Picking the winner: Measuring urban sustainability in India

Abstract

This study provides a snapshot of the sustainability of selected Indian cities by employing 57 indicators in four dimensions to develop an overall city sustainability index. In recent years, its complexity has made 'urban sustainability' a prominent concept. Urban areas propel growth and at the same time pose a lot of ecological, social and infrastructural problems and risks. High population density and continuous in-migration among developing countries created the highest risk in natural and man-made disasters. These issues and the inability of policy-makers in providing basic services make the cities unsustainable. The objective of the paper is to develop a city performance index (CPI) to measure and evaluate the urban regions in terms of sustainable performance. The paper uses benchmark approach to measure the cumulative performance of the 25 largest Indian cities based on economic, environmental, social and institutional dimensions. The CPI, consisting of four dimensions disaggregates into 12 categories and ultimately into 53 indicators. The data are obtained from public and non-governmental organizations, as also from city officials and experts. By ranking a sample of diverse cities on a set of specific dimensions the study can serve as a baseline of current conditions and a marker for referencing future results. The benchmarks and indices presented in the study provide a unique resource for the government and the city authorities to learn about the positive and negative attributes of their a city and prepare plans for sustainable urban development.