Why Indian Cities Feel Broken| HCE20 | Kyle Farrell | Ruchita Bansal #Urban Planning #GDP

About the Episode: Do Indian cities actually work for the people who live in them? Urban economist Kyle Farrell reveals why our cities feel broken and what we can do about it.WHAT WE DISCUSS:Why zoning laws are killing Indian citiesThe case for mixed-use development (live, work, play in one place)Why GDP doesn't measure what actually matters to peopleHow cities are planned WITHOUT public participationThe difference between supply-driven vs. demand-driven planningWhat Indian cities can learn from global best practicesHow demographic changes require new planning approachesChapters: 00:00 Intro Teaser01:32 Beyond GDP: What Really Measures Urban Success?02:45 The Livability Problem: Why One Metric Isn't Enough?03:43 Safety Is Subjective: How Do You Measure What People Feel?04:59 Understanding Urban Growth Dynamics06:02 Why We're Obsessed With Size Over Quality?07:13 The Migration Myth: What Really Drives Urban Growth?08:29 Unplanned Cities: A Failure to Plan in Advance09:37 Bridging Evidence and Political Decision-Making11:06 The Academia Gap: Research That Never Gets Implemented12:03 Making Data Matter: The Power of Storytelling12:35 Block by Block: Gaming as Public Participation tool15:37 The Participation Problem: When Communities Are Ignored16:40 From Pilot to Scale: Why Good Projects Stay Small17:46 Empowering Youth in Urban Planning18:46 Common Mistakes in Community Engagement19:16 Examples of Great Public Participation for Urban Level Projects20:06 Adaptive Planning: We Won't Master Plan Our Way to Certainty20:52 Demographics Matter: Planning for Aging & Youth Cities21:37 The Role of the Private Sector in Urban Development22:32 The Magic of Cities: Self-Organization and Complexity23:56 Seoul: The City That Quietly Works24:43 Zoning and the 15-Minute City Concept25:43 The 15-Minute City: Ideal or Reality?26:38 Closing Thoughts: Better Cities Need Better DecisionsAbout the Guest: Kyle Farrell is an urban economist and planner who specializes in making cities more livable, walkable, and human-centered. In this conversation, he breaks down the systemic issues plaguing Indian urban planning - and offers actionable solutions.About the Host:The Human City Podcast is hosted by Ruchita Bansal, an accomplished urban planner and project management professional with 15+ years of experience. She has led multi-billion-dollar development projects and sustainable mobility programs across India, including her leadership role at the Ayodhya Development Authority.Ruchita is also the founder of SheCity India, a platform for gender-inclusive urban planning, storytelling, and data-driven advocacy.--------------------------About The Human City Podcast:This podcast brings together global voices and local insights to explore how cities can be made more inclusive, sustainable, and human-centered. Each episode uncovers what it takes to design cities that truly work for people.“The Human City Podcast is an initiative of SheCity India — building gender-inclusive, human-centered cities.”