Think Vertical

This is sort of a continuation of the theme from the previous post about planned Indian urbanization. As I look around Hyderabad and the hundreds of apartment complexes being built almost anywhere you look, I wonder why isn't each one of them taller - I mean why don't they have more floors? Given the exorbitant (unaffordable to most including yours truly) prices of houses in Hyderabad and the scarcity of land, one would think the best strategy would be to build more houses per square foot. If not skyscrapers at least some or most of the four or five floor apartment buildings should at least be doubled or tripled in height. I am sure it has something to do with building codes and the speed with which the construction companies would like to move on to the next project. But given the fact that most people cannot afford individual houses (single family homes as opposed to flats or condominiums) the public policy should be such that the land use is optimized and building tall buildings is encouraged.

I once went to a place in Hungary on business called Tiszaújváros. It was a small industrial town that was barely a couple of square miles in area. But it had a large population of nearly ten thousand and one thing that struck me odd - especially going from the US to Hungary - was how thin and slim the people in that town were. But the other interesting thing was how most residential buildings were tall with many floors and since that reduced the overall size of the town while maximizing the number of people in the town, people preferred to either walk or use the bicycle to get around. This made them healthier while keeping automobile traffic to a minimum which of course results in a host of fringe benefits. Mind you this city is in no way special - it may just be one example of the efficient use of space and energy that is a hallmark of Europe. And the worry for India is that we seem to be aping the US in creating the environmentally unfriendly Indian version of the American dream.

Indian Urbanization

Much has been said and written about the haphazard growth of the Indian cities. Some have argued, and in my opinion with a lot of sense, that brand new cities built from scratch is our only hope for sustainable urbanization. Apparently there are some active projects of brand new city building including the $1.07 Billion Nanocity in Haryana headed by the Hotmail Sabeer Bhatia and another project near Bellary in the state of Karnataka. Whatever the status of these projects and whether or not these actually happen it is inevitable that planned urbanization will happen in some shape or form soon. An interesting viewpoint is expressed in an article in the Mint magazine that basically amounts to saying that urbanization and not rural development is key to India's future.

Scalability and sustainability are important factors that the planners of these urban centers need to keep in mind. At the rate India is growing, what may be a good plan today may be woefully inadequate in a couple of years. It is also important to learn from the mistakes of other countries in the way they developed their cities. One of the major complaints that is heard in the United States is the urban decay that the so-called anti-suburbanists lament about. Bigger houses, urban sprawl, big box stores, and lack of proper mass transit etc are all results of decades of suburbanization that began with construction of highways and the American obsession with the automobile. And judging by the uncontrolled growth in India's cities so far, I can tell you that the same is happening in India - only with even less planning. And that is scary.

Energy, water, mass transit, recycling, and many other issues related to sustainable and environmentally friendly growth will offer many entrepreneurial opportunities. It is a good time for budding entrepreneurs to start thinking outside the box in anticipation of the needs of the new as well as old urban centers.