Building Sustainable and Inclusive Cities in India: Key Challenges and Strategies

India’s cities are growing at a pace unmatched in human history. Every minute, around 30 people migrate from rural areas into urban centres, swelling the population of metros and small towns alike. By 2050, the country’s urban population is projected to nearly double to 951 million, with cities expected to generate over 70% of new jobs by 2030. Yet behind these glittering economic numbers lies a troubling reality: choked roads, sprawling slums, vanishing green spaces, and stark inequalities that divide the rich from the poor by mere metres. Building cities that are both sustainable and inclusive is no longer a distant ideal – it is an urgent necessity that will determine the country’s economic, social, and ecological future.

Over-urbanisation and the environmental cost of growth 🔗

The first major hurdle in creating sustainable cities is the sheer speed of unplanned urban expansion. Cities were never designed to absorb the millions arriving each year, and the consequences are visible everywhere – from congested streets to polluted rivers. According to a World Bank report, India will need more than 144 million new homes by 2070, and intense heat waves combined with urban heat island effects are already pushing city temperatures 3-4 degrees higher than surrounding areas.

Air, water, and waste under strain 🔗

Delhi alone adds over 1,800 new vehicles every day, contributing to air pollution levels the World Health Organization ranks among the most hazardous globally. Municipal solid waste collection remains incomplete across many urban areas, with a significant portion of waste either dumped in landfills or burned in the open. Water bodies that once acted as natural sponges have been encroached upon for real estate, leaving cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, and Mumbai vulnerable to alternating floods and droughts. The World Economic Forum notes that cities globally contribute nearly 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, with 37% coming from the built environment – and rapid expansion in India is accelerating that share.

The slum problem as an environmental indicator 🔗

The proliferation of slums is perhaps the clearest sign of stressed urbanisation. As per the 2011 Census, around 65.5 million Indians – roughly 17.4% of the urban population – lived in slums, and that number has continued to grow. These informal settlements typically develop on marginal lands such as railway tracks, drainage channels, and floodplains, making residents especially vulnerable to flooding, fires, and disease outbreaks. Slums are not just a housing crisis; they are a clear environmental warning that current urban systems cannot accommodate the people they claim to serve.

Economic inequalities and social exclusion 🔗

Indian cities tell two very different stories. On one side stand gleaming corporate towers, gated apartment complexes, and tree-lined boulevards. On the other lie crammed bastis where families share a single tap, a single toilet, and an uncertain tomorrow. This divide is not accidental – it is the product of decades of skewed planning that prioritised real estate value over equitable access.

Housing affordability and the urban poor 🔗

Mumbai’s prime real estate hovers at around US$480 per square foot, pushing low-income families into informal settlements where clean water and sanitation remain patchy. The University of Toronto India Foundation observes that affluent neighbourhoods enjoy reliable services while lower-income areas face chronic deficits in water, sanitation, and waste collection. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) aims to deliver crores of affordable homes, but the scale of the shortage means demand continues to outstrip supply.

Employment, informality, and access to services 🔗

A huge share of the urban workforce is engaged in the informal economy – as street vendors, domestic workers, construction labourers, and gig riders. They lack social security, fixed wages, or legal protection. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed just how precarious this group is when lockdowns left millions stranded without income or shelter. Beyond employment, access to quality education, healthcare, and public transport is heavily skewed in favour of higher-income groups. Scheduled Caste populations form a disproportionate share of slum dwellers in several states, showing how caste and class intersect to deepen urban exclusion.

Gender and the unsafe city 🔗

Women, transgender persons, and other marginalised groups often experience cities as unsafe and inaccessible. Poorly lit streets, inadequate public toilets, unreliable transport, and underrepresentation in planning bodies mean that women’s everyday mobility is constrained. Inclusive urbanisation requires designing cities where every resident – regardless of gender, caste, religion, or income – can move, work, and live with dignity.

Governance gaps and the planning deficit 🔗

Sustainability cannot be achieved without strong local institutions. Municipal corporations across the country are often financially weak, dependent on transfers from state and central governments, and unable to enforce master plans. The Drishti IAS analysis points out that urban planning in India is still largely restricted to land-use regulation, lacking integration with economic vision, climate action, and regional planning.

The 74th Amendment and unfinished decentralisation 🔗

The 74th Constitutional Amendment was meant to empower urban local bodies, but in practice, many of them have limited control over finances, staffing, or land-use decisions. Property tax collection is inefficient, user fees rarely cover service costs, and municipal bond markets are still underdeveloped. Without fiscal autonomy and technical capacity, cities cannot fund the long-term investments that sustainability demands.

Pathways to sustainable and inclusive cities 🔗

Despite these challenges, India is not without solutions. A combination of green infrastructure, climate-resilient design, inclusive policy frameworks, and stronger governance can transform cities into spaces of opportunity rather than sites of growing inequality.

Green and blue infrastructure 🔗

Integrating greenery, water bodies, and natural drainage systems into urban design can dramatically reduce flood risks, cool temperatures, and improve air quality. As an Observer Research Foundation paper highlights, blue-green infrastructure – combining seas, rivers, lakes, and wetlands with parks, trees, and gardens – offers a powerful response to climate hazards. Rain gardens, bioswales, permeable pavements, and rooftop greenery are simple yet effective tools that any city can adopt. Cities such as Indore and Surat have already shown how sustained investment in waste management and water systems can yield measurable improvements.

Climate resilience and disaster preparedness 🔗

With around 70% of the urban infrastructure required by 2047 still to be built, India has a rare opportunity to design resilience into the very foundation of its cities. This means demarcating high-risk flood zones, strengthening drainage systems, enforcing building codes in earthquake-prone areas, and adopting nature-based solutions over concrete-heavy alternatives. Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure could not only save lives but also add to GDP by reducing economic losses from heat waves and floods.

Affordable housing and slum upgradation 🔗

Rather than focusing on slum demolitions, the focus must shift to in-situ upgradation, secure tenure, and community-led redevelopment. Affordable rental housing for migrant workers, mixed-income neighbourhoods, and inclusionary zoning can reduce spatial segregation. Schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and the National Urban Livelihoods Mission attempt to address these gaps, but their effectiveness depends on participation by residents themselves.

Smart cities and technology with caution 🔗

The Smart Cities Mission has sanctioned thousands of projects across 100 cities, ranging from integrated command centres to better public spaces. Technology – IoT sensors, real-time traffic data, smart water meters – can make cities more efficient. However, smart should not mean exclusive. Digital systems must be designed so that street vendors, migrants, and slum residents are visible in the data, not erased from it.

Strengthening urban governance and finance 🔗

Sustainable cities need empowered local governments. This means strengthening municipal finances through property tax reforms, encouraging municipal green bonds, deploying public-private partnerships responsibly, and investing in the training of urban planners and administrators. Cities like Seoul and Singapore have shown how diversified revenue streams allow long-term planning, and India can adapt similar models to its federal context.

Inclusive participation in planning 🔗

Real inclusivity begins when residents – particularly those from marginalised groups – have a seat at the planning table. Participatory budgeting, ward committees, citizen scorecards, and gender audits of public spaces are tools that can make planning democratic. When women design transport routes, when slum dwellers help map water lines, when persons with disabilities shape footpaths, cities become genuinely usable for everyone.

A shared urban future 🔗

Sustainability and inclusion are not separate goals – they are two sides of the same coin. A city that pollutes its air, drains its water tables, and pushes its poor to the margins cannot call itself developed, no matter how high its skyline grows. The decisions made today on housing policy, transport networks, green cover, and urban governance will shape the lives of more than 600 million urban residents by 2036. The path forward requires honest acknowledgement of present failures, courageous reforms in governance, and a willingness to listen to the voices long ignored by official maps.

What do you think? Should Indian cities prioritise upgrading existing slums in their current locations rather than relocating residents to the urban periphery? And in your own city, which single change – better public transport, more green spaces, affordable housing, or cleaner air – would do the most to make life more inclusive and sustainable for everyone?

References

1. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/07/22/india-has-a-critical-opportunity-to-drive-resilient-urban-development-says-new-world-bank-report
2. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/05/decarbonize-urban-india-with-climate-conscious-strategies/
3. https://allianceforscience.org/blog/2023/05/hunger-poverty-and-disease-stalk-indias-slum-population-as-sustainable-development-goals-ignored/
4. https://uoftindiafoundation.com/challenges-to-sustainable-urbanisation-in-india-a-snapshot/
5. https://compass.rauias.com/current-affairs/slums-india/
6. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/roadmap-for-sustainable-urbanisation-in-india
7. https://unhabitat.org/india
8. https://www.orfonline.org/research/blue-green-infrastructure-an-opportunity-for-indian-cities
9. https://www.indiastrategic.in/india-needs-to-build-climate-resilient-cities-world-bank/