During the question hour of a session on Retrofitting Suburbia by Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones who was in the city last weekend, a young architecture student raised a query that possibly resonated with the rest of the audience. Citing the example of the Coastal Road project, and how public opinion­—from affected parties like the Koli community, and experts like environmentalists and urban planners—were not consulted when the blueprint was created, he was curious to know if things were better in the US.

Professor Dunham-Jones elaborated to a fair extent on the process in her country, and how it depended on whether it was a Federal, State or a local project. People power was quite vocal, thanks to a robust, democratic process, where experts were actively drawn in to implement regional, suburban projects. If these projects weren’t people-friendly, cases between the people and the Federal or State governments would drag on in court for years, even decades. It was a bittersweet pill. Only coming generations in this city will be able to pass the verdict on how much our infrastructure projects impacted lives, for better or for worse. For now, we have the answer, based on the disruptive nature of our daily routines as the city and its suburbs get ‘upgraded.’ Nobody asked us if we’re okay with it.