Historically, cities have been the driving force of growth and developmentDevelopment and are termed ‘engines of growth’ that have helped national economies forge ahead. We envision a situation when the world is becoming progressively urban. However, the COVID-19 crisisCOVID-19 crisis has created a situation that necessitates revisiting the urban scenario, the populationPopulation base and communities concerned, urban densities, infrastructureInfrastructure and amenitiesAmenities, governance, management and planning. Many Indian citiesIndian cities are modern impositions on a colonial framework, in many cases growing haphazardly, dominated by heightened mobilityMobility and in-migrationMigration. Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Chennai are interconnected with the global economyGlobal economy arising out of globalisationGlobalisation and the international division of labour and have evolved as prime centres for global capital investments. This has reinforced the migration patternMigration pattern to these cities, with many migrant workersMigrant workers working in the informal sectorsInformal sector and living in congested habitats. The COVID-19 crisisCOVID-19 crisis has reinforced the already existing vulnerabilitiesVulnerabilities in urban areasUrban areas. These include overcrowding, insanitary conditions and deprivations in large parts of the cities, like in the older portions and in the slumsSlums and low-income residentials. The urban poorUrban poor face deep-seated structural and economic inequalitiesInequalities, many of whom are informal migrant workersMigrant workers engaged in low-income activities like daily wage earners and casual labourers in construction, transport, petty trade, etc. With research intensifying on the socio-economic aspects of COVID-19COVID-19, it should also be of major concern to address our cities, to reorganise them, improving health and hygieneHygiene, particularly in the congested parts and thus increase the factor of urban resilienceResilience. Against this backdrop, this chapter focuses on Indian citiesIndian cities during the COVID-19 crisisCOVID-19 crisis. Using data from the Census of India; health data from the National Family Health Survey; and crowd-sourced data for Covid-19, the aim is to analyse the reinforced vulnerabilitiesVulnerabilities in Indian CitiesIndian cities during the CoronavirusCoronavirus PandemicPandemic. The aim is also to critically evaluate the urban policiesUrban policies and programmes in the face of extenuating Institutionalised InequalitiesInequalities that stand in the way of instilling the factor of resilienceResilience in making the urban systems sustainableSustainable. The specific issues that need to be addressed at this hour also constitute the scope of the present chapter.

The COVID-19 Crisis and Indian Cities: Managing Urban Contours in Times of Pandemic

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发表日期：

2025年

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Anuradha Banerjee

摘要

Historically, cities have been the driving force of growth and developmentDevelopment and are termed ‘engines of growth’ that have helped national economies forge ahead. We envision a situation when the world is becoming progressively urban. However, the COVID-19 crisisCOVID-19 crisis has created a situation that necessitates revisiting the urban scenario, the populationPopulation base and communities concerned, urban densities, infrastructureInfrastructure and amenitiesAmenities, governance, management and planning. Many Indian citiesIndian cities are modern impositions on a colonial framework, in many cases growing haphazardly, dominated by heightened mobilityMobility and in-migrationMigration. Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Chennai are interconnected with the global economyGlobal economy arising out of globalisationGlobalisation and the international division of labour and have evolved as prime centres for global capital investments. This has reinforced the migration patternMigration pattern to these cities, with many migrant workersMigrant workers working in the informal sectorsInformal sector and living in congested habitats. The COVID-19 crisisCOVID-19 crisis has reinforced the already existing vulnerabilitiesVulnerabilities in urban areasUrban areas. These include overcrowding, insanitary conditions and deprivations in large parts of the cities, like in the older portions and in the slumsSlums and low-income residentials. The urban poorUrban poor face deep-seated structural and economic inequalitiesInequalities, many of whom are informal migrant workersMigrant workers engaged in low-income activities like daily wage earners and casual labourers in construction, transport, petty trade, etc. With research intensifying on the socio-economic aspects of COVID-19COVID-19, it should also be of major concern to address our cities, to reorganise them, improving health and hygieneHygiene, particularly in the congested parts and thus increase the factor of urban resilienceResilience. Against this backdrop, this chapter focuses on Indian citiesIndian cities during the COVID-19 crisisCOVID-19 crisis. Using data from the Census of India; health data from the National Family Health Survey; and crowd-sourced data for Covid-19, the aim is to analyse the reinforced vulnerabilitiesVulnerabilities in Indian CitiesIndian cities during the CoronavirusCoronavirus PandemicPandemic. The aim is also to critically evaluate the urban policiesUrban policies and programmes in the face of extenuating Institutionalised InequalitiesInequalities that stand in the way of instilling the factor of resilienceResilience in making the urban systems sustainableSustainable. The specific issues that need to be addressed at this hour also constitute the scope of the present chapter.