Pandemic management, citizens and the Indian Smart cities: Reflections from the right to the smart city and the digital divide

Resilience of Smart Cities to the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Context of Sustainable Development

“…In the analysis of the Indian cities response to the pandemic, the researchers came to the opposite conclusion: smart cities in India demonstrated high COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates. The authors justified this by the lack of initiatives to link marginalized citizens with information technologies and the strengthening of the digital divide during the pandemic [46]. Li F. arguing that there is a connection between digital exclusion and the pandemic outcomes (such as COVID-19 incidence, mortality and vaccination) based on county-level analysis in the United States [47].…”

Comparative Study of Internet Accessing Households in Urban and Rural Areas Before the Pandemic During the Pandemic

“…Research findings show that internet access and use tends to be higher in cities than in rural areas, creating digital divisions that can strengthen regional social and economic disparities. Kiptalam have been introduced in both rural and urban schools, this study shows that there are significant differences in their utilization rates (Mullick & Patnaik, 2022). Urban schools tend to use the Internet more intensively for educational purposes, giving students access to a greater abundance of digital resources and online learning compared to rural schools.…”

“…Factors precipitating these discrepancies primarily include continuous advancements in technology, especially within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This era has seen the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), revolutionizing and reshaping the landscape of internet technology, extending from 4G to 5G and anticipated 6G generations and beyond (Ali Imron, 2021; Mullick & Patnaik, 2022).…”

Smart Cities Mission in the Face of COVID: Scope and Scale of ‘Smart’ COVID Responses in India

“…'Survey' apps gather information from door-to-door surveys, such as the Internal Survey App in Bhopal, developed by Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) to determine the primary contacts of the positive cases in areas where people could not afford a smartphone or internet [24]. In a heterogeneous country like India, where only 24% of citizens own smartphones [25], it is surprising that there were only three nation-wide, two state-wide, and four city-wide applications-within the 20 smart cities investigated-dedicated to collecting data through surveys. The second broad functional category of COVID applications, namely 'Special medical services' (n = 66), is divided into six subcategories-'Medical Information', 'Medical advice', 'Vaccination', 'Telemedicine', 'Helpline', and 'SOS'.…”

“…Due to the restrictions imposed during the COVID lockdowns, the subaltern responses to COVID had to embrace mundane (widely available) technology-enabled smart communication platforms such as WhatsApp and Zoom. For instance, Mullick and Patnaik [25] describe how two mostly women-dominated workforces from ASHA (community health centers) and Anganwadi (neighborhood/rural childcare centers)-both severely impacted by COVID lockdowns-joined together by forming 190,000 WhatsApp groups and 2,200,000 neighborhood groups across the nation to support each other and other vulnerable people in need. Such massive bottom-up mobilization in mostly subaltern sectors and spaces then, in turn, attracted the attention of several state-and city-level governments, and relief packages, social security pensions, and interest-free loans were provided to these self-help groups.…”