| Abstract |
After the regime change in 2014, India’s federal policy shifted its focus from rural development to the cities. The Smart City Mission 2015, initiated to achieve the policy focus, exposed bureaucrats to the de-democratising influence of consultocracy. This article analyses the effects of consultocracy on public participation conducted for street design projects in Pune city from 2016 to 2020. The review reveals a contradiction between the consultant’s ideas of street design and public perceptions. The tokenistic approach of authorities, lack of tools, and insufficient experience led consultants to struggle in contributing to public participation, resulting in their withdrawal from public consultation. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. |
