Richa, I think I found my answer in Goa – where I presently live 🙂

Top 100 Cities of the World – ranked by population

NOTE: Numbers shown include population within the recognized metro area
of the city, and they include
people living in the immediate surrounding area outside of the
established border of the city.

1. Tokyo, Japan – 28,025,000
2. Mexico City, Mexico – 18,131,000
3. Mumbai, India – 18,042,000
4. Sáo Paulo, Brazil – 17, 711,000
5. New York City, USA – 16,626,000
6. Shanghai, China – 14,173,000
7. Lagos, Nigeria – 13,488,000
8. Los Angeles, USA – 13,129,000
9. Calcutta, India – 12,900,000
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina – 12,431,000

11. Seóul, South Korea – 12,215,000
12. Beijing, China – 12,033,000
13. Karachi, Pakistan – 11,774,000
14. Delhi, India – 11,680,000
15. Dhaka, Bangladesh – 10,979,000
16. Manila, Philippines – 10,818,000
17. Cairo, Egypt – 10,772,000
18. Õsaka, Japan – 10,609,000
19. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 10,556,000
20. Tianjin, China – 10,239,000

21. Jakarta, Indonesia – 9,815,000
22. Paris, France – 9,638,000
23. Istanbul, Turkey – 9,413,000
24. Moscow, Russian Fed. – 9,299,000
25. London, United Kingdom – 7,640,000
26. Lima, Peru – 7,443,000
27. Tehrãn, Iran – 7,380,000
28. Bangkok, Thailand – 7,221,000
29. Chicago, USA – 6,945,000
30. Bogotá, Colombia – 6,834,000

31. Hyderabad, India – 6,833,000
32. Chennai, India – 6,639,000
33. Essen, Germany – 6,559,000
34. Hangzhou, China – 6,389,000
35. Hong Kong, China – 6,097,000
36. Lahore, Pakistan – 6,030,000
37. Shenyang, China – 5,681,000
38. Changchun, China – 5,566,000
39. Bangalore, India – 5,544,000
40. Harbin, China – 5,475,000

41. Chengdu, China – 5,293,000
42. Santiago, Chile – 5,261,000
43. Guangzhou, China – 5,162,000
44. St. Petersburg, Russian Fed. – 5,132,000
45. Kinshasa, DRC – 5,068,000
46. Baghdãd, Iraq – 4,796,000
47. Jinan, China – 4,789,000
48. Wuhan, China – 4,750,000
49. Toronto, Canada – 4,657,000
50. Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) – 4,458,000

51. Alger, Algeria – 4,447,000
52. Philadelphia, USA – 4,398,000
53. Qingdao, China – 4,376,000
54. Milano, Italy – 4,251,000
55. Pusan, South Korea – 4,239,000
56. Belo Horizonte, Brazil – 4,160,000
57. Almadabad, India – 4,154,000
58. Madrid, Spain – 4,072,000
59. San Francisco, USA – 4,051,000
60. Alexandria, Egypt – 3,995,000

61. Washington DC, USA – 3,927,000
62. Houston, USA – 3,918,000
63. Dallas, USA – 3,912,000
64. Guadalajara, Mexico – 3,908,000
65. Chongging, China – 3,896,000
66. Medellin, Colombia – 3,831,000
67. Detroit, USA – 3,785,000
68. Handan, China – 3,763,000
69. Frankfurt, Germany – 3,700,000
70. Porto Alegre, Brazil – 3,699,000

71. Hanoi, Vietnam – 3,678,000
72. Sydney, Australia – 3,665,000
73. Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. – 3,601,000
74. Singapore, Singapore – 3,587,000
75. Casablanca, Morocco – 3,535,000
76. Katowice, Poland – 3,488,000
77. Pune, India – 3,485,000
78. Bangdung, Indonesia – 3,420,000
79. Monterrey, Mexico – 3,416,000
80. Montréal, Canada – 3,401,000

81. Nagoya, Japan – 3,377,000
82. Nanjing, China – 3,375,000
83. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – 3,359,000
84. Xi’an, China – 3,352,000
85. Berlin, Germany – 3,337,000
86. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 3,328,000
87. Recife, Brazil – 3,307,000
88. Dusseldorf, Germany – 3,251,000
89. Ankara, Turkey – 3,190,000
90. Melbourne, Australia – 3,188,000

91. Salvador, Brazil – 3,180,000
92. Dalian, China – 3,153,000
93. Caracas, Venezuela – 3,153,000
94. Adis Abeba, Ethiopia – 3,112,000
95. Athina, Greece – 3,103,000
96. Cape Town, South Africa – 3,092,000
97. Koln, Germany – 3.067,000
98. Maputo, Mozambique – 3,017,000
99. Napoli, Italy – 3,012,000
100. Fortaleza, Brazil – 3,007,000

Just thinking about the question in the reverse direction. Given the current situation of the way in which the population of everthying is increasing except greenary where it is decreasing, its important what can be thought to de-congest?.. Can we as individuals come up with some solutions?.. We love to live her.. but can we do to the city? …!! something ponder about!!

You can travel across the city in 30 min highest… and all points of the city are accessible..

This is answering your query…
I’d say you could’ve easily been a part of the Planning Commission… I dream of that too… to be able to plan India better…
But you have no ideas of all the factors that hold back such plans and ideas… India is far too old a country with many determinants existing already!

Shivaji, Bay area is a good example of distributes cities, but again I have always visited that area, never really lived there.

Samba, looks like you have always lived in a big cities. Small cities are equally good if not better, its just that when you live in big city, you start thinking that no other city has these facilities. I have different views on rural consumerism, will writw about that sometime.

Parth, we all find out the ways to utilize this time, but would you really like to spend time that way, specially in India where driving is not as much a pleasure, at least within the city limits of any big city.

Thanks for writing in guys…I am thinking loud, but can we do something to have smaller well developed places, rather than a 1 Billion+ population trying to run to 5-7 major cities.

-Anu

but due to influx of ppl from all over and due to this dirty it/bpo industry it has become the way it is now