Fixing motorisation: The logics of infrastructure solutionism in Bengaluru

Abstract

Cities often deploy infrastructure-based solutions to tackle problems such as congestion caused by increasing motorisation rates. Such solutions include the introduction of complete streets or improved public transit systems. However, these solutions are often viewed as ‘quick fixes’ that are expected to resolve issues with ease. This article examines this phenomenon, which we call infrastructure solutionism, through two case studies in Bengaluru, India – re-shaping public transportation to attract car users through demand management, and redesigning major streets to accommodate varied users through parcelling. Through these case studies, it becomes evident that infrastructure solutions did not address the problems caused due to motorisation. Building upon the literature on technological solutionism in Science and Technology Studies, this article unpacks rationalities of infrastructure solutionism by examining material, valuational and expectational commitments mobilised through each case, and suggests that such solutions appear to be concerned with city image building, rather than addressing the chokehold of automobilisation.