Urban renewal hinges on civic duty, not just infrastructure alone

Projections indicate that by 2036, Indian cities will have close to 600 million inhabitants, i.e. 40 per cent of the country's population

Every city dweller has witnessed it: The small mounds of waste collected in corners, plastic bags quietly drifting down the streets, or the leaking public tap running unchecked for hours. In the hustle-bustle of daily life, these scenes are met with indifference or an unconscious belief that the next person will step in.

 

Unlike Adam Smith’s market forces, cities are not maintained by “invisible hands”. They are very much shaped every day by their inhabitants and their actions. We all recently saw the viral story of Akie Doi, a Japanese tourist who, after arriving in Puri, Odisha, took it upon