Cities Where Beauty, Possibilities, and Sensitivities Blossom

– Lalit Garg

World Cities Day is observed every year on 31 October. Its purpose is to raise global awareness about the challenges and opportunities of urbanization, promote international cooperation in addressing urban issues, and encourage the creation of sustainable, human-centric, crime-free, and environmentally supportive cities. The day was celebrated for the first time in 2014. It aims to enhance understanding of urban trends, foster collaboration among nations, and contribute to global efforts toward building equitable, prosperous, resilient, and inclusive cities that offer better living conditions and quality of life to their communities.

This year, the global observance of World Cities Day will take place in Bogotá, Colombia, under the theme “People-Centered Smart Cities.” The event will highlight how data-driven decision-making, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to improve urban living and help cities recover from current shocks and crises. It will also emphasize initiatives that make smart cities more citizen-focused and participatory. Indeed, cities should become spaces where beauty and sensibilities unfold in countless forms — where the old and the new coexist in harmony, creating an atmosphere that is both inspiring and humane.

The theme for this year reflects the growing realization that digital technologies are transforming urban life worldwide. They are reshaping the way cities are designed, planned, managed, and governed — offering vast opportunities to make them more efficient, inclusive, and responsive. The focus on building “people-oriented smart cities” underlines the importance of adopting digital and data-based solutions to improve services, address urban challenges, and enhance quality of life. The underlying message — “Empowered Communities, Prosperous Cities” — emphasizes that true urban prosperity arises when communities are aware, cooperative, and self-reliant. At a time when the entire world is moving rapidly toward urbanization, this day has become an occasion for self-reflection: Are our cities merely expanding as jungles of concrete and glitter, or are they nurturing human sensitivity, culture, environmental balance, and social harmony?

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has presented a new model of urbanization — one that links urban growth not only with physical infrastructure but also with human values and citizen participation. Schemes like the AMRUT Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Smart Cities Mission, and Clean India Mission have infused new vitality into the country’s urban landscape. These programs have demonstrated that when transparency and public participation become integral to governance, development manifests not only in statistics but in people’s lives.

Urbanization is not merely about tall buildings, wide roads, or shining marketplaces — it is a living social process that embodies the quality of life, thought, and behavior. Cities have given humankind opportunities for employment, education, healthcare, and comfort; yet they have also brought pollution, crowding, stress, crime, inequality, and emotional isolation. Every major city today is gasping for fresh air, clean water, and a peaceful life. In the name of development, nature is being degraded, and along with material progress, mental exhaustion is on the rise.

Ancient Indian cities such as Kashi, Ujjain, Pushkar, Mathura, and Ayodhya were not merely centers of trade or politics — they were living laboratories of culture, spirituality, and coexistence. For them, a city was not just a place to live, but a way of living itself. If modern cities could once again embrace these timeless values, they would become not only modern but also humane. In the West, urbanization has reached remarkable heights in terms of technology and convenience, but there is often a lack of human warmth and emotional connection. If India succeeds in blending humanity, environment, and culture within its urban growth, it can offer a model to the world. Cities will truly become alive only when their inhabitants are environmentally conscious, socially responsible, and emotionally committed. Preventing pollution, increasing greenery, making cleanliness a way of life, providing dignified housing for the poor, and fostering public participation — these are the true pathways to genuine urban development.

Indian cities today are transforming rapidly. Metros, skyscrapers, wide roads, and glittering malls have reshaped their faces. This change dazzles with the light of progress, yet beneath it lies a silent pain — the loss of the city’s soul, its warmth, and its identity. The lanes that once smelled of friendship and belonging now echo with rush, indifference, and loneliness. Since independence, India has moved swiftly toward modernity, but in this race of material growth, human emotions and social bonds have been left behind. Cities are expanding not according to people’s needs but the demands of the market. New colonies and high-rises are replacing old neighborhoods, yet they lack the intimacy and sensitivity that once connected human hearts.

Cities today are no longer mere habitats; they have become centers of consumerism and competition. Modernity has brought convenience but has faded the colors of culture, history, and tradition. The crossroads that once hosted dialogues and empathy now resound only with the noise of machines and haste. For the new generation, cities are symbols of glamour, jobs, and opportunities — not the carriers of heritage and soul. This deepens the question: Does development only mean tall buildings, broad roads, and malls — or should it also include the warmth of relationships, the pulse of culture, and the living memory of history?

Today’s cities shine brightly on the outside but often feel empty within — full of facilities yet devoid of peace; full of speed yet lacking stillness of the soul. It is time to pause and ask: Are we creating cities where humanity still has a place? Where history and sensitivity can breathe together?

True development will be that which allows cities to expand while keeping the roots of humanity deep and strong. The message of World Cities Day is precisely this — a city is not just a network of walls and roads; it is a living culture. A city becomes truly beautiful not because of its buildings but because of the thoughts, behaviors, and sensitivities of the people who live there. When communities are empowered, cities become prosperous — and when cities prosper, humanity truly progresses.