Urbanisation in India: Towards Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Cities

Source: The post “Urbanisation in India: Towards Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Cities” has been created based on “Urbanisation in India: Towards Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Cities” published in “Indian Express” on 25th August 2026.

UPSC Syllabus: GS 3- Indian Economy

Context: Delhi’s Master Plan for 2047 aims to create a richer, taller and better-connected global city. However, urban planning is not merely a technical exercise of land use, density and infrastructure; it determines who gets access to housing, employment and public spaces and who benefits from rising land values.

Major concerns

1. Affordable housing and spatial inequality:
   Housing in peripheral areas may be formally affordable, but high transport costs, long commutes and limited access to employment can make it unaffordable for low-income households.
2. Exclusion of informal workers:
   Street vendors, construction workers, domestic workers, sanitation workers, small traders and delivery riders are essential to Delhi’s economy but are often treated as obstacles to a clean and planned city.
3. Needs of gig workers are overlooked:
   Delivery riders require not only roads but also safe parking, toilets, drinking water, charging points, rest spaces and affordable housing near employment centres.
4. Inadequate rehabilitation of informal settlements:
   The principle of “Jahan jhuggi, wahan makan” is important because relocation to distant housing can disconnect residents from employment and livelihoods.
5. Caste and occupational inequalities:
   Access to housing, land, dignity and public services is also shaped by caste and occupation. Workers in sanitation, waste management and other precarious occupations face insecurities that income-based classifications alone cannot capture.
6. Gendered impact of urban planning:
   Women’s inclusion requires more than toilets and childcare facilities. The location of affordable housing affects commuting, unpaid care work and access to employment, making housing, transport and care infrastructure interdependent.
7. Accessibility for persons with disabilities:
   A ramp alone does not ensure accessibility if connecting pavements are inaccessible or public transport cannot be used independently. Planning must enable independent movement between homes, workplaces, educational institutions, healthcare and recreational spaces.
8. Public investment and private land gains:
   Metro lines and commercial corridors can increase surrounding land values. If these gains primarily accrue to property owners while poorer residents are displaced, public investment can generate private wealth while socialising the costs of displacement.
9. Visibility versus recognition of the informal economy:
   The experience around the 2023 G20 Summit, when vendors were removed from prominent locations and informal settlements were screened from public view, highlighted the contradiction between Delhi’s dependence on informal workers and its reluctance to acknowledge their presence.

Way forward

1. Adopt an integrated approach to housing, transport and employment so that affordable housing is located close to livelihood opportunities.
2. Plan for informal and gig workers as legitimate urban stakeholders by providing essential facilities such as rest areas, toilets, parking and charging infrastructure.
3. Ensure livelihood-sensitive rehabilitation so that relocation does not sever residents from employment and social networks.
4. Make public infrastructure universally accessible by integrating accessible pavements, transport and public facilities into planning.
5. Ensure equitable sharing of land-value gains generated by public infrastructure so that development does not become a mechanism for displacement.

Conclusion: The success of Delhi 2047 should not be measured only by whether the capital becomes richer, taller or more connected. Its real test is whether the people who build, clean, deliver, drive and sustain the city can continue to afford a place in its future. Thus, Delhi’s master planning must move from a numbers-based approach towards inclusive, livelihood-sensitive and people-centred urbanisation.

Question: Delhi’s Master Plan for 2047 seeks to make the capital globally competitive through housing, transit-oriented development, economic corridors and infrastructure. Discuss the major challenges of ensuring that such urban development remains inclusive and affordable for the city’s vulnerable and working populations.

Source: Indian Express