Why are the poshest neighborhoods in Indian cities typically discovered within the south or west? A LinkedIn submit by MarkitUp cofounder Saransh Anand has reignited debate over an outdated however curious idea: colonial winds could have formed India’s fashionable actual property map.
“Ever seen how in most Indian cities, the south and west sides are the luxurious ones?” Anand requested, itemizing off South Delhi, South Mumbai, West Pune, and South Kolkata. “It’s nearly just like the compass decides the lease.”
On the coronary heart of the speculation lies a colonial obsession with hygiene. British planners, Anand defined, favored the south and west sides of cities throughout the Raj due to prevailing wind instructions. “India’s monsoon winds blow from the southwest to the northeast. That meant the south and west obtained contemporary air, whereas the north and east obtained the humid, polluted air.”
British officers, eager on consolation, constructed their houses and administrative quarters—typically referred to as “civil traces”—upwind. Downwind zones had been left for native settlements, markets, and trade. A century later, a lot of those self same upwind zones have developed into the upscale neighborhoods of at the moment.
“Higher infrastructure adopted the cash, and the sample has sustained itself,” Anand wrote.
However he additionally cautioned in opposition to overgeneralizing. “Wind path isn’t the one cause. In cities like Bangalore or Hyderabad, the ‘south = wealthy’ logic has extra to do with fashionable growth than colonial wind.”
City historians have famous related patterns in different previously colonized areas. Nevertheless, components like topography, post-independence planning, and tech-driven city development have additionally performed main roles in shaping which neighborhoods rise—and which stagnate.
