Living in a South Asian megacity is rarely seeing a star in the sky. 

Considering the light and air pollution in these cities of ten million or more people, this cannot be too surprising. South Asia is home to nine of the world’s thirty-three megacities – Dhaka in Bangladesh, Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, and Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai in India. 

These urban spaces are a product of a massive spike in urban growth rates following South Asian countries’ independence from colonial rule, which expedited residential infrastructure projects. 

Rapid urbanisation has challenged South Asian infrastructure. Corruption, insufficient governmental action, and corporatocracy have plagued these cities. These inefficiencies, alongside rising demands for affordable housing, have led many environmental protection measures to be bypassed or ignored. 

South Asian residents have actively felt the consequences of improper development in the past two decades. More than 5,600 homes were destroyed by monsoon rains and floods in Karachi this year. Health issues caused by indoor air pollution in Bangladesh claimed over 90,000 lives in 2019. Destructive monsoon seasons, exceedingly poor air quality, extreme heat, and water scarcity are some of the challenges facing these cities’ communities. 

Urban populations in South Asia are predicted to grow by 250 million in the next 15 years. It is critical to re-imagine urban development to accommodate burgeoning cities and megacities across the region. 

This beat explores the social and environmental impacts of unplanned and negligent residential development in South Asian megacities. I hope to examine the environmental deficiencies of contemporary South Asian residential spaces with the intention of rethinking urban development in climate-sensitive regions.