Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/delhi-better-than-london-and-new-york-lse-study-4674517.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Delhi better than London and New York: LSE study | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Delhi better than London and New York: LSE study
-India Today

Delhi attracts a bad name for its crime, traffic snarls and governance, but statistics generated by an international survey reveal that the national capital fares well in many ways when compared to other cities like London, New York, Tokyo, Istanbul and Berlin.

Delhi's performance across a number of indicators was compared to these cities in terms of economy, population, society, governance, density, green space, environment and transport during the study by LSE Cities, a research centre at the London School of Economics supported by Deustche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society.

The latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau for 2013 projects Delhi as India's crime capital. With women in the city vulnerable to rape, abduction and murders, Delhi has often been shown in a poor light. Yet, the study showed Delhi has a very low level of violent crime measured by the murder rate (homicides per 100,000 people). Bogota, like other Latin American cities, still suffers from 16.1 homicides per 100,000 people, while New York at 5.6 has over double the murder rate of Delhi, which stands at 2.7 homicides per 100,000 people.

Delhi's projected increase in income per capita is one of the largest amongst the global cities that were surveyed. Its average annual gross value added (GVA) growth in the metro area during 2012-2030 will be 7 per cent (in London it will be 2.8 per cent, in Lagos 6.6 per cent, and in Tokyo only 1.1 per cent).

At the same time, the population of Delhi's metro area over the same period is expected to only grow by 2 per cent a year compared to Lagos at 6.4 per cent per year. Tokyo will shrink by 0.1 per cent between 2012 and 2030.

While Delhi is still trying to resolve its governance arrangements, voter turnout in the last election was high at 66 per cent of the electorate, much higher than cities like London (39 per cent), Lagos (32 per cent) and New York (24 per cent), while Istanbul led the field at 89 per cent.

Unlike London or New York, Delhi does not have a directly elected mayor but its legislative assembly has 70 representatives, with a city population of 16.6 million and a metro area population of 23.3 million, while the London Assembly has 25 members representing a population of 8.1 million people and the Istanbul Municipal Council has 207 representatives for 14.2 million people.

However, Delhi has a higher level of inequality, which is measured by the GINI Index - the lower the value, the greater the level of social equality; the higher the value the greater the inequality.

While London has GINI index of 3.6 and Berlin 2.9, Delhi has a relatively high figure of 6.0, which was lower than Lagos at 6.4 and many other African and Latin American cities.

Just under half of daily trips in Delhi, or 42 per cent, are made by public transport, lower than Lagos which stands at 70 per cent and Tokyo at 67 per cent.

The cost of a bus ticket is about 10 times cheaper in Delhi than it is in London, Tokyo and New York; three times cheaper than in Lagos and four times cheaper than Istanbul. Car ownership in the Capital, at 131 cars per 1,000 people, is less than London's 307 and Berlin's 334 cars per 1,000 people. According to the survey and statistics, Delhi is only bowled over by density, green space and environmental pollution.

Despite its relatively low-rise urban landscape, Delhi has an extremely high average density of built up area of 19,698 people/sq.km, nearly twice the levels for wider New York metro area (which at 11,531 people/sq. km includes high-rise Manhattan) and Tokyo with 11,025 people/sq.km.

The result of this high density is that Delhi has only 2 sq. metres of green space per person. Istanbul fares even worse with 1 sq.metre person while lower density London and Berlin, with front and back gardens and extensive parks, have a generous 36 sq.metres and Berlin 39 sq.metres, respectively.

The statistics have said that high levels of traffic congestion contribute to Delhi's extreme pollution levels with annual mean PM10 Levels (ìg/m3) of 286, which is twice the level of Lagos at 122 annual mean PM10, but over 10 times Berlin, New York, London and Tokyo.

The survey was conducted ahead of the Urban Age conference set to begin in Delhi on November 14. Organised by LSE Cities and the Alfred Herrhausen Society, the conference will investigate the link between urban governance and capacities to engage with and shape the future development of cities.