By 2050, 800 million Indians will live in cities — more than the entire current population of Europe. The decisions we make today about urban planning will shape the lives of generations.
Our current model — dense city centers, sprawling suburbs, car-oriented infrastructure — is unsustainable. It creates pollution, traffic, inequality, and disconnection from nature. We must reimagine cities as compact, walkable, transit-oriented, mixed-use environments.
The “15-minute city” concept is instructive: every essential service — work, school, shopping, healthcare, recreation — within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. This requires diverse zoning, quality public spaces, robust public transit, and protection of open spaces.
India has unique advantages: traditional urban forms that are inherently compact, dense, and walkable. Old Delhi, Pondicherry’s French Quarter, Jaipur’s Pink City — these are models of sustainable urbanism. Modern Indian cities must rediscover these principles while embracing 21st-century technology.