Mumbai Human Development Report 2009

Recent surveys on urban agglomerations reveal that more than half the world's population currently lives in cities. It is also estimated that by the year 2030, developing countries will account for 80 per cent of the world's urban population. In India, over 61 million people are urban slum dwellers, nearly 22 per cent of the urban population. As Indian cities continue to grow and expand, they face the challenges of providing infrastructure, housing, water, sanitation, healthcare and education to their citizens. Densely populated, the massive urban conglomerate spread across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is the largest urban conglomerate in India. Mumbai personifies the paradox of extreme wealth and extreme poverty living side by side. It, more than any other Indian city, is a city in transition, looking to the future, attempting to modernize. However, its attempt at modernization must include efforts to improve the quality of life of all its citizens. This report is a step in that direction. It is the first, global city-level human development report that analyses in-depth various issues such as population, education, slums, gender, health, among others, that will aid the city's progress in future. Authored by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, this comprehensive report was prepared under the National Strategy for Urban Poor Project, a joint project of the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It will be of interest to administrators and policymakers, civil society organizations, urban planners and researchers, university and institutional libraries, as well as various government ministries and departments, and national and international agencies.