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Abstract:
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"By 2030, according to the projections of the United Nations (UN) Population Division, each of the major regions of the developing world will hold more urban than rural dwellers; by 2050 fully two-thirds of their inhabitants are likely to live in urban areas. By 2050, India is likely to be the most populous country with a projected population of 1.69 billion. It is estimated that over 70 million new urban housing units will be needed over the next 20 years in India. This unprecedented urbanization has implication for ecological, economic and social sustainability. Here we argue that to balance environment with urban growth, we shall have to draw on multiple branches of knowledge and concepts including Sustainable communities, sustainable cities, livable cities, green cities, prosperous cities, eco-cities, healthy cities and resilient cities. These concepts provide us networked and intricately linked action points that would need to be integrated to achieve a balance between urbanization and environment. Accordingly, we provide evidence-based suggestions on creation and management of green infrastructure, wastewater treatment, recycling and appropriate use, waste management, green transportation, affordable housing, energy, and finally, recovery of full costs of, and reinvestment in, urban services. The Analysis we have provided in this review offers a workable and practical philosophy that can be translated in the field from the perspective of balancing urban growth and environment in India. All these actions need to be incorporated for implementation in the master plan of the individual cities or regional master plan of the area to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability."
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