Compact cities vital for India’s growth, experts stress at ITPI workshop

Ahmedabad city Mayor Smt. Pratibhaben Jain, Shri N. K. Patel, President, ITPI, Shri Barjor Mehta, President, CEPT University and other dignitaries at the inaugural session of a seminar organised by Institute of Town Planners (ITPI) in Ahmedabad on the theme 'Densification of the cities' Ahmedabad: Urban development experts have highlighted the urgent need for compact and smarter growth in Indian cities, warning that unchecked expansion could impact economic competitiveness, environmental balance, and quality of life.

Speaking at a workshop on Densification of Existing Cities in Ahmedabad on Saturday, senior planners, academics, and officials stressed that Indian cities must embrace redevelopment and efficient land use to support the country’s economic ambitions.

NK Patel, National President of the Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI), warned that India’s limited land base leaves little scope for unplanned urban sprawl.

“India has less than one acre of land per citizen. Urban land is even scarcer. China has 2.5 times per capita more land than us. More than 50 Indian cities already have populations exceeding one million. Brazen urbanisation poses serious challenges. Expansion of cities increases costs and strains infrastructure and public services. Densification is not just desirable, but necessary,” he said, adding that compact growth could enable efficient use of infrastructure, strengthen public transport, and reduce carbon emissions.

Delivering the keynote address, CEPT University President Barjor Mehta emphasised that India’s growth story depends squarely on the performance of its cities.

“For decades, we called India a land of villages, but now it is widely recognised that cities are the engines of growth. No country in the world has developed without urbanising. To move from a $4 trillion economy to a $10 trillion, our cities must become dynamic, productive, and efficient,” Mr. Mehta said.

He cautioned that cities which stagnate face “economic death” and pressed for planning laws to actively encourage urban redevelopment.

M. Thennarasan, Principal Secretary of the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, said densification was vital for both sustainability and affordability.

“Urbanisation is unavoidable. Nearly 85 per cent of GDP comes from cities. Population may go up, cars may increase, but land resource is not growing. The foremost benefit of compact cities is to avoid urban poverty. Every month, the pace of urban growth is equivalent to creating a New York City. Densification and compactness offer the best solution. What we do must be sustainable,” he said.

Other speakers also reinforced the case for smarter and incremental redevelopment. Adarsha Kapoor, Principal Urban Designer of Creative Footprints, pointed to global practices such as transit-oriented development and high-quality public spaces, noting that these could be adapted to the Indian context.

Ganesh Ahire of HCP Design highlighted that large tracts of Indian cities remain underutilised or poorly allocated, and argued that improving street networks and unlocking private land would be critical for inner-city growth.

Dr. Rajul Gajjar, Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Technological University, spoke of transit-oriented densification and stressed that densification was “not about building taller, but about building smarter”.

Citing global examples from Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, and Tysons Corner in Washington DC, CEPT’s Jignesh Mehta argued that urban infrastructure is built gradually and requires constant renewal, with regeneration forming a key tool for sustainability.

Other experts, including Dr. Ruma Chakrabarty Shukla of ESRI India and Dr. Sejal Patel of CEPT University, shared insights on leveraging technology and inclusive housing strategies to support compact urban growth.

The workshop was organised by the Gujarat Regional Chapter of ITPI as part of the state government’s Urban Development Year 2025 initiative, and attracted delegates from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Goa. Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain attended as Guest of Honour.

Discussions at the event centred on regulatory frameworks, digital planning tools, and global case studies, with the deliberations expected to feed into actionable recommendations for policy reform and pilot projects.

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