The paper describes the experience of India where the tide of neo-liberal globalisation is changing the face of cities and forcing a radical rethinking of the principles of urban planning. The pressure to attract foreign investment in urban areas is the primary motivation in the official campaign to convert Indian metros like Delhi and Mumbai into ‘world-class cities’. In the process, the rights, needs and interests of legitimate citizens are being ruthlessly overruled and eroded. There has also been a crystallisation of opinion among the middle and affluent classes in the city, the result of a focused campaign to demonise those who live in working-class informal settlements. Underlying this model of urbanisation is a notion of cities as exclusive spaces that are not open to all citizens but can be entered “by invitation only”.
Neo-liberal economic policies, the undermining of institutions of governance, the militarisation of society and the resurgence of fundamental ideologies have constricted democratic spaces and legitimised the subordination of women. Women from extremely marginalised communities in Delhi to resist and challenge this situation by staking their claims to a legitimate place and voice in urban planning.