Amy Kazim explore how chaotic urban growth and a political preference for rural government is beginning to hinder the development of India's largest cities.
In the last two decades, rural migrants lured by factory jobs have poured into urban centers, but they cities they now call home are fast turning into dystopias undone by population pressure and neglected infrastructure. These conditions are already a serious drag on economic growth and could threaten India's prospects in competition with neighbor and rival, China.
"According to the 2011 census, the number of Indians living in urban areas has surged to 400m – about 31 per cent of the population. That is up from just about 285m, or 28 per cent, in 2001. That urban population is expected to surge to well over 600m in the next two decades, as increasingly mobile youth pour out of the countryside."
"These cities are going to start collapsing under their own weight," Jahangir Aziz of JPMorgan, says of India's 10 biggest conurbations. "Local governments are in a state of denial – they don't accept that these cities are in such a state that within a short period of time it will become almost impossible for them to do any business. Business is there now only because there is a very huge cost of moving out."
FULL STORY: A Case Of Rise And Sprawl
As Temperatures Increase, Maps Show Sea-Level Rise Will Devastate Cities
Data visualizations illustrate the catastrophic consequences of single-digit global temperature increases.
Can Transit Oriented Development be Effective in India?
TOD as a planning tool is new to Indian cities, where the idea is being championed as a solution to congestion, environment quality and housing equity. Can this concept, developed for the North American city, be successful in Indian cities?
Ambitious Effort to Urbanize India
The Indian government is betting big with simultaneously building a massive high speed freight corridor between Delhi & Mumbai as well the physical infrastructure for 24 new cities that will become an industrial corridor.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service