ABSTRACT
The terms ‘participation’ and ‘civic engagement’ are increasingly deployed to signify a range of practices that seek to redirect urban government and socially embed the process of marketisation. A key premise of the ongoing reforms in urban governance is that a combination of user-participation and marketisation of service delivery can deliver better outcomes for citizens. Two rapidly growing neighbourhoods in the city core, Indiranagar and Koramangala, are subject to a set of problems centred on commercialisation, gentrification and property values. Many brand outlets and retail chains have recently opened in these neighbourhoods catering primarily to an elite clientele. Land prices in some sections of these neighbourhoods are among the highest in the city. Violation of planning norms and procedures is, however, not restricted to residents of non-elite areas. Contestations are also exacerbated when large infrastructure projects are sited in residential neighbourhoods in a bid to achieve world-class city status.
