Supporting a More Inclusive and Responsive Urban India

Abstract

India’s urbanization story is both massive and complex, as 300 million people will move to its urban spaces by 2030, creating significant challenges. In this brief, we argue that India’s cities would be better served in the long-term by supporting the inclusive urban policies over those that carry exclusionary aftereffects, by limiting the use of the city as a promotional tool for actors that gain from forwarding divisive identity politics, and by creating more robust city-level political structures in order to improve municipal accountability to urban citizens. We conclude with suggestions for how to further encourage inclusive urban planning and political processes.

Keywords: India, urbanization, identity, ethnic conflict, poverty, caste, municipal growth, urban planning, developing world

JEL Classification: O18, R00, R11, O19, R23, J61