We live in a rapidly urbanizing world with 7 out of 10 people projected to live in urban areas by 2050.
90% of this projected growth will take place in the global south of which a significant portion will occur in India. Current estimates suggest 36% (400 million) of India’s population is urban and, by 2050, this number will double to 800 million.
Indian Cities will have to focus on creating new jobs, creating denser employment locations, aggregating land for planned development and driving integrated planning around large investments like metro rail along with ensuring impacts due to changing climate are incorporated in project design.
We live in a rapidly urbanizing world with 7 out of 10 people projected to live in urban areas by 2050. 90% of this projected growth will take place in the global south of which a significant portion will occur in India. Current estimates suggest 36% (400 million) of India’s population is urban and, by 2050, this number will double to 800 million.
WRI India Ross Center’s ‘Data-Led Urban Planning’ integrated solution seeks to shift the discourse through informing policies and plans, participating in iconic demonstration projects and training and capacity building. Strategic data-driven initiatives help address key urban challenges such as congestion, pollution, road safety, inequitable access to jobs, and core urban services to build more sustainable cities.
The last 2 decades have seen a rampant rise in environmental challenges being faced by cities and countries globally. In India, too the surmounting challenges related to air pollution, waste disposal, depletion of natural resources, urban heat island effect and the loss of biodiversity, amongst others have been increasing.
Air quality in India has deteriorated significantly over the past two decades, owing to population growth, increasing numbers of vehicles, use of fossil fuels, inefficient transportation systems, poor land use patterns, industrialization, and ineffective environmental regulations.
WRI India’s on-going research offers insights on the nexus of rapid urbanization, climatic uncertainties and the increasing frequency of natural disasters such as floods and droughts. Incidences of urban flooding are brought about by the confluence of growing impermeable cover, loss of natural spaces, location of development in the paths of water flow, solid waste dumping on water bodies and severe rain events.
Cities must treat urban greens as an amenity and an infrastructure system that can mitigate heat stress and enhance the quality of life of its residents. Green spaces in cities offer many health, economic, environmental & social benefits.
WRI India provided new, innovative, insightful ideas for Bangalore's strategic planning and an orderly way for integrating overgrown villages on the periphery into the extended city. Their inputs were part of the city restructuring committee's recommendations to the government”
Member, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
Restructuring (BBMPR) Committee
As a policy, governance and institutional design advisor, WRI India Ross Center contributes to governance restructuring reports across different sectors in the urban context and extends technical assistance to city planning committees such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Restructuring (BBMPR) Committee among others.
