Cities are “spatial manifestations of broader social forces and struggles,” contained and shaped by their built environment. Industrial capitalist modernity has been the driving force of urban development, and the commodification of “place” has led to cities being “converted into products to be sold in competitive markets.” The rush to achieve world city status has been exemplified by the government of Bangalore, where speculative urbanism and subsequent development-induced processes of displacement have resulted in mass social upheaval and a host of disastrous consequences for the urban and peri-urban poor. , who are victims of mega-infrastructure projects set to push Bangalore up the global city hierarchy. This essay will discuss the issues outlined in the blog, touching on speculative urbanism, the inaccurate application of gentrification theory to the Global South, and the colonial legacies that still shape Indian cities. We urgently need a postcolonial engagement with theories of gentrification and pushing the boundaries of existing theories from Euro-American cities, as land usurpations by elites in Indian cities have occurred through market and extraeconomic processes that do not they fit into the tidy box context of gentrification. Only then can we fully understand the processes that occur and how to address the problems they entail. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Robinson's critique of the strategies implemented to achieve world city status succinctly explains why Bangalore has undertaken a process of development-induced displacement, which Cernea explains is “not just the literal eviction from one's home, but includes also the expropriation of land and productive assets to pave the way for an alternative use of space”. Global cities often present cosmopolitanism as the aspiration of developing cities. There is a broad hierarchy, with global cities at the top, followed by off-map suburbs with global city aspirations. This is problematic as it not only influences what we think the optimal city is, but also affects the strategies implemented to achieve that status. In the case of Bangalore, increasing economic liberalization has led to the promotion of foreign investment and the development of market-driven economies. As a result, Bangalore has seen an increase from 13 IT companies in the early 1990s to 1,154 IT companies in 2003. The introduction of special economic zones (SEZs), new forms of governance (through parastatal agencies), urban reforms and the promotion of multinational investments in major infrastructure are only a fraction of the major changes brought to Bangalore in the 1990s. Thus, the explosion of the information technology sector, following rampant economic liberalization, was the spark that promoted an aggressive urban policy of development-induced displacement. Doshi describes how the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and large-scale projects funded by the World Bank, prioritize the mass displacement of groups of people to pave the way for beautification projects and provide direct infrastructure to the elites and classes medium-high. For example, JNNURM has received central government funding of up to $20 billion for development projects. Such policies link with ambitious manifestations of the ideal world city, intended to promote globally interconnected industries, elites, recreational facilities, and high-end commercial and residential real estate..