the need for a cultural assessment prior to smart city planning became even clearer.
The “heritage walk” around Ahmedabad solidified this realization. It was eye-opening to finally witness firsthand the city we had learned so much about. It was eye-opening and humbling to see what an everyday routine looks like in Ahmedabad. There were chalk spaces on building walls designed for community announcements such as birthdays and anniversaries. Yet again, it caused us to question the boundaries of the definition of “smart city” that we have been using. Perhaps the term smart city doesn’t have to refer only to the futuristic technology hub of GIFT City, but rather it implies the unique practices that make everyday life and community building simpler.
We began our first day in New Delhi with a presentation at IIT. Focusing on sewage, stormwater, and solid waste management, we consulted the panel of energy and resource management intellectuals on the efforts being taken to make Delhi a “clean city.” We then spent the afternoon with The Energy Resource Institute, TERI. In hearing about TERI’s Lighting A Billion Lives Project, I gleaned that “smartness” should bring in equity and reach all sections of society. One of the TERI’s directors commented that everything is so systematic in America, which could pose a challenge to innovation. Furthermore, she stated that diversity is required for innovation and that automation itself cannot be translated into “smartness.” The Director General of AIMA, Ms. Rekha Sethi, paralleled TERI’s presentation by stating the importance of actively changing mindsets in India. Ms. Sethi described the need to reverse the negative perception of skills-based employment, since there is a growing need for specialized workers in India. Overall, from the IIT, TERI, and AIMA presentations I learned that in order to create more sustainable cities we must focus on waste management, providing basic goods and services to all individuals, and striking a harmony between skills-based jobs and a technologically driven economic landscape.
Our visit to HCL, India’s leading IT and technology company, was particularly productive in our quest to learn more about smart cities. To lay the groundwork for our collaboration, HCL offered it’s definition of a smart city: “A smart city effectively delivers public services to citizens and businesses in an integrated and resource efficient way while enabling innovative collaborations to improve quality of life and grow the local and national economy.” Furthermore, we heard about HCL’s activity in providing software-based solutions, identity management services, and strategies for financial inclusion for all individuals. The presentation sparked a passionate and productive conversation between our team, HCL executives, and Param Singh. One of our key breakthroughs was that the two objectives of providing for the basic needs of citizens and implementing IoT solutions do not have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, it was clear that each party placed these goals at the heart of building smarter cities. Furthermore, we established that creating smart cities is a process. Just as we cannot have the iPhone 7 before the iPhone 6, we must progress incrementally toward more efficient cities.
Similarly, the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort weren’t built in a day. Not only was it incredible to see such spectacular sights and get a better glimpse into Indian culture and history, but it also supplemented our study of smart cities in multiple ways. First, I think it’s important to evaluate the context within which we are discussing smart cities. To reiterate, a smart city in India will not look identical to a smart city in America. Therefore, it was critical that we not only discuss issues in boardrooms and lecture halls, but that we also go out and experience India firsthand. Second, there were many amazing facets of the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort that reminded us to found our smart city frameworks around human-centered design.
This concept of human-centered design appeared to be at the root of Airtel’s business model At Airtel headquarters, we learned that the Airtel business model extends into many focus areas including public safety and security, education, transportation, healthcare, and local government. This business model will easily align with the building of a smart cities as it delves into all “pillars” of a smart city: social infrastructure, physical infrastructure, institutional infrastructure, and economic infrastructure. Learning more about Airtel’s telecommunications services was useful when we later met with the Senior Executives of India’s Department of Telecommunications. During this meeting, we were able to learn more about telecommunications policy throughout the country. Their key challenges in building smart cities appears to be the accessibility to technology and electricity for all individuals in society. Providing villages with the appropriate infrastructure will be the basic challenge for this department. The Department of Telecommunications will be critical to the growth of smart cities as we have learned that telecommunications is essential for the implementation of smarter technologies within cities and that policy-making can lead to greater progress in this area.
One of our final stops on the program was the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. After taking a ride on the metro ourselves, we were given a tour through the metro museum, located inside of one of the metro stations. We learned how the tunnels were made and how the system facilitates and supports more than 2.5 million rides per day. As one of the only metros to never make a loss, it is an inspiring model that provides an optimistic outlook for implementation in future cities elsewhere.
To sum it all up, this trip was a profound experience both personally and professionally. Not only was I able to experience such a culturally and historically rich country, but I also gained significant insight into smart city development. The most significant takeaways I had throughout the trip were the necessity of public-private partnerships, the importance of assessing the culture of an area before developing a smart city, the significance of open innovation, and the need to focus not only on IoT, but also human-centric design. During the trip, we were privileged to visit the Gandhi Ashram. My favorite quote in the museum was the following: “Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him.” I plan to apply this frame of mind when making smart city recommendations in the Bay Area. I feel that we can use the teachings of Gandhi and the Haas pillar of “beyond yourself” throughout our semester-long projects. In employing the mindset of going beyond one’s self, we can collaborate with other cities, governments, and education systems to not only implement cutting edge technologies in our assigned Bay Area cities, but to also be proactive in creating a safer, healthier, and more fulfilling life for all citizens. A social and cultural focus is critical in ensuring that smart cities do not simply employ technological improvements in the short term, but that their innovation will incite continual and sustainable progress.
Introduction
When I first signed up to participate in the travel study course on Smart Cities with Haas, I didn’t know what to expect besides adventure. Being a natural born Indian citizen and having visited the country multiple times prior to this trip, I knew I wasn’t going to experience a huge culture shock—I was definitely wrong.
I realized many things about my country and myself during this trip and was highly impressed by the nature of business in India. You have to realize, when a non-resident Indian visits a metropolis like New Delhi every couple summers to reunite with grandparents and relative, the experience is very different from what a business student from Haas would go through. This shift from traveling to India for business rather than travel, shone a new light on the country I call the motherland.
There are four main takeaways I would like to point out as a final conclusion to the travel portion of the Smart Cities class: (1) Cross-Cultural Professionalism (2) Diversity in India (3) Ambiguity in Business (4) Smart City Reverse Innovation.
I. Cross-Cultural Professionalism
Nature of Business in India is very noticeably different from the United States.
o I have had more Chai here in two weeks than I have in my entire life. One chai, two chai, three chai, four.
o People are a lot more willing to interrupt conversation/agenda and let the conversation flow from one topic to another rather than waiting until the end to address any questions or concerns.
o Very positive responses to things that are yet to be accomplished, “We are working on it attitude”
It is interesting to realize that even as an Indian that can understand Hindi and communicate with most people in the room, the social dynamics were very different from the United States. In fact, I think being Indian and already having the expectation of what to do/not do in front of elders and respected individuals allowed me to notice how other peers struggled with the cross-cultural conversation we were having.
Throughout the whole process, I have definitely learned about the sensitivity and professionalism that is required if one is to work in global business—a skill I hope to sharpen with my international business focus.
II. Diversity in India: Ahmedabad → Delhi → Agra
This past semester, I worked on a healthcare project with Professor Darwin and GE on implementing telemedicine solutions in the Indian Railway System to serve the entire Indian population in regions that were underserved. My team and I put in a lot of time and effort into making sure our project proposal was comprehensive, flawless, and genius. We even got a hearty thumbs-up by executives from GE once we presented. But, when I came to India this summer, I realized it was not implementable because of the diverse customers we planned to help with just a one size fits all solution.
India is a giant in terms of diversity. With more than 30 languages, hundreds of cultures, and thousands of dialect, the Indian democracy is the world’s largest and most diverse. Therefore, introducing a healthcare system that would cater to all (or none) of these cultures would be disastrous. Fortunately, on the topic of smart cities, the diversity of India can be incorporated into the tailored smart cities with a unified foundation thereby uniting the country in its road towards development. On our journey from Ahmedabad to Delhi (including Agra) we were able to experience some of this diversity.
In Ahmedabad, we visited multiple universities and research institutions that focused on the technical and social impact of smart cities. It was during our trips to these offices that we were first educated about the diversity in India in terms of income inequality, culture, race, and gender. Not only the people, but the geography and climate of the differing regions was something that our speakers were very aware and concerned of. For example, at Center for Environmental Planning and Transportation and MICA we were presented the social impact considerations of a smart city keeping in mind the climate of the region (tropical, dry, monsoon season, no air-conditioning, building design so that heat does not penetrate through all glass windows).
At Indian Institute of Technology, we addressed the same issue but from a different perspective. BY looking t the technical energy efficiency of power systems in the university smart campuses, we were able to see how scientists and engineers had taken the situations of the location (near a river bed, lots of sun, wetlands, etc) and used them to their advantage when designing the campus and its power/water facilities.
At the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, we approached the issue with yet another lens and examined the ownership of smart city from a management perspective. Who would be in charge of managing the security or utilities or logistics of a smart city?
After visiting GIFT city (Gujarat International Finance and Technology Center), we learned that Public Private Partnerships have worked well in the past and seem to be the best way to approach the management and implementation of a smart city financially. After looking at some of the public infrastructure investments we have in California, I realized that PPP’s are the usual norm to accomplish a project that a public government does not have sufficient funds for (i.e BART, Bay Bridge).
When we first arrived to Delhi, the difference between Delhi and Ahmedabad was evident. There were a lot more people, greater accessibility, more modernity, more cars, congestion, and essentially the additional implications of a larger city. In Delhi we interacted with all partners in the public private partnership model.
We visited non-profits—The Environmental and Research Institute (TERI)—on multiple occasions and gained a very clear outlook on specific case studies in which frugal innovation has been applied to make a situation more smart and sustainable (i.e. Khumb Mela in Haridwar). We also visited the Department of Telecommunications and learn from governmental policy figures about the goals of national fiber implementation throughout India.
We highlighted many similar aspects we learned about in Ahmedabad but from the private sector perspective as well. Since many of the corporate headquarters were located in Gurgaon, we were able to visit them (i.e Airtel, IBM, Deloitte) and talk to them about their business models and how they create value. It was during these visits to AIMA and other business centric organizations when we became confused about our purpose as business students. Were to achieve profits, equitability, or sustainability?
III. Ambiguity in Business: Problem Solving
Thankfully during this time, our wonderful mentor Param Singh from San Francisco, was able to introduce a framework for assessing smart city implementation that was developed by him and his team in the city planning division of San Francisco.
Param Singh addressed the question that many students had on their minds: How are we to solve such a complex and ambiguous problem as business students with no technical expertise?? The answer: Ambiguity is something business students don’t usually like, but it the only thing that holds together all business problems. What makes a good business student and consultant is the ability to digest and work with these complex issues in a structured manner.
IV. Smart City Reverse Innovation
As we come back to San Francisco and the Bay Area with hopes of reverse innovating a frugal approach to accomplishing a smart city from India to California, we must keep in mind the lessons we learned in India about the importance of smart city being equitable and opportunistic for all citizens rather than just some. This opp gave us an opportunity to delve into the diff concepts of a smart city, act like a sponge, and implement once we are back into Berkeley. We will be working with SF and Param Singh closely. By developing a framework to simplify the complex task of coupling policy, business and science together into one coexisting system will be the greatest challenge of our generation. With population multiplying by the year and resources in limited availability, our society, the Millennials, will have to develop a solution to do more with less. In San Francisco we must keep in mind pain points and conditions of the city and address those issues with our solution of a smart city. By combining open innovation, reverse innovation we can prevent reinvention of the wheel and create value for citizens back at home. I will consider our travel experience to India as a case study and hope to bring back its lessons into our solution at home.
Conclusion
As an Indian, I am impressed by the work ethic of India and their positive go-ahead attitude. I am surprised to notice this in my country after having come on vacation multiple times beforehand. As a Business and Environmental Economics and Policy major, combining policy and city planning issues with the business model of a smart city is a sustainable way encompasses all the main points of my major. I am greatly looking forward to doing more research on San Francisco, Smart cities in America, and working with my team and Param Singh to develop a solution and present it to the mayor of SF. This whole experience and case study to India would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors-Tyco, TIE, AIMIA. I would like to thank them personally for their warm hospitality and continuous care.
Executive Summary:
Initial Expectations:
Coming to India, I expected that I would receive I exposure to understanding precisely the definition of a Smart City. Beyond that I expected to learn about different smart mechanisms unique to India that could be returned to the Bay Area. I was excited to engage in a completely unique learning experience in this two-weeks, highly intensive process, and with the potential to meet Prime Minister Modi, the leading visionary of India’s re-coming out to the world.
Realized Experience:
In actuality, the trip diverted greatly from my initial expectations. Prior to arriving in India the idea of the smart city was quite abstract, but fairly simple. After 2 weeks speaking to various experts and my peers, the idea is still abstract, but more complicated. Listed below are the major takeaways and learnings from the trip.
1. Current state of affairs in India
2. Understanding of “Smartness” separating “Effective Urban Planning” and “Smart, Integrated Technologies”
3. Government Involvement and motivation
4. Cultural Immersion
5. Camaraderie with Class and setting the stage for the semester
All these factors combined contributed to a very informational and educational experience. Despite the frequent challenges and frustrations, the two weeks in India proved to be a full sensory experience unlike any other
Current State of Affairs
Our first task was in understanding the environment we were researching. Why is there a push in India for Smart Cities and who is leading this effort? What we learned is that India is currently in a crucial position of development. Everyone is betting on India’s success and there is a push for India’s coming out to the world. At the very head of this initiative is Prime Minister Modi. He is a public visionary, a technocrat, and leader who provides a powerful voice from above for change. Additionally, he is well received in nearly every part of the world, filling all of Madison Square Garden in The States and headlining all major media.
100 Smart Cities is one of Modi’s hundreds of initiatives to encourage India’s continuing development, energy future, and address some of the capacity issues in current urban areas. It’s a great vision and he expects for various catalysts to come together with municipal governments in achieving the goal and has set aside 7060 crores (>1 trilliong USD) for funding. We learned that this investment would span new cities, such as the Gift City, as well as existing cities, one of the most ambitious being Varanasi, the spiritual capital of the world.
There are a few challenges these initiatives face including energy and societal situations among others, not to mention bureaucratic red tape. For example, we learned that currently, most electricity is supplied by mega power plants with immense transmission lines. These plants burn a poor quality of coal that is much less efficient compared to western varieties. The societal challenges are more well-known. The wide gap between rich and poor is a huge concern. Discussion on rural villages and slum populations was a topic which we were interested in becoming more educated on. Many of these situations, though not identical, could be compared to concerns of gentrification, wealth disparity, equal access, violence etc. that we face in the bay area.
Government Involvement
India’s government is split up on various hierarchies. Although the vision comes from Modi above, the municipalities are the governing bodies that apply for funding and execute the projects. There was this widespread unanimity in the structure of a public/private partnership. The PPP is a blanket term used to describe the pooling of resources from the state, aided by the expertise and execution of a corporation. In this partnership, goals on completion, financing, and regulation are provided by the public sector. The private sector is also responsible for spearheading and financing in addition to technological expertise and contribution of resources. While this model is successful in building synergies and reducing red tape, I am concerned by the outcome and goals that are being set. In terms of ongoing PPPs, it was more often than not that the sole metric of success for private companies was profit, which does not show as a direct link to building community improvements.
Cultural Immersion
The cultural immersion experience of being in India was truly special. There was something unique about each location we visited and comparing and contrasting the subtleties was an education within itself. I believe food can be one of the most telling aspects of culture. In India, for every meeting there was tea or coffee and biscuits offered as a refreshment. In Ahmedabad, we were served Masala Chai, but in New Delhi, we were served more English style black tea. I think the metaphor here is that while India is unified as a nation, culturally, there are nuances and diversities separated by geography among a myriad of other things.
We were lucky to be able to be welcomed into the culture in a tourist’s perspective as well as professional and educational perspectives. Getting to visit the Gandhi Ashram, the Taj Mahal, and Agra fort helped to bring about a historical understanding to the presently formed culture. Bringing our observations to the board room tables added a crucial humanizing layer to our trip.
Camaraderie
Lastly being in India, created a bond among all students in the class. As a result of long rides on the bus, coexistence in the board rooms, and other shared experiences, we truly got to know each other on a deeper level. We are all very excited to continue our journey this semester in working with the Bay Area Cities by sharing our experiences from India with them.
In a speech at his book release, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaimed, “Cities in the past were built on riverbanks. They are now built along highways, but in the future, they will be built based on availability of optical fiber networks and next-generation infrastructure.” To cope with India’s rapidly urbanizing population and to compete with China, Modi envisioned the creation of 100 “smart cities” – cities outfitted with high-tech communication capabilities – in order to build an upgraded version of an urban India. Some of these cities are to be built from the ground up while others are to be retrofitted using the latest advances in information technology. Ulimately, by investing $1.2 billion in smart cities, India hopes to revolutionize city life and improve the quality of life for India’s urban population.
When first arriving in India, we paid a visit to the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) where we had the privilege of listening to a panel of professors and experts speak about different factors concerning the implementation of SMART City components. Covering topics ranging from energy information centers to the Bus Rapid Transit System (BTRS), the speakers provided a strong base of information to build the rest of our experiences off of. In particular, Dr. Bimal Patel offered a unique perspective to SMART Cities. That is, while acknowledging the ability of quickly urbanizing nations such as India to leapfrog off of Western advancements and innovations, Dr. Patel stressed the need for functionality at the heart of innovation and implementation. India requires different innovations and must work to first meet the needs of its population, addressing problems of overcrowding cities with the outflow of people from villages into cities. Beyond the association of SMART Cities with simply IT improvements and optimizations, I began to think about the concept from more practical and “people-oriented” point of view.
As India continues to grow, its urban population is projected to grow to 590 million in 2030. The country’s labor force is expected to grow by 270 million workers, with urban jobs accounting for 70% of that growth. As such, managing this rapid urbanization in a way that enhances livability is imperative. Currently, the quality of life in urban cities is chronically low with most cities. Bad conditions consist of unregulated traffic, inhuman living conditions, and unsafe modes of transportation to name a few. Therefore, in moving forward, it is important to create smartness within existing cities by addressing current problems of developing good infrastructure, solid waste disposal, flood management, storm water and sewerage systems, traffic gridlock, and the like.
However, pilot projects such as GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Technology) City are providing solutions and benefits as well. Building these entirely new cities or hubs from the ground up provides impetus to a variety of companies and industries including cement, construction, power, and information technology, generating employment for at least 200,000 people per city. Additionally, these smart cities generate huge interest among global players who might want to partner with such projects in urban development. These smart cities are within Special Economic Zones that reduce tax and regulations for firms, allowing for international banks to operate using foreign currencies. Overall, the cost of operation is much cheaper than any other place in India, attracting private investment into these cities. Consequently, much of the funding for smart cities will likely come from private developers as can be seen in the 26% investment from Japan in the $100 billion Delhi-Mumbai corridor effect.
Ultimately, if implemented well, I truly believe that smart cities can bring in smart solutions, both for government and people at large. The time has come for Modi’s ministers to burn the midnight oil to make smart cities a reality instead of turning it into a pipe dream. After having met with local universities, bodies of government, and businesses, I have gained a better understanding of the work taking place in India. From start-ups such as ShareHero to organizations such as TERI, there are tremendous efforts underway to improve yet maintain the Indian way of life, and the opportunity to learn from and witness firsthand the changes being made is something I will always look back on and cherish.
Executive Summary
I can truly say that going to India with the UGBA 193i class was a one-of-a kind, life changing, and pleasantly challenging experience that I will never forget. Quite frankly, I originally decided to come on the trip because I was fascinated by the notion of “smart cities.” For a long time, I imagined these cities as hyper efficient regions that centered around the utilization of automation and censor systems in ways the world had never seen before. However, it was only a matter of hours in India before I began to realize that perhaps my original assumption was an oversimplification and that the concept of “smart cities” possessed much more complexity than I had ever anticipated. For the next two weeks, our class was given the opportunity to meet and discuss with government officials, esteemed professors, and powerful executives of large corporations. Each meeting was packed with information and valuable insights that helped to alter and my idea of smart cities. However, between the back-to-back meetings, our class also had the opportunity to absorb India’s rich and incredibly unique culture. Today, India continues to be a country deeply rooted in its tradition coupled with an awe-inspiring desire to progress, grow, and prosper. India, in the next few years, will only continue to grow and surprise the world by its quick growth and innovation, and I can gladly say that I feel lucky to have been able to see part of that growth and learn from them through my own eyes over the course of my two weeks there.
Overall, going to India was a spectacular and irreplaceable learning experience on both an academic and cultural level. I left the India with several key takeaways that will be valuable to not only our city projects but in any future endeavors we choose to pursue. In the following paragraphs, I will summarize some of the lessons learned from our journey that I believe will be valuable in the classroom and beyond.
I. The Ambiguity of Smart Cities
Something our entire class unexpectedly struggled with throughout the trip was defining what exactly a “smart city” was. What was interesting was that the speakers in our presentations also seemed to disagree with each other what the essential elements to a “smart city” compose of. For example, when we met with the developers of India’s very own GIFT City, it seemed as if they believe that “Smart Cities” entailed using top-notch technology to create cities that would ultimately attract investment and international activity. To them, the GIFT was a prototype of future cities that would use advanced technologies to drive efficiency in the city. To them, smart cities are not necessarily a mechanism to address social issues directly such as bridging the wealth gap but a way to ultimately boost India’s economic activity, which they believe will have a trickle down effect. Other speakers were not as quick to agree to this definition. For example, Dr. Brima Patel, on the first day, introduced the idea that “smart cities” as municipalities that had the ability to address social, economic, and political issues with the finite amount of resources available to the city. Similarly, Ms. Priyanka Kocchar and Ms. Rekha Sethi from TERI and AIMA, respectively, explained that the “smart cities” should focus on meeting basic needs of the people through the use of cutting edge technology. They were keen to explain that advancing technology and addressing social needs were not mutually exclusive and technology was actually extremely relevant in addressing
needs and ensuring that India remains relevant in the IT Sector.
Frankly, at the end of the two weeks, my idea of what a smart city is remains inconclusive. I strongly believe, however, that there is no one correct answer. Rather, the definition alters from city to city. It is ultimately important to remember that no two regions are the same and that each one has their own unique set of priorities and goals. Today, I believe that having a “set definition” is may be a weakness and that rather, we should develop cities on a case-by-case basis. It is important to note that no matter what each city defines as being “smart”, the players must be on the same page for the sake of efficiency and effectiveness. Although the definition of a Smart City remains unclear, one thing is very clear: there needs to be a framework and set of metrics to evaluate what sort of changes need to be implemented in a city. Like Mr. Param Singh emphasized in his discussion with the class, the team needs to establish a set framework on how to approach each city before implementing “smart city” initiatives. In addition, metrics need to be set up in order to create a benchmark that determines how closely cities are following their overall goals.
II. Technology Plays a Vital Role in Smart City Development
Regardless of what one believes a “Smart City” entails, I learned that technology is inevitably central in the development of those areas. Technology serves as the backbone that will help cities to develop into much more efficient regions. We had the opportunity to meet with various companies such as Airtel, IBM, Cisco, and HCL who introduced us to the technologies developed and to be used during the building of Smart Cities. These companies have developed technologies that are intended to play an integral role in helping conserve energy, reduce air pollution, reduce overall waste, and improve the overall quality of life. For example, Tyco has developed a plethora of identity theft solutions including biometric identification systems, fingerprint readers, hand geometry, iris and retinal scanning devices, and automatic vehicle identification. In the long run, according to the executives, Smart Cities will be able to use Tyco’s technology in order to strengthen the security for all of its residents. Airtel, too, has created various platforms in security, education, and transportation that ideally would be integrated into Smart Cities. For example, in the realm of education, Airtel’s e-Education platform would be used to create a more centralized and uniform system amongst schools to increase administrative efficiency. Although these companies have different capabilities, the combination of their technologies and developments will contribute in creating a fully integrated city.
As I mentioned earlier, technology is ultimately a vita mechanism in enabling change and helping pave way to the creation of smart cities. Generally, when we think of technology, our minds automatically associate it with the most advanced and most complex systems. However, one concept that we learned in India is that technology need not be the most complex solutions but ones that address every day average pain points. This is called frugal innovation. Frugal innovation is when members of society recognize certain pain points and create solutions to address those with the limited amount of resources available to them. This is done all over the world today. For example, Dr. Anil Gupta told us the story of individuals in a rural area that created a refrigerator that uses heat from cooling boiling water to keep food warm. Although this is not a mainstream refrigerator, it does use the resources that are available to address issues such as ensuring that food remains warm. This, too, is a sort of technological innovation we must keep in mind and not overlook.
III. Understanding what the Technology is being used for for
As mentioned in the previous section, technology is a necessary tool in the development of “smart cities.” Having technology is not enough, however. It is critical for developers of “smart cities” to fully understand what the technology is being used for and what function it serves for the overall betterment of the city During our trip, we visited the headquarters of Airtel. In that meeting, they explained to us the importance of that they believed that there major layers to building a smart city. The first layer is determining the needs and how the city should ideally look. Next, necessary technologies should be added in order to achieve those desired results. I thought that this was a very reasonable and wise approach to take because often times, as I’ve seen from smart cities initiatives, there is an overemphasis on using the latest technologies without understanding how it will support the foundation of the city. I believe that this is something we can take into consideration when consulting our own cities in the US. We must remember to understand the city’s visions before determining which technologies to use to achieve those goals.
IV. Importance of Community Member Involvement
On Day 5, our class had the opportunity to sit down with academic leaders at IIT Delhi.
The staff introduced us to the current sewage infrastructure and the importance of waste management in a smart city. They indicated their interest in helping Delhi, and eventually the rest of India, create effective waste management systems that will increase overall the cities’ overall sustainability. However, the faculty emphasized that in order to implement their novel systems, it will require more than technical integration but also cooperation amongst the common people. This was perhaps my greatest takeaway from the meeting. The reality is that change cannot be created without certain awareness from society. Without educating people about the consequences of issues such as pollution, a new system will be difficult to implement.
V. Advantages of Private-Public Partnerships:
One business model that India has successfully utilized is the public-private partnerships system. Essentially, private-public partnership requires involvement from both the private sector and the public sector in a certain project. We saw the use of this business model in action when we visited the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The DMRC has struck a good balance between the corporation and the government and assigned roles to each of the parties. This private-public partnership has allowed the DMRC to develop rapidly and maintain its high-quality performance. While the DMRC is ultimately a profit-making entity, it has a lot of accountability when it comes to safety and service because the government has taken on the role of overseeing those aspects. While the private corporation runs the metro on a day-to-day basis, the government plays in role in establishing standards the system must follow.
VI. Understanding culture
The last and perhaps most important key takeaway from my trip in India was really understanding the differences and similarities between many cultures. For example, in many ways, the United States is similar to India.. Both the US and India are large proponents of innovation and have continued to dedicate countless efforts to pushing beyond set boundaries. Yet, the US and India are also very different. Culturally, the two countries are not the same. The customs, the history, the every day attitudes of the people are not the same. To me, it is incredibly important to understand that because cultures are different, they have varying needs, and that solutions that work for one region will not necessarily work for another. When working on Smart Cities for the remaining of the semester, we must take the underlying lessons that we learned in India and keep it in mind. However, we must also remember that we are working with cities that have different histories, social-economic dynamics, and pain points. What has worked in India may not necessarily work here in our cities in the US due to the differences in culture and its people. In the next semester, I truly look forward to working with the cities and taking this unforgettable experience in India and applying to the course.
When I first enrolled in the course, I had very limited knowledge of what a “smart city” is. As a tech enthusiast, my definition of “smart city” was confined to mean a city that uses technology to gather data—and then analyzing that data to optimize transportation, land, rent, revenue, etc. Coming to India to learn from private corporations, government bodies, and world-renowned professors opened my eyes to the myriad components that embody what a “smart city” is. Coming to India ultimately taught me that there is no single definition of “smart city.” Day by day throughout our course travel, “layers of the onion” were being peeled back to discover what a smart city model would be. My conclusion is that there is no single smart city model that is universally applicable. The ironic (and annoying) thing is that models are rarely actionable and insightful. In my opinion, people who were too lazy to execute whatever the task was at hand created the concept of a “model”. However, the task at hand is to create a “smart city model” so I will entertain your wishes and try to offer a pseudo-model-esque-business-plan-ish that is also actionable and insightful by the end of the semester. Until then, below is an executive summary of things I learned and appreciated during my time in India. OK. Here we go…
-DISRUPT, BUT NOT TOO MUCH-
In the technology industry, products that are taken seriously and receive funding are ones that “disrupt” the industry. Disrupt means that it challenges the status quo and provides a new way, platform, or infrastructure that is better than what had existed before. Similarly, smart city solutions should disrupt (improve) the locale and its people…but not too much because user adoption is just as important (if not more) than the product itself. For example, we visited GIFT city on Day 3 of our trip. GIFT will be the financial hub of India, similar to how New York City is the finance hub of the U.S. and Hong Kong of Asia. Currently financial services companies operate in Mumbai, but space is limited and McKinsey and Co. has done research that signals tremendous growth of the finance sector in India. The government of Gujarat is preparing for this increase in demand by investing in GIFT. GIFT city boasts advanced waste management systems, tall glass skyscrapers, and solar energy solutions that make it an attractive place of residence. However, after three days hearing from prominent academic leaders who have emphasized the need of cultural sustainability, social responsibility, and economic frugality in the development of smart cities, I feel that GIFT is more a shiny, culture-neutral showcase that does not directly benefit the masses. Although GIFT has many smart aspects to it, its opulence is excessive and at the end of the day, will do little to improve the livelihood of normal Gujarati people. So basically GIFT is too disruptive in terms of changing up the lives of Gujarat’s residents. When building a smart city model, preserving culture is crucial. A smart city model can be compared to an iPhone case. A good iPhone case is not one that stifles the original beauty of the iPhone itself with obnoxious designs. Rather, a good iPhone case is one that protects the hardware, considers the original intent of iPhone’s design, and embraces the simplicity/minimalism that is the beauty of iPhone. Similarly, a smart city model should preserve the locale’s culture and embrace it—not mask it. When we met with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), they echoed this sentiment by focusing on frugal innovations that can be seamlessly adopted into people’s lives. The issue with IoT in countries like India (and even Midwest U.S) is that the technology is too advanced for the people to understand and properly use. The foundations for technology have not been set by society, resulting in a steep learning curve, which compromises cost efficiency of the technology.
-MOVE PEOPLE, NOT CARS-
Traffic control is a huge issue in India. I remember vividly my first time trying to cross a street in Ahmedabad. As we tried to make our way to a carnival, I found myself in a roundabout being encountered by cars, rickshaws, cows, children, and buses from every direction, all in a rush to get to where they needed to go. Honking was no longer a “warning” sign, rather just a customary practice to say “hello, I am driving.” Without traffic lights, stop signs, and crosswalks, crossing the street seemed like a life or death situation.
When we met with the Director of Transportation at IIT-Delhi, we asked what the difficulties were of converting Indian residents to a metro system. She said that owning a vehicle was a symbol of wealth, so even if the metro system were robust—those who could afford a vehicle would still choose to drive in traffic. Despite this cultural difference, we were able to visit the Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System in Ahmedabad and the New Delhi Metro System. I was blown away by the stellar cleanliness, accuracy, and price of both systems. Equipped with robust back-end and customer service system, both metros run frequently and in a timely fashion. Both systems embraced the IDEO “human centered design”. On the New Delhi metro, every first car in a train is a “women’s only” car. On the BRTS, busses stop in front of a “loading dock” so passengers can easily walk in and out in an orderly fashion without large gaps from the road. After hearing representatives from both systems, it is clear that much effort was put into conducting a user needs assessment and building a metro that people would actually prefer to use. In America, we often face issues of traffic and congestion by building for freeways. This solution is fundamentally flawed because building more freeways is a temporary “Band-Aid” if you will that doesn’t solve the actual problem. The problem is that people need a way to get to their destination and the roads do not optimize volume. The numbers of vehicles on the road will simply increase to meet, and then exceed, the capacity of the new highway. Then we are back to square one with traffic and congested roads. When we visited CEPT University, we were shown a pilot program done in Bogota, Columbia where instead of building more roads, they built bicycle lanes and sidewalks. Not only did this decrease the number of cars on the road, it also improved public health and brought the community together.
-MONEY IS A NECESSARY EVIL-
Lastly, we cannot ignore the fact that technology solutions must be profitable. We all know money does not grow on trees, and that the purpose of a corporation is the bring value to its shareholders. A viable technology solution for cities should improve the livelihood of city residents, should be easily adopted, should be green, and should definitely be a source of revenue for the city. Another profound learning while in India was how heavily private corporations collaborated with public government entities to bring about social citywide projects. We met with numerous Indian corporations, including HCL, Airtel, and Tyco. When reviewing all of the great initiatives HCL has done to improve Indian cities (automated payment at toll bridges, crop distribution software, mobile payments)—HCL directors admitted that to filter through the hundreds of proposals they receive, a major determining factor is how profitable the project is. What is unique about these collaborations is that they are incorporated as Public Private Partnerships (PPP). GIFT city, for example, is a PPP between GIFT and the Gujarati government. The Delhi Metro is a PPP between New Delhi Metro Corporation, Indian government, and Japanese government. Public Private Partnerships are brilliant because government has the power to enact policies to support a project, and corporations have the money to execute the projects. When advising for the Bay Area, our team will be looking at which private corporations the government should reach out to so that both parties will benefit.
Above are just a few key leanings that stood out to me during my time in India. The personal, professional, and educational growth I experienced is impossible to put in words. I can only say that I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity, and a huge thank you to Professor Darwin, our sponsors, our hosts, and the Haas School of Business. In conclusion, I would define a smart city as such: A smart city effectively delivers public services to citizens and businesses in an integrated and resource efficient way while enabling innovative collaborations to improve quality of life and grow the local and national economy.
After looking back at the past two and a half weeks of India, I am amazed at all the things we as a class have accomplished. From sticking together at crowded local fairs to working together to challenge our own ideas of smart cities, we have all grown in ways we would not have predicted before leaving for this trip.
I. Importance of Culture
Our first few days in Ahmedabad, India, revealed the importance of culture when it comes to planning smarter cities. We had our first introduction to the Indian culture at a local fair, where we got a raw exposure to the lifestyle. Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but from my observations (and my own experiences as an Indian), I would say that family and community are huge aspects of the Indian culture, and that was something that underlined many of conversations regarding smart cities.
On our first day, we were introduced to the idea of integrating culture into our conversations by Dr. Bimal Patel, a Berkeley alum now at the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT). He provided an alternative perspective on the idea of a “smart city”, putting it into context that there needs to be feasibility to the vision. He challenged the notion that a smart city uses technology and information to improve efficiency, reminding us that we need to ground the definition based on the needs of the specific area. If the culture of a community does not want to adopt a change in their lifestyle, the idea cannot and will not be feasible. His main point stressed the importance of maintaining an open dialogue between all stakeholders, from the private companies to the citizens, in order to understand all pain points and how they can be realistically remedied. We then got to see a use study of this idea during our visit to the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) center, a public-private partnership for transportation in Ahmedabad. We got to see the control room where every bus is tracked for efficiency and planning. Our presenter also walked us through the thought behind this organization that intends to transform the image public transportation gets. We got to see how the BRTS is directly solving many of the problems current public transportation is experiencing and how it is solving those problems. For instance, one customer pain point was that women felt unsafe standing at bus stations in the evenings. BRT stations are enclosed structures that only ticketholders can access. Furthermore, each station also has a security officer. Another pain point is that the general idea of taking public transportation does not have a good social image. To transform this notion, BRTS markets itself as much as a transportation system as a branding tool to market sustainable transportation measures. This way, people using BRTS can also see it as a way of supporting more sustainable lifestyles, which is well-respected in the Indian community. These are just some direct examples of how keeping the community pain points in mind can lead itself to a community-centric vision with implementable strategies.
Another aspect of the community that we heard about was how to work with cross-cultural interactions. This will be especially relevant in our Bay Area cities that are such great melting pots of cultures. We heard from Dr. Nagesh Rao, the director of MICA, who used metronomes as a metaphor to remind us to “keep the dissonance” alive, as it is in diversity that we have rich experiences to learn from. I think this idea resonated really well with us, since we all come from diverse backgrounds and contribute different perspectives to the different communities we are a part of back home.
One of my personal favorite examples of how communities can be integrated with the technology that is moving towards “smarter” cities is Maulik Singh’s C2C startup, ShareHero. His idea takes advantage of 2 pain points, increased waste and limited resources to meet demands. By connecting these two dots, Maulik Singh is trying to show that we can be more efficient with our resources if we share what we already have. This idea was also nicely complimented by Mr. Anil Gupta of IIM-Ahmedabad. With all the new technology being developed, there seems to be a craze with creating new gadgets. Mr. Gupta challenged this notion by saying instead of changing what we use, we should change our focus to changing how we use what we already have. This way, we both change the mindset of a community, thereby incorporating the people in the transformation, and we minimize unnecessary production and wastage of resources.
To wrap up our time in Ahmedabad, we learned from the roots on our last day- we took a heritage walk through an older neighborhood, where we got to see seemingly simple innovative ideas that have kept these communities together for many years. For instance, in many of these neighborhoods, there is a communal whiteboard in a central area where people can post reminders for the community (such as townhall meetings, birthdays, etc). The neighborhood design reflected that the planners kept the people in mind. Having a communal area is very important for encouraging communication between neighbors and building the community’s identity.
Our time in Ahmedabad taught us to remember the human elements when we consider the business planning aspect of smart cities. While profit may be one of the bottom lines, society’s reception to the change is also another aspect that is essential to the viability of any changes in a community.
II. Technology as a backbone
Our time in New Delhi transitioned us to another mind framework: how technology has undergone its own transformations to support the economic and physical growth of cities.
One of the first tech-incorporated projects we were introduced to was at IIT New Delhi. Engineering professors presented us with a case study of an ongoing project with sustainable design in storm and sewage drainage systems. The new model aims to address existing drain inefficiencies by understanding local problems and getting the community members to take initiative to restore their communities. This project mobilizes the community via technology. Citizens can report problems and suggestions via mobile devices and other technological methods of contact with the government. This project highlights how technology can support the vision of a smart but also community-oriented city.
We also got the chance to meet with executives at HCL, an IT & software development company that offers a variety of services in the development of SMART cities. Our speakers prefaced the discussion by defining SMART cities as those that include economic prosperity, quality of life, and participatory social engagement. One of our earlier concerns was that a shift to a more technological city may distance certain groups within communities, such as those who have limited access to mobile devices, for instance. However, HCL was able to showcase how its services can provide the infrastructure for digitalization and modernization to bring all members of the community on board with the changes.
Later that week, we got the chance to visit the Bharti Airtel office, India’s largest telecommunications services provider. Airtel’s business model emphasizes a B2B model, where Airtel would build the infrastructure to get contracted for smart city implementation. For Airtel, this specifically means building the network of services they want to provide in public safety, education, transportation, e-governance, etc. Thus, Airtel’s diverse portfolio of services allows them to work in different aspects of the smart city. Over time, these organizations could even consider specializing into certain areas (energy efficiency, safety, etc), achieving economies of scale and reaching a wider range of people.
Our trip to India gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the future of technology juxtaposed with the historical culture of India, culminating in Modi’s vision of creating smart cities. While this executive summary was not exhaustive by any means, it did give me a chance to reflect on the lessons and memories we are going back to the Bay Area with. I am looking forward to the work we will be doing with our projects when we return!
After spending a couple of weeks in India, we’ve learned so much and yet we’ve only started the conversation on how best to promote economic growth in India. It was an incredibly fascinating – and humbling – experience to be immersed in another country that is very optimistic about its future. Coming into this class, I thought that smart cities were defined as futuristic hubs of cutting-edge technology. While that can certainly be an aspect of a smart city, one of the biggest takeaways I got from this trip is that there is no single definition for a smart city since we’ve seen many innovations that would make a city smarter, but not necessarily more high-tech. In a very general sense, improvements to a city’s infrastructure and its society will make it smarter. Doing this will require 1) Support from the Government, II) Increased Use of Technology, III) True Understanding of Society’s Needs, and IV) Preservation of India’s Culture.
I. Support from the Government
Small to mid-size enterprises play a critical role in India’s future, but there is much red tape that needs to be lifted in order to unlock their full potential. For decades, India has implemented a policy of protectionism, which prevents foreign companies from competing with domestic companies in many industries. While well intentioned to protect infant industries, this policy stifles free trade and can hurt the people it’s meant to help because it gives little incentives to domestic industries to improve efficiency and can prevent India from benefiting from comparative advantage by specializing in what it’s best at. We spoke to a representative from Tyco who believes that it’s inevitable that India will open up because of enormous interest in investing from the rest of the world. I believe that this the right decision for India to make.
A key project that shows India’s willingness to cut down on the red tape is Delhi’s metro. The majority of its funds came from a special loan with a very low interest rate from the Government of Japan that the Indian government negotiated for. This is a stark contrast to the additional hurdles that transit agencies have to overcome in the US, where a bill has to pass the local legislature and then the electorate votes on whether to approve the authorization of municipal bonds to fund the construction of new public transit. This model is unlikely to change in the US because of the historical relationships between state and federal governments over shared sovereignty. However, power is much more centralized in India especially in the metro, which is headed by one technocrat and is empowered to quickly make decisions to improve public transit. This is the type of action that will push India forward.
II. Increased Use of Technology
Information technology can be a solution to many of India’s basic infrastructure needs. In order to keep track of the population of the world’s largest democracy, HCL developed the UIDAI system for India, which provides a unique identifying number to each citizen to use to open a bank account, borrow money, keep track of medical records, obtain welfare benefits etc. UIDAI promotes trust, especially in the financial system where banks need a way to track an applicants’ credit history to determine whether the applicant is willing and able to pay back a loan. Such a recordkeeping system would not work if each person didn’t have a unique identifying number. While functionally identical to social security numbers in the US, the key difference lies in the feature that whenever a citizen uses his unique number, he must biometrically verify his identity, which dramatically cuts down potential identity theft problems that usually come with the SSN. UIDAI is one technology that when made available at a low cost to the entire population, will streamline access to a wide variety of basic services to Indian citizens of nearly all socioeconomic statuses.
Tyco is developing technology to create smart infrastructure for cities, not just basic infrastructure. The firm developed a RFID tag with a vehicle ID system so that when a car is driven across the country, the national highway authority can track its movements. This can greatly assist police in finding stolen vehicles, which will increase security in India. Data from this system would also be useful to create a traffic management system to map out the flow of traffic. The roads of many Indian cities, especially Jaipur, are jam-packed with cars that move slowly because of lack of traffic lights. Such a traffic management system will provide crucial information for city planners to determine the infrastructure needed to expand cities and efficiently manage the movement of people in the world’s most populous democracy. But Tyco isn’t stopping there: there is ample opportunity to add more products and seamlessly integrate all these solutions together. For example, since an RFID tag is already installed in the vehicle, might as well add a feature to the tag so that all of the car’s parking fees, toll payments, and verification of documentation required at border checkpoints can be automated, which will eliminate the need for manual processing and further make traffic flow more smoothly. Because the initial cost to implement such an infrastructure is very high, the government will need to step in and bear the burden of this cost and then gradually utilize cost savings to further improve the system and add additional functions.
III. Truly Understand Society’s Needs
Creating sustainable cities requires a careful evaluation of the needs of all stakeholders. What is essential often cannot be spotted immediately. From our meeting with researchers from IIT, we learned that technology in itself is not enough to create a smart city. The researchers executed a plan to clear away sewage the storm drains of Delhi, but the population also needs to be educated on the negative impact of dumping sewage in the drams. Without behavior modification from a mass education campaign, the drain will quickly be filled with sewage again after the cleaning.
Ms. Rekha Sethi, who is the CEO of the All India Management Assocation (AIMA), pointed out that there are not enough skilled workers for blue-collar jobs. In Indian culture, there is a mindset that getting a college degree is necessary to become successful, when in reality, jobs for graduates often pay less than blue-collar jobs in India. Part of the reason for this is that there is a negative stigma attached to jobs that require handwork, including plumbers and electricians. Not only are there not enough skilled workers, there aren’t enough workers who are trained in their craft rather than those who just learned from their parents and on the job. But we can’t afford to have untrained workers learn on job while building the smart cities of the future. As government officials decide on which policies to implement to promote smart cities, they will need to craft policies for the education sector to fill in this skills gap. AIMA is leading this effort by implementing skills training programs that increase awareness for blue-collar jobs that can often pay more than the white-collar jobs that every college graduate fights for.
When I think of innovation, I usually assume that it can only be achieved with large amounts of money spent in a company’s research and development lab. But innovation doesn’t always have to be expensive. Professor Anil Gupta of the India Institute of Management talked about innovations that come from the poor. Because of a lack of material resources, it’s inevitable that the poor will use their mental resources, which is their imagination, to invent frugal innovations that are extremely affordable. One such example is a refrigerator that utilizes wasted heat to provide hot water and keep food warm. No big company has developed such a useful and affordable invention. The poor do not have to wait for someone else to come up with solutions; those who are ingenious can develop it themselves as a response to their limited resources.
IV. Preserve India’s Cultural Legacy
Photos alone cannot do justice to the Taj Mahal, so one day, we took a break from corporate presentations to visit this grand mausoleum. An important feature that photos of tourists “pinching” the top of the Taj is missing is all the intricate carvings in its walls. Upon closer inspection, I was impressed by all of the detailed and symmetric inlay work done by the Persian artisans hired by Emperor Shah Jahan. This incredible preservation taught us that as our society rapidly progresses forward, we should never forget our rich cultural legacy.
There is also much to learn from such historical monuments. I visited a fort in Jaipur and was impressed that whenever I stepped inside a building, it instantly felt cooler due to the building material used. This reminded me of Professor Srini’s words, whom we had visited at IIT a week ago. As someone who teaches humanities at a STEM institute, he made the insightful observation that Indian architects keep pushing for more of the same glass skyscrapers that are prevalent in Western countries, but it would be very inefficient to climate control these buildings in the sweltering heat of India. Instead, if they looked back in the history of India, they would discover that Indians had created a strong material for construction that would keep buildings cool without electricity. Such a forgotten innovation from the past is what engineers should continue to develop to adapt to today’s needs and promote environmental sustainability. History has much to teach us, but we will need to preserve it so that we can pass on these lessons to future generations.
In the end, every country will have its own definition of a “smart city.” This will depend on its cultural history, the needs of its people, and its vision of the kind of city it aspires to be. I look forward to using these lessons to help the mayors of the Bay Area, and I am incredibly grateful for this unique learning opportunity.