South Indian cities have swept majority of the top-ten slots on the Livability Index 2011, compiled by the Institute for Competitiveness, an international think-tank.
While Chennai, the most densely populated city in India, ranked fifth on the index, Hyderabad was at number four. Following the ‘big brother’ cities were Kochi and Kozhikode. Coimbatore, the emerging tier-II city of Tamil Nadu ranked 10th, while the Union territory of Puducherry ranked 11th. Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram ranked 13th on the 30-city index.According to the index, south Indian cities surpassed their northern peers and showcased their superiority in categories like health, medical standards and safety among other parameters.
The index shows that while Delhi has the highest number of homeless people in India despite being the best city to live in, Kolkata is the safest city in the country and ranks among the lowest in health and medical standards in the country. Gurgaon performs abysmally despite the economic powerhouse reputation.
The top-four metros once again find themselves vying for the top slots in providing the most livable environment. Mumbai follows Delhi at the 2nd position. In spite of being one of the biggest corporate hub, Gurgaon is the worst city to live in.
The Institute for Competitiveness, with its Livability Index 2011, enables a better understanding of the factors defining the living potential of cities across the country. Livability refers to an urban system that contributes to the physical, social, mental and personal development of all its inhabitants.
The index relies on an objective approach and takes into consideration more than 300 indicators.
Key principles that give substance to the theme are equity, dignity, accessibility, conviviality, participation and empowerment.
The overall Livability Index 2011 is an integration of categories such as demography, education, health and medical standards, safety, housing option, etc.
A livable city is one that directly benefits the people who live and work in it along with those who visit it. It refers to the environmental and social quality of an area, which includes local environment conditions, presence of quality education and health institutions, infrastructure, etc.
Likewise, businesses are on a persistent lookout for locations that complement the production process, say for example an area with regular supply of power and well-connected roads provides a favourable environment for a commercial activity.The Livability Index 2011 takes into consideration the various associated and crucial dimensions of livability criterion for the fifty cities, and sums up nearly 300 indicators.
The Livability Index showcases the livability profiles of the Indian cities from various perspectives, such as from the point of view of corporates who wants to invest, people who want to choose a city to live in, people who are already a part of the city and the government that is trying to figure out the weak areas of the various cities and enhance the policies accordingly.