The idea of sustainability revolves around visions of future generations throughout human civilisation. It has become a focal idea for international, regional, national and local development agendas. The growing demand in all sectors including public and private, formal and informal, management of sustainable settlements and smart cities has become the cause of concern for planning authorities. There is a strong connection between the quality of life in any city and how to manage natural resources available to people. The trend of urbanisation has been accompanied by increased pressure on affordable housing, essential infrastructures, services, quality of life, availability of land and employment opportunities. The process of urbanisation has increased exponentially across India over the past few years and Varanasi is no exception. Varanasi is the land of ghats and gharanas, Sufis and sadhus, temples and tombs. The city is facing huge congestion due to the population explosion and population density has crossed 2300 person/sq. km, which is around seven times higher than the national average. These circumstances are putting immense pressure on natural and human resources in the city. However, the union government from 2015 onwards has included Varanasi in one of the priorities of the Smart Cities Mission as the city is close to the nominal head of the government. Cities are the main contributor of carbon emissions to the environment including carbon dioxide (CO2), which is increasing the temperature of cities and developing urban heat islands. The 11th sustainable development goal (SDG) focuses on affordable, accessible, sustainable and safe housing by providing synergy between the communities, governance, management and cities. The basic objective of the chapter is to explore the challenges and factors responsible for making Varanasi sustainable, resilient, inclusive and safe.