On a sweltering July morning in India’s Bengaluru, 27-year-old IT specialist Priya N. left home two hours early to reach her office just 12 kilometers away. Stuck in a long traffic jam, she is already 90 minutes late. “Sometimes, I spend more time commuting than working,” she laughs.
Priya is far from being the only one facing this situation. Every minute, 30 people migrate from rural India into cities. By 2035, India’s urban population is expected to reach 675 million people, up from 483 million in 2020, according to the UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2022. This shift is boosting economies, but also straining housing, transport, water facilities, and air quality.
The race to keep cities livable
The speed of growth is staggering. Delhi alone is adding over 1,800 new vehicles every day, worsening its air quality, which the World Health Organization ranks to be among the world’s most hazardous. Meanwhile, Mumbai’s real estate prices are hovering around US$480 per square foot in prime areas, pushing low-income families into slums where access to clean water and sanitation remains patchy.
Yet, India is not simply expanding chaotically. Flagship initiatives such as the Smart Cities Mission that covers 100 cities and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation have been designed to make cities more efficient, resilient, and people-friendly. The question is: can they keep pace with the flood of new residents, which is yet one more reason that is turning affordable housing into a thorny issue. India faces an urban housing shortage of 18.78 million units, mostly affecting low-income families, according to the Ministry of Housing. For millions, this translates into unsafe living conditions.
Transport: Stuck in traffic?
Transport remains another defining pressure point. In 2024, Indian commuters lost an average of 111 hours annually to traffic jams, according to a TomTom Traffic Index. Bengaluru ranks as the world’s second-most congested city.
But innovations are underway. India’s metro systems have expanded from 248 km in five cities in 2014 to 1,013 km across 23 cities by May 2025. This, coupled with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, has begun to change daily commuting options. Electric buses are rolling out in Delhi, and pilot programs for integrated mobility apps are reducing the chaos of fragmented systems.
Apart from decongesting traffic, getting public transport on track may come with a wide range of other benefits, including improved public health, reduced congestion costs, and new economic opportunities. According to the World Bank, a shift to mass transit systems globally could generate up to US$1 trillion in annual benefits by 2030 and reduce CO2 emissions substantially by 2050.
Climate resilience: Cities on the frontline
In 2024, India witnessed the highest number of internally displaced people at 5.4 million, with the economic damages inflicted amounting to US$180 billion over the last three decades.
India’s cities are also at the frontline of climate risks. To cope with subsequent devastating consequences, cities are responding with rooftop rainwater harvesting, solar microgrids, and early warning systems. Surat, for example, once devastated by floods, is now recognized to be one of the world’s leading “resilient cities” due to its disaster management reforms.
A shift in governance and mindset
India’s urban transformation involves not only infrastructure but also governance, including participatory budgeting, citizen dashboards, and digital platforms for public feedback. In Pune, India’s ninth largest city, residents can track pothole repairs in real time via a mobile app.
By mid-century, nearly 600 million Indians – half the population – will be city dwellers. Whether that future is one of choking congestion and sprawling slums, or of smart, inclusive, sustainable cities depends on the choices being made today.
India’s urban story is no longer just about skyscrapers or economic growth – it’s about people, resilience, and a battle to prove that the largest urbanization wave of the 21st century can also be the most sustainable.
