ABSTRACT

This chapter presents case study which examines Bangalore's transformation into India's Silicon Valley, focusing on the changing urban landscapes. It examines a brief economic history of the city of Bangalore, highlighting its past as a divided city with colonial and precolonial roots. It also looks at the emergence of Bangalore as the hub of the information technology (IT) industry in India. The chapter highlights the specific transformation of the city spaces of Bangalore due to the influence of the IT sector, looking especially at new spaces of urban production and consumption. It demonstrates how specific spaces of urban production and consumption, directly or indirectly related to the IT industry, have emerged in Bangalore to cater to the rising demands of those who work in IT sector. IT-led development has clearly created complex and contentious urban transformations in India. In another mark of modern consumption, lifestyle apartments have taken Bangalore by storm.