Last week Mumbai played host to the Urban Age Conference, one of a worldwide series initiated by the Cities Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society in their ongoing endeavour to shape the thinking and practice of urban leaders and sustainable urban development. For three days 350 delegates including academics, urban thinkers and planners, activists, architects, business heads and city leaders from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bogota, Singapore, Johannesburg, Washington DC, London and Sao Paulo met at a downtown five-star hotel to discuss the future of cities and the challenges posed by climate change and urban inequality and the possibilities of democratic engagement.

The impact of climate change on Indian cities — the threat of rising sea water, flooding and the erosion of snow in the Himalayas — was a key issue for debate with speakers urging the need to reduce carbon emissions and pointing to strategies of sustainable development such as the use of gas for public transport. The future of Mumbai was another significant subject of discussion. Topics covered included the problem of housing for the poor, redevelopment of the Dharavi slum and plans to improve urban infrastructure including the building of flyovers and overhauling the drainage system.

The subject of Mumbai’s administration — and the popular view among a section of its citizens that the city should be removed from state control and placed under an independent elected administrator — was also mooted. Another subject that was avidly debated was the growing incursion of private interests on public space.

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