Pessimism Over India's Urban Future

The Prime Minister's claim that the 21st century will be India's century seems doubtful given the 'squalid' rural village conditions and 'urban hellholes.'

1 minute read

January 26, 2006, 6:00 AM PST

By David Gest


"If this is what 21st-century India is going to look like, we have had it. The towns had grown organically from the villages they once were without any sign of urban planning. Open drains, dung, flies and cattle remained from village days but where in old times garbage would have been organic it is now plastic and a permanent part of the scenery, since absent along with town planning was any sign of municipal governance."

"Village life in India is squalid but heaven compared with the urban hellholes that you now see across India...By the middle of the 21st century it is estimated that more than 70 per cent of Indians will live in urban centres. This is likely to cause a crisis of nightmarish proportions and there is no sign that anyone up there has seen the horror at the end of the tunnel."

Sunday, January 22, 2006 in The Indian Express

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

September 16, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

A Metro bus drives down a street on a rainy day. Parallel to the bus is a line of parked cars, then, a line of umbrellas.

LA Metro’s ultimatum: no extra buses for LA28 if federal funding isn’t imminently secured

If Metro does not provide additional buses, LA28 organizers will have to find a new way to manage Olympic traffic. LA28’s budget does not include a line item for transit.

5 seconds ago - LAist

Geese flock to a frozen pond in Aurora, Colorado. There are houses in the background.

Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing

The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.

1 hour ago - Capital & Main

A cluster of wind turbines beneath a stormy sky, above a forest where the leaves are beginning to change colors.

5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project

Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.

September 16 - Inside Climate News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.