MUMBAI: The lockdown in the megapolis is the world’s largest — in terms of people — among all the major global cities currently fighting Covid-19, and also among the most painful.
With a population of over 12 million (1.2crore) and a geographical area of 437 sq km, Greater Mumbai is among the most densely populated cities on earth.
But town planners say the lockdown in Mumbai is even more painful because barely 120 sq km is the actual habitable residential area where these 12 million people are struggling to maintain social distancing. Worse, it is also the city with the lowest ratio of open spaces per 1,000 people (less than 0.03 acre).
“In terms of the severe lockdown, Mumbai is unique for the size affected,” says architect and urbanist Rahul Mehrotra. “Decongest the city. The idea of seriously having a networked metropolitan region becomes critical now,” he says.
Wuhan in China, where the pandemic first spread and was under lockdown for ten weeks, has a population of 11 million in an area spread of 8,494 sq km. New Yo