As India aims to become a $5 trillion economy, it must be cognizant of where that growth will come from. Cities contribute extensively to the country’s growth; it is estimated that 59%-70% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from them. However, to continue playing this catalysing...
Figure 1: Urban Expansion in Kozhikode, Kerala, along Transit Lines (1974 versus 2014)
Source: Analysis by IDFC Institute and Urban Expansion Observatory
Figure 1 shows built-up area growth in and around Kozhikode, Kerala between 1974 and 2014. When cities expand and people begin living ...
FSI Variations in Mumbai and Manhattan
Source: Bertaud (2018)
The above images compare Floor Space Index (FSI) — the amount of floor area that can be built on a plot of land — in Mumbai and in Manhattan, New York City.
FSI is largely uniform across Mumbai. Neithe...
IDFC Institute has been nominated to be a part of a Working Group convened by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for formulating a roadmap for cities to build a culture of data-driven governance. The first output of this working group - a strategy document and a Data Maturity Assessme...
In 2018, IDFC Institute's work on urban definitions was published in The Journal of Asian Economics. This work was cited in an article on Research Matters:
"In a recent study, researchers from the IDFC Institute, have looked into the current definition of “urban” in India. The...
In this Hub Culture video, CEO and Senior Fellow Reuben Abraham speaks to Hub Culture's Executive Editor Edie Lush on urban trends across the world: how cities are growing, and what it means to become an 'urban species'. The conversation took place at the World Economic Forum's annual meet...
We have developed a new web-application that allows you to explore the spatial form of India's development over four decades! In its first installment, click here to view the growth of India's largest eight metros since 1975 to present.
Users can view high-resolution satellite data on ...
The Guardian documents the astonishing, controversial rise of Shenzhen, an "unremarkable Chinese settlement that ‘smelled of countryside’" to become to world's largest megalopolis.
"Shenzhen, a city of around 11 million people, is now merely one elem...
Italy is beginning a new form of urban administration to cater to its urban population and urban issues that require coordination across city borders.
This City Lab article explains:
"Starting January 1, many of the towns surrounding those bell towers will be absorbed into much larger jur...
