I spent most of my childhood in a rural suburb of Annapolis, Maryland, but I’ve lived in Manhattan for the past two years. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to a few cities in the United States and around the world—Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Rio, Belize City, etc. But Bangalore, undoubtedly, is unlike any place I’ve ever been. After living in New York for so long and becoming accustomed to (perhaps even dependent on) the orderly grid system of numbered streets and avenue blocks, adjusting to the seeming chaos and disorder of Bangalore has been much more difficult than I’d anticipated.
One of my IHP classmates relayed a quote from her host mother, saying, “Americans can’t handle chaos. Indians don’t know anything else.” Based on what I’ve observed and experienced in the last three weeks, I believe that there must be at least some truth in this sentiment. It’s not only the traffic in Bangalore that reeks of disarray—although the images of two-wheelers careening through standstill traffic and rickshaws speeding the wrong way down one-way streets are certainly striking. From what I’ve seen, the administration here is incredibly ineffective and any functioning of the government is impeded by a corrupt bureaucratic jumble and an unfortunate disconnect between the people’s needs and official action.
In New York City, I depend on a functioning government to keep my life in working order: When I flip a light switch in my apartment, the space is instantly illuminated. When I turn on the fawcett in the kitchen, potable water streams into the sink. When I toss my garbage down the shoot every morning, I never have to question whether it will be picked up. And if I want to meet a friend at a coffee shop downtown, I know that I can hop on the 1-train and be there in just under an hour. I don’t think the citizens of Bangalore can reasonably rely upon any of these certainties that I have too often taken for granted.
I have always been fascinated by the process of urbanization and the development of cities, but I’ve studied it predominately within the context of the United States. When the population of an area begins to expand, the government must respond by ensuring that the needs of the growing population are met. Sufficient services and amenities must be provided to all residents, in order to maintain an adequate standard of living across the city. These necessary amenities include clean water, regular waste disposal services, efficient public transportation, provisions for safety and security, and assurances of property rights. Noticing an incredible lack of these basic elements in Bangalore has really challenged my prior notions of urbanization.
According to my host mother, “Bangalore used to be a Garden City and a Pensioners’ Paradise. Now it’s a concrete city bustling with the IT crowd. Bangalore has grown. Too fast.” What is happening to this city’s parks, lakes, and green spaces? As roads are widened, trees are being felled to make way for heavier volumes of traffic. In some parts of Bangalore, new metro stations are being built in place of parks that were previously havens for local citizens. Water tanks around the city—which have vast commercial and cultural value for native inhabitants—are being sold off and privatized by wealthy restaurants and hotel chains.
I am not anti-development, nor am I anti-urbanization. I love cities! But I fear that without properly organized planning, input from marginalized communities, or concern for the lower and middle classes, the unchecked growth of Bangalore will continue on a utilitarian path and bury many in social and economic despair, while consistent confusion within the administration will perpetually fuel the chaotic mire of this city’s streets.
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