High Urban Densities in Developing Countries: A Sustainable Solution?

High-density developments are widely claimed to make an important contribution to achieving sustainable growth of cities in developed countries. The compact city model is claimed to be a suitable model for such cities. How far the high-density compact city model is relevant for sustainable urban growth in cities in developing countries which already have higher densities than those in developed countries is as yet unknown. This paper contributes to this theoretical debate with empirical evidence from eleven neighbourhoods of varying densities and built form patterns within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in India. In so doing, the critical aspects of social, economic and environmental sustainability as well as both physical and perceived dimensions of densities are discussed within the particular context of Mumbai. Evidence from this research suggests that higher densities and compact developments do have potential to achieve sustainable development in rapidly growing cities in developing countries.