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Kodag et al. Dis Prev Res 2023;2:12 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/dpr.2023.11 Page 3 of 16

efficiency of urban operations and services, and competitiveness while ensuring that it meets the needs of
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present and future generations with respect to economic, social and environmental aspects” . The
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planning of the infrastructure of the city needs to be compatible with the advanced ICT . As the smart city
drive was picking up globally, India launched its Smart City Mission in 2015. The Union Ministry of Urban
Development Government of India, has the responsibility of implementing the National Smart Cities
Mission, which is an urban renewal and retrofitting program aimed at developing 100 smart cities across the
country. The initiatives undertaken by Smart Cities Mission have the potential to influence spatial planning,
which directly or indirectly influences disaster risk. The objective of this study is, therefore, to understand
how the smart city initiatives of India influence the spatial planning components. Do the initiatives
contribute to DRR?

Smart city mission, India
The urban population of the country is increasing, with approximately 40% of the population residing in
urban areas . The urban areas of the country need to strengthen themselves to provide comprehensive
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development of physical, institutional, social, and economic infrastructure to absorb the population growth.
All of this aims to improve the quality of life of the citizens and attract people and investments to the city.
Thus, “Smart Cities” is an approach adopted by the Ministry of Urban Development Government of India,
for the development of the urban areas. It is a comprehensive program where the Union Ministry of Urban
Development plays the primary role, and the states and Urban Local Bodies (ULB) play a key supportive
role in the development of smart cities. It also requires the participation of the residents in making key
decisions about the development issues of the city. Figure 1 lists the core infrastructure elements included in
the Smart City Mission. The objective of the Smart City Mission is to promote “cities that provide core
infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and
application of “Smart” Solutions” .
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As per the Mission, the focus is on sustainable and inclusive development, and the idea is to look at compact
areas and create a replicable model that will act as a lighthouse to other aspiring cities. The Smart City
Mission promotes area-based development by retrofitting or redeveloping the existing areas in the cities,
including the slums, through better planning of spaces. It also encourages the greenfield developments to
accommodate the increasing population density. Integrating the technological solutions to collate data and
information for improving the delivery of civic services would be the top agenda for the smart solutions,
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with governance mechanisms strengthened . The investments in the ICT system promoted by the smart
mission can help in many ways for DRR, from early warning to response and recovery .
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Smart city initiative - Pune, Maharashtra, India
Pune is a diverse and vibrant city, ranking 8th in the country, located in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is
famous for its education, automobile industry, and IT industry and is rated as the most livable city. Pune
has ranked second in the top 20 list of 100 smart cities selected by the Ministry of Urban Development
Government of India, after Bhubaneswar. The Smart City Initiative of Pune focuses on two approaches:
first, retrofitting area-based development, and second, providing pan city solutions. Figure 2 shows the list
of 51 projects selected by the Pune Smart Initiative for the area-based development and pan city solutions.
The initiative was launched in Pune in 2016, with the highlight being the “citizen engagement programs”.
The initiative was welcomed by citizens with huge excitement. The vision and goal for smart city
development in Pune are to leverage its rich culture and natural heritage, strong human capital, and robust
business environment, aspiring to become one of the most livable cities in India by solving its core
infrastructure issues in a future-proof way .
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