…India is one of the few places in the world where cities are being built at a scale and a speed that genuinely challenges the western world. Not in the speculative ‘future cities’ way, because India’s cities have deep historic roots, but in the form of concrete, steel, noise, deadlines, and political will.
Indian cities are striking, for all the cliches of how they engage all your senses, but also the ambition. Metro lines are threading through dense neighbourhoods, massive infrastructure projects get delivered at pace, and development is not really up for debate, it’s just happening.
Compared to the endless consultation cycles and delivery paralysis we see in much of North America and Europe, there’s something bracing about that momentum. Depending on who you are, this is not positive for everyone. We are not talking utopia here, not by a long shot. We are not saying this is bad either.
Challenger Cities EP59: Building Faster Than Memory with Ruchita Bansal
Listen now | Indian cities are an excellent lesson in what happens when modern infrastructure collides with ancient systems, and how we need to better understand how to connect contrasting realms.
