India's 15 best cities to live in
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Kolkata has been ranked as India’s best city to live in the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems 2014 conducted by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship & Democracy.
The cities were rated on four broad parameters: urban planning and design, urban capacities and resources, empowered and legitimate political representation, and transparency, accountability and participation.
While cities like London and New York, scored 9.6 and 9.3 respectively on a scale of 10, the best city in India, Kolkata had a score of just 4.0.
Indian cities are grossly under-prepared to deliver a high quality of life that is sustainable in a long term, says the survey.
Janaagraha defines “Quality of Life to mean both quality of infrastructure and services, and quality of citizenship. Therefore City-Systems refer to factors that drive both these dimensions of Quality of Life.”
Take a look at India’s 15 best cities to live in…
Kolkata
Rank: 1
Urban planning and design: 2.8
Urban capacities and resources: 3.6
Transparency, accountability and participation: 2.9
Average score: 4.0
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Image: A mall in Kolkata.
Photographs: Kolkatan /Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Thiruvananthapuram
Urban planning and design: 2.1
Urban capacities and resources: 2.5
Transparency, accountability and participation: 4.9
Average score: 3.9
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Image: Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram
Photographs: Courtesy, Kerala Tourism
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Bhopal
Rank: 3
Urban planning and design: 2.3
Urban capacities and resources: 3.1
Transparency, accountability and participation: 4.6
Average score: 3.7
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Image: Bhopal
Photographs: Nitinwork/Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Patna
Rank: 4
Urban planning and design: 2.0
Urban capacities and resources: 3.7
Transparency, accountability and participation: 3.2
Average score: 3.6
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Photographs: Heax18/Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Delhi
Rank: 5
Urban planning and design: 3.5
Urban capacities and resources: 4.3
Transparency, accountability and participation: 2.4
Average score: 3.6
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Photographs: Kabi1990 /Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Raipur
Rank: 6
Urban planning and design: 1.7
Urban capacities and resources: 1.8
Transparency, accountability and participation: 4.4
Average score: 3.5
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Photographs: AshishJaiswalRaipur /Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Surat
Rank:7
Urban planning and design: 2.2
Urban capacities and resources: 3.2
Transparency, accountability and participation: 3.5
Average score: 3.5
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Photographs: Rahulogy /Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Pune
Rank: 8
Urban planning and design: 1.8
Urban capacities and resources: 3.3
Transparency, accountability and participation: 3.6
Average score: 3.5
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Photographs: Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Mumbai
Rank: 9
Urban planning and design: 2.4
Urban capacities and resources: 4.0
Transparency, accountability and participation: 2.9
Average score: 3.5
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Image: Infiniti Mall in Mumbai
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Ahmedabad
Rank: 10
Urban planning and design: 2.2
Urban capacities and resources: 3.5
Transparency, accountability and participation: 8.9
Average score: 3.4
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Photographs: Hardik jadeja /Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Jaipur
Rank: 11
Urban planning and design: 2.4
Urban capacities and resources: 2.3
Transparency, accountability and participation: 2.7
Average score: 3.3
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Image: Jaipur Metro
Photographs: Rohit Jain
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Chennai
Rank: 12
Urban planning and design: 2.7
Urban capacities and resources: 2.1
Transparency, accountability and participation: 3.1
Average score: 3.2
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Image: Students make a formation of a tree during a programme to create awareness to save trees and forests, in Chennai.
Photographs: Rohit Jain
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Lucknow
Rank: 13
Urban planning and design: 2.3
Urban capacities and resources: 2.1
Transparency, accountability and participation: 3.9
Average score: 3.2
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Image: Visitors walk inside Asafi Imambara, also known as Bara Imambara, in Lucknow.
Photographs: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters
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Kanpur
Rank: 14
Urban planning and design: 2.4
Urban capacities and resources: 1.9
Transparency, accountability and participation: 3.9
Average score: 3.2
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Image: Ghat on the Ganges near Kanpur
Photographs: Prakhar Amba/Wikimedia Commons
India's 15 best cities to live in
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Ranchi
Rank: 15
Urban planning and design: 1.7
Urban capacities and resources: 2.5
Transparency, accountability and participation: 2.5
Average score: 3.1
Image: A Durga Puja pandal, built in the shape of Eiffel Tower of Paris, is illuminated in Ranchi.
Photographs: Rajesh Kumar Sen/Reuters
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