Bengaluru, a hub of information-technology (IT) business in India, has emerged as the fastest-changing city in the world, according to the JLL City Momentum Index 2019.
The capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka has triumphed over other major IT hubs, such as Beijing and Silicon Valley, based on its constant and responsive development amid changing circumstances.
Published by investment management firm JLL, the ranking is based on a range of indicators including a city's gross domestic product, real estate momentum, infrastructure development, technological innovation, education and air quality.
Known as India’s Silicon Valley, some of the largest tech companies in the world, including Intel, Google, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, Adobe, Samsung and Amazon, all have offices in Bengaluru, along with home-grown heroes Infosys and Wipro.
According to the index, India is home to six of the most dynamic cities in the world. After Bengaluru, Hyderabad ranked second in the list, Delhi fourth, Pune fifth and Chennai seventh while Kolkata came in at number 15.
Overall Indian and Chinese cities account for three-quarters of the top 20 cities in the list, demonstrating Asia’s continued economic growth and urbanization.
Kenya’s capital Nairobi is the only non-Asian city on the list, ranking sixth thanks to an ongoing flow of investment from China.
"Asia continues to show strong momentum, with cities that are successfully expanding their innovation economy punching above their weight in terms of attracting capital, companies and people,” Jeremy Kelly, Director of Global Research at JLL said in a press release.
But JLL also warned that the rapid momentum comes with challenges for these quickly changing cities.
“Cities that are growing quickly tend to punch above their weight in attracting capital, companies and people. However, this can create challenges, particularly in the environmental and social impacts of this rapid growth,” the report said.
It further noted that if these challenges are left unchecked, a city’s rapid growth might be derailed, thus making it difficult to sustain the prior momentum of development.
