Cities: Economic Powerhouses

Notwithstanding a rich and glorious tradition of city planning for hundreds of years, none of the major Indian cities rank in the top 100 liveable cities of the world, writes Joydeep Nayak

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CITIES are one of the most loveable, but chaotic creation of man. Now more than 57 % of the global population of 8 billion are living in the cities. We have devised multiple ways to grade the cities, so that they make sense and we can choose a city for our education or work or retirement.

Copenhagen, Denmark, has come out tops, as the best city in the world. It has scored a near perfect 98/100. And at the bottom of the heap of cities is Damascus, Syria, scoring a measly 30/100. And the city that you live in, is anywhere between Copenhagen and Damascus.

In India, we have been planning cities for thousands of years, with complete architectural evidence since the Indus Valley Civilisation.

One of the greatest writers on statecraft, Chankaya in his classic book Arthashastra, in the Mauryan period, 320 BC, has delved deep. Chanakya provides detailed guidelines for city planning, reflecting a sophisticated understanding of urban design, sustainability, and governance. The city planning of Arthashastra discusses (a) survey of the city topography and location (b) city layout and structure (c) zoning and functional areas (d) population (e) settlement management (f) infrastructure (g) safety (h) sustainability and (i) civic responsibility.

Despite such a rich and glorious tradition of city planning, for hundreds of years, none of the major Indian cities rank in the top 100 liveable cities of the world. We have around 400 cities in India with a population of more than 1 lakh and none of the cities make the list.

The top surveys categorise the cities on five important parameters. The five parameters are 1) Stability 2) Infrastructure 3) Healthcare 4) Culture & Environment 5) Education.