Klearjos Eduardo Papanicolaou

When Singapore was founded in 1965, its leader Lee Kuan Yew famously said that it will “not only become a Metropolis, but it will last a thousand years, and it is people who calculate, and think in those terms, who deserve to survive.” Half a century on, as breakdown engulfs many of the world’s cities, Singapore carries on glamorously. But at what cost?

A massive urban transformation is underway in India. As part of the government’s Bharatmala (‘Garland of Limitless Roads’) programme, highways are being constructed at an unprecedented rate—with the aim of opening up new territories to the emerging Indian middle classes.