Tathagata Chatterji, Ph.D. ISSN:L0537-9679 Institute of Town Planners, India Journal 20 x 2, April - June 2023 69 Tathagata Chatterji, Ph.D.; Professor and Head, Department of Urban Management and Governance, School of Human Settlements, XIM University Bhubaneswar Abstract This paper discusses the Smart City plan proposal of Bhubaneswar which ranked frst in the national challenge round competition under the Smart Cities Mission in 2015. Bhubaneswar’s Smart City plan exemplifes a technology-enabled road map for a medium-sized city, towards people-centric planning with a focus on citizen engagement and social inclusion. However, planning for smart cities is a continuous process. While the projects initiated under the Smart Cities Mission acted as a lighthouse, ultimately, it would be important for the local governments to take ownership and move forward. Moreover, the deployment of digital technology needs to be linked to achieving specifc developmental objectives in a measurable way to optimize resource utilization. For this to happen, Smart City Plans need to be integrated with the city’s overall master planning framework. 1. INTRODUCTION Over the past two decades, the smart city phenomenon had gained worldwide popularity. More and more cities are applying advanced digital technologies including big data, block chain, the internet of things (IoT), and artifcial intelligence to address urban planning, management, and governance challenges. Indeed, the application of digital technology and data in city systems can help to optimize resource allocation, improve functional effciency, reduce wastage of time and material; improve performance monitoring and widen scope the for-citizen engagement (Alizadeh, 2021; Schiavone, Paolone, and Mancini, 2019). However, the smart city phenomenon has drawn criticism. Global technology corporations have been promoting the concept of “smart cities” for the past 20 years, and their roles in urban affairs are steadily expanding. Yet, there is no commonly accepted defnition or set of characteristics that defne what makes a city “smart.” Without a clear defnition, there are concerns that the idea will be used for corporate branding activities (Hollands, 2008). It is also being argued that digital technology is not an end in itself, and there are concerns about what smart cities have provided in terms of actual results. International organizations like the OECD advocate for smart cities to include a balanced combination of human, social, cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological factors (OECD, 2020). UN-Habitat advocates smart cities be linked to sustainable development goals. Thus, technology is seen as an enabler Planning and Development of Smart Cities: A case study of Bhubaneswar Tathagata Chatterji, Ph.D.