Reimagining Urban Infrastructure for G20: India’s Mission LiFE for Sustainable Cities

Abstract

The rapid increase in urbanization has been accompanied by an increasing population and threats posed by climate change to economic and social well-being. Hence, there is a need to reimagine urban infrastructure; it will need to withstand the effects of climate change and the burgeoning inequality in society. Such cultural and economic factors must be addressed through education and policy interventions that align with Mission Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), which calls for a mass movement towards an environmentally conscious lifestyle. This article shall explore possibilities for India towards creating and transitioning towards resilient cities that complement the goals of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda 2030 through LiFE-oriented behavioural changes, consumption and production patterns. Additionally, India’s G20 presidency has come at a crucial time when the task falls on the most populous state in the world to underline the need to reimagine city planning and urban expansion in the Global South. The G20 can use the platform offered by Urban20, a city diplomacy initiative instituted in 2017 to provide meaningful support to SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities with the aim of making cities and human settlements more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.