In the past decade, we have become an urban planet, with the majority of the world's population living in cities. Reflecting this global trend, India's urban population is expected to increase from a little under 350 million in 2011 to about 800 million by the middle of the 21st Century, an increase of an astonishing 500 million persons. At this point, urban India will account for more than half of the country's population and will thus make a historic transition from a largely rural and agrarian society to one that is predominantly urban. This will be more than just an economic transition: the effects of urbanisation will resonate within Indian society, culture, politics and environment. However, existing urban centres, as well as many new ones, will find themselves enormously strained as urbanisation gathers momentum. swissnex India and the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) has co-organized this lecture series on the challenges related to the global urbanisation process and its implications for India. The series comprises seven sessions by various Swiss experts from a wide range of fields including architecture, social geography, urban sociology and environmental science. This lecture series will provide you the opportunity to interact with the Swiss experts and gain insights on various topics related to urbanisation.

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