As COVID-19 finally shows signs of relenting, it is interesting to see what shape it has left the world’s biggest cities in. Planners in several major metros did use the lockdowns and the general lowering of vehicular movement to push through more pedestrian pathways as well as green corridors. Cities such as Paris, Milan and Madrid have even proceeded on visionary plans like the 15-minute cities.
While city administrators in India have been way too occupied with managing the pandemic, in this year’s Budget the finance minister did show the way forward to a newer, cleaner and better face of urbanisation with plans for eight new cities, support for public transport in existing ones, a vehicle scrappage policy that could clean up our air and provisions for safer drinking water for all.
Yet, this is bare bone stuff and not the kind that will catapult Indian cities into the ranks of the world’s great metropolises.
Over the centuries, the title of the world city has at various times been shared by the likes of Babylon, Rome, Constantinople, Vienna, London, Paris and for the last 70 years by New York.
The question is will the Big Apple lose its pre-eminence as the capital city of the world in the coming decades? The pandemic revealed the city's many frailties as thousands of people died in the first few months of the virus. Lacking enough beds and ventilators to care for the seriously ill and protective kits to protect its healthcare workers, the city administration floundered when it mattered most. With its streets still wearing a desolate and deserted look even as swathes of small businesses are going bankrupt, experts fear the days when the city was the magnet for urbanites from across the world, may be drawing to a close.
Even before the virus struck, New York was shrinking with its first population decline in any decade over the last 50 years, according to US Census Bureau estimates. Coupled with the rising power of China whose economy is slated to surpass that of the US by 2028, New York's allure as the socio-cultural capital of the world may be dimming.
So where will the party shift next?
Several cities are in the fray. Real estate and tourism adviser Resonance’s Best Cities 2020 ranking which looks at parameters such as culinary experiences, museums, sights and landmarks, the number of Global 500 corporations, direct flight connections and mentions each city has on Instagram, ranked London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, Dubai, Singapore, Barcelona, Los Angeles and Rome as the top 10.
It was the same ranking which earned a tweet from Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. It did improve its ranking from 81 last year to 62 this year. It bears mentioning though that the city was cited with the introduction 'Vans, scooters, rickshaws, street food sellers, beggars, cows and even monkeys come together in the Indian capital'.
Not quite the factors that will attract the world’s best to flock to the city to stoke their creativity and imagination. While Delhi has centuries-old forts, tombs, shrines and mosques, it lacks the effervescence of even a Mumbai or a Kolkata and is too defined by its political and bureaucratic stiffness.
What determines a city’s ability to attract, nurture and retain the most creative and talented people in different fields of human endeavour is its cosmopolitanism, cultural, social and political vibrance, as well as opportunities for people to monetise their various talents. The world’s great cities have constantly provided the ursprung for something new and innovative whether in the arts, literature, culture, science or technology.
Another critical factor is an inherent openness which makes the outsider no matter who, feel like an integral part of the city. It is this that rules out, at least for the moment, a place like Shanghai despite its growing geostrategic importance as well as economic muscle. The sad case of Hong Kong shows that authoritarian regimes aren’t too fond of places which encourage independent thinking.
So, where does that leave us in our search for the next capital city of the world? Perhaps, New York will regain its mojo and extend its lien on that coveted status. Or maybe, we will get our act together and in this the Indian century, an Indian city will emerge as the next big thing.
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