Similarities Between Mumbai And Beijing

The cities of Mumbai and Beijing have many similarities. Even though both cities have distinctly different cultures and histories, they share many of the same problems. One major problem both cities have is their populations. Both cities have large populations and continue to grow. Beijing is seen as the more modern global city with huge technology and financial industries; additionally it is the capital of China. Mumbai is developing into a global city and will become quite important in the future as it has an emerging market and dominates India in many sectors. One thing that sets Mumbai apart from other emerging global cities is what it has done to curb the impacts of population growth. Mumbai has created an entirely new city known as New …show more content…
Navi Mumbai was established in 1972 by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Introduction). Navi Mumbai is comprised of 344 square kilometers that use to be marsh and paddy fields, but was reclaimed like the rest of Mumbai (Introduction). The goal of Navi Mumbai was to relieve some of the pressure placed on Mumbai and to limit growth in the central city (Risbud, 2). Navi Mumbai is now the largest planned city and is considered a Super City based on the virtues of its development (Introduction). What makes Navi Mumbai so unique is its land use patterns.The city consists of 13 townships, each created to house 100,000 to 200,00 people (Ananthakrishnan). Each township has specific areas designated to residence, commercial activity, and recreation (Ananthakrishnan). Navi Mumbai is planned to accommodate a population of 2 million and offer provisions for 750,000 jobs (Ananthakrishnan). The city is planned to accommodate every economic status, but is specifically targeted to middle class families (Ananthakrishnan). These provisions not only provide extra housing, but new opportunities for working class families that they may not have had access to in central Mumbai. The key to Navi Mumbai’s success is keeping the city self-sufficient, that way the population does have to rely on and commute to central Mumbai for their every need (Ananthakrishnan). The planned city has been so …show more content…
This makes overpopulation an even more pressing issue for the city as other major issues such as water pollution and lower standard of living are rooted in the overpopulation of Beijing. The city 's population is estimated to be around 21.7 million people (Beijing Population). The city now has reached an unsustainable level of population density with 1,300 people per square kilometer (Luo and Wang). Overpopulation has had major impacts on everyday life in Beijing, making it more than just crowded and uncomfortable to live in. Overpopulation has lead to the overstretching of infrastructure and resources, most importantly water. Access to water per person in Beijing is 119 cubic meters, which is well below the international standard of 1,000 cubic meters per person (Chengrong). Although, this figure is higher than what it used to be, it is crucial the city finds a solution. Since water is a vital resource, no matter where you live, it is clear why Beijing needs to fix its overpopulation problem. The shortage of water is one of the reason that economic development has slowed in Beijing (Chengrong). Another reason for Beijing’s overpopulation is poor urban planning. The city was simply not designed to accommodate a large population, so urban growth has been unorganized. Other large cities such as Tokyo were designed to grow, which is why Tokyo does not have the same issues as Beijing (Luo and