Better Cities, Better Growth: India's urban opportunity provides new analysis across 479 Indian cities – using an innovative combination of satellite data of night-time lights, census, environmental, and economic data – which demonstrates a clear link between more compact, connected urban growth and stronger economic performance in India, corroborating global findings.
India can foster a better urbanisation – one that promotes more rapid economic transformation, improves the quality of life of city dwellers, and curbs the potential harmful spillovers of urbanisation, such as congestion, wasteful energy use, and unwanted pollution. Better, smarter urban growth could be an economic opportunity for India worth up to 6% of GDP by mid-century, with significant savings at the household level.
Cities are engines of economic growth and social change. About 85% of global GDP in 2015 was generated in cities. By 2050, two-thirds of the global population will live in urban areas.
Considered to be the largest contributor to the growth in the world’s urban population in the coming years, India and its urbanisation process have reached a critical juncture.
Sustainable transport systems are crucial for underpinning the economic performance and prosperity of nations. They are also critical for tackling global climate change and reducing local air pollution. This is particularly the case in the world’s urban areas.