According to current estimates, 360 million people constitute the urban India with its present GDP contribution pegged at 63%, which according to the prognosis of the two organizations is likely to reach at levels of 590 million by 2030. The urban GDP is projected to scale up between to 70-75% by 2020 and that's why the pace of urban planning needs to be accelerated at the required speed, says President, PHD Chamber Mr. Alok B. Shriram.
In a paper on 'Transforming Central Business Districts: Taking the Smart Route', it has been pointed out that while the urban population in India is currently around 31% of the total population which contributes close to 63% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It is for this reason that cities are referred to as the engines of economic growth and ensuring they function efficiently is critical to India's development. The global experience is that a country's urbanization up to 30% level is relatively slow. Thereafter, the pace of urbanization speed up till it reaches about 60-65%, said Mr. Shriram quoting findings of the paper.
With an urban population of 31%, India is at a point of transition where the pace of urbanization will accelerate. By 2030, the population of urban India will almost be twice the population of present day of United States. Therefore, we need to plan our urban areas well without further delay. Considering that India is at the brink of transition, it should plan out urbanization strategy in the right direction by taking advantage of the latest development in technology.
The paper further points out that with the GDP contribution of urban India set to rise from the present level of 63% to 70-75% in 2020, Central Business Districts (CBDs) will play an important role in fuelling India's economic growth. A CBD is dense area within a city which is characterized by high economic activity and is provisioned with adequate infrastructure and utilities to sustain this activity.
The economic character of a city is dominated by its CBDs. The CBDs in metros play a key role in driving the economic growth of these cities and attract large segments of populations from rural and non-metro cities. To keep pace with exponentially increasing urbanization, rising business aspirations and high land rates, it is crucial for CBDs to get a facelift and cater to the evolving citizen and city requirements.
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