Ditching laissez-faire, India plans a city

Ditching laissez-faire, India plans a city
By Anand Giridharadas
Published: May 10, 2007NAGPUR, India:

A year ago, this relatively small, forgettable city in the heart of India did not have an air-conditioned cinema. In the sweltering heat of May, the rich here were known to fly one hour to Mumbai, the financial hub of India, to see a movie. There they stocked up on Levi’s jeans and Domino’s pizza and other big-city treats that Nagpur failed to provide.

But in a social experiment highly unusual for this most unplanned of countries, the Indian government has handpicked Nagpur to be fattened and primped into an international metropolis.

Ditching laissez-faire, India plans a city – International Herald Tribune