Urbanisation – the process by which cities grow and change – is happening at quick rates in many low and middle income countries. Such rapid development is associated with sociocultural, political and public health changes, amongst others.
India is particularly vulnerable to these changes. It has three cities over 10 million, including Mumbai, which is the 4th largest city in the world (with a total metropolitan area of 20 million). 31% of the the country is currently urban and it continues to urbanise at 2.5% annually, so that the urban population is expected to reach 40% by 2030.
An article recently published in The Guardian (click here for access), highlights some of the problems associated with urbanisation and urban planning.