What constitutes ‘urban’ in India?

The existing framework is no longer adequate. Redefining what is urban will have far-reaching implications.

Notwithstanding the culinary and cultural impact of McDonald’s across India’s large cities, outlets of the global fast-food chain have been used as proxies for defining urban spaces in the country. This approach, though unconventional, has proven to be a better indicator of urbanisation than the current metrics in use.

Regardless of whether McDonald’s serves junk food or not, its India outlets highlight a region’s economic activity, consumer demand and connectivity – hallmarks of a bustling urban life. Indeed, such innovative methods have prompted urban planners to redefine the word “urban” which has a host of social, economic and political implications especially at a time when cities and towns are expanding like never before.

These urban sites are expected to host over 800 million people – over half of India’s population – by 2050. With rapid urbanisation and expansion of urban peripheries, the traditional methods of defining what constitutes an “urban” area have become increasingly inadequate.

The current framework for defining urban areas largely relies on the subjectivity of state bureaucracy, population size and density, and the occupational distribution of the male workforce. These are now archaic and outdated metrics. As such, more inclusive and multidimensional approaches should be adopted...

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