Reimagining India’s Urban Future: A Framework for Securing High-Growth, Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Urban Development in India

This paper reviews the current state of the literature on Indian urbanization to analyze existing urban development trajectories at the state level in order to understand the challenges Indian cities face as well as the opportunities available to them to adopt transformative urban processes that can foster inclusive economic growth that is also low-carbon. The paper explores the role of (urban) energy; multi modal transport, smart infrastructure, green buildings, water and urban finance to explore how and to what extent states are able to balance economic growth, urbanization and carbon emissions. The paper argues that pathways of urbanization that can help India achieve its carbon commitments without compromising on growth are possible. [Working Paper 306]