Urban development in developing countries: analysing current policies for Mumbai

Urban areas in developing countries have been growing exponentially. In a list of cities with 5 million people or more, Mumbai did not feature in 1950, but in 1975 it occupied the 15th position which changed to 5th in 2000 and is expected to be 3rd by 2015. The rapid and continued growth of Mumbai and its sprawling metropolitan regions has put considerable strain on the city’s infrastructure and caused environmental degradation. Not only is Mumbai one of the most crowded cities in the world, its residential floor space consumption per person is one of the lowest in the world. With a population of about 14 million and growing daily, the task of providing adequate housing is becoming an increasing challenge in Mumbai, especially due to the geographical constraints of the Island City. Most research on the subject has advocated a high density and compact city. However, this research has not taken account of the finite sources of water, energy and food for which the city is dependent on its hinterland or the potential of any new development to harness its own water or energy from renewable resources. High-rise residential buildings are being promoted as a sustainable solution by the government and researchers alike, with almost no consideration of the environmental impact of increased density. This paper will review current research and critically analyse the Municipal proposals for Mumbai. A method of using an ecological footprint will also be discussed. The footprint allows an analysis of the environmental impact of density based not only on resources and consumption within the city but also on the depleting resources from outside the city that feed the population and power the economy