The rise of Anywhere City

Is generic globalised architecture erasing the memory, identity, and character of Indian cities?

- Manoj Sharma

[e-mail] NEW DELHI: Gurugram's skyline glints with mirrored facades, soaring office towers, and luxury condominiums—symbols of aspiration in a globalising India. But to many long-time residents, such as Rajesh Bhardwaj, the city's transformation feels oddly disorienting. Visitors often tell him it reminds them of Dubai. "And I wonder why that is a compliment," he asks. "Shouldn't Gurugram feel like Gurugram?"

Across the country—from Bengaluru and Pune to New Town Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad—a similar story of uniformity is unfolding. Cities are morphing into indistinguishable zones of glass-and-steel high-rises, all derived from the same architectural catalogue.

At first glance, you could be in Dubai. Or Singapore. Or anywhere, really.

What's vanishing in the process, say architects and urbanists, is more than just variety in form. It's the character of a city, its memory, and its cultural grounding.

"Globalisation has undoubtedly expanded the architectural imagination in India," says architect and urbanist Dikshu Kukreja. "But in our pursuit of a global visual language, we are rapidly losing the nuances that define our cities. Architecture must be rooted—not just in place-specific design, but in memory, community, and climate. When every city begins to resemble another, we risk erasing the very distinctiveness that makes each Indian city unique."

Architect Manit Rastogi shares the concern. "We're witnessing the erosion of place-based design. Architecture is becoming a universal product—exportable, scalable, but often contextually irrelevant," he says. "The essence of a place isn't just about looks—it's about how people inhabit space, how buildings respond to their environment, and how cities tell their own stories. That narrative is fading fast."