Liveability of Indian Cities and Spread of Covid-19-- Case of Tier-1 Cities

Abstract

Cities are widely considered to be the engines of economic growth, as they contribute for more than 70% of global economy. However, the haphazard urbanisation trends are today resulting in widespread problems of urban sprawl, pollution, housing, crime and disaster and so on. While India is one of the least urbanised large developing countries of the world, the country is witnessing rapid urbanisation (projected to add 404 million of urban population by 2050). However, the associated problems are impacting the liveability of the cities in India. In light of that, this study aims to evaluate the liveability of Tier-1 cities of India. In reference to the existing literature, eleven key indicators have been identified for the evaluation of liveability. For the ease of analysis, these indicators are broadly clustered under five categories, that is, health, environment, transport, geography and socio-economy. The correlation analysis between the indicators and the number of Covid-19 cases in selected cities of India reveal a significant relationship between the individual categories such as ‘quality of life’ and ‘health index’.