From Frozen Urbanism to a Civic Future: Development stakeholder perspectives on Kolkata Metropolitan Area’s Jute Mills

This article examines jute mill redevelopment in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), West Bengal, India, from the industry’s decline in the 1980s to the present. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with mill owners, planners, architects, and civil society representatives, we analyse the political, regulatory, and market forces shaping land use transitions on former industrial sites. Redevelopment outcomes have been driven primarily by private interests under permissive governance, producing upscale residential and commercial developments that largely exclude low-income former workers and nearby communities. Comparisons with Mumbai’s cotton mill redevelopment reveal recurring tensions between heritage preservation, affordable housing, and profit-driven urbanism in South Asian cities. We argue that meaningful reform requires stronger regulatory frameworks, community participation, and sustained investment in public amenities. Our findings contribute to planning scholarship on post-industrial urbanism in the Global South and offer empirical grounding for policy debates on brownfield redevelopment, heritage conservation, and inclusive urban development in rapidly growing cities.