Gurugram has been ranked as the most suitable Indian city to live during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into factors like open area ratio, population density and hospital infrastructure. The latest report by Square Yards named Suitability Index: The COVID Perspective has shed light on the suitability of residing and working in three key Indian cities, namely Mumbai, Gurugram and Bengaluru amidst the backdrop of COVID-19. The report states that the above-mentioned parameters assume greater importance over distance from workplace or affordability for deciding on where homebuyers wish to live in COVID-19 times.
Gurugram is the most suitable Indian city from this perspective with areas in the East zone like Sectors 40-44, 52-56, 24-27 and 30 ranked as the most suitable for living in the current scenario based upon the index. Although density of COVID-19 cases in the zone stood second only to the North zone, the presence of the highest number of hospitals for every 10,000 people, more than 40% of open areas and the lowest population density led to the higher ranking on livability grounds. Mahadevapura was the most suitable area to live in Bengaluru. Other favored localities in this zone included Devasandra, Bellandur and Marathahalli.
Localities in the PN and N wards in Mumbai, which majorly make up the Western suburbs and Central suburbs, were the most suitable for living at this time. Both Bengaluru and Mumbai have just 0.30 and 1.3 hospitals for every 10,000 people as per this study while Gurugram has 2.5 hospitals for every 10,000 people. Mumbai contained 13 out of 24 wards hugely impacted with 50+ cases for every 10,000 people. The east and north zones in Gurugram had averages of 55 cases per square kilometer and four out of eight zones in Bengaluru had 200+ cases per square kilometer.
The suitability index for various zones was majorly impacted in Bengaluru and Mumbai by two key parameters, i.e. number of COVID-19 cases and population density. The report indicates that Mumbai has the highest open area ratio out of these three cities at almost 45%. Mumbai was also the highest populated with 60,000 people per square kilometer while Gurgaon had the lowest population density of 4200 people per square kilometer. The Business Head- Data Intelligence & Asset Management Services- Square Yards, Anand Moorthy, stated that Suitability Index is a way of bringing together multiple non-transaction elements into the spotlight which may have a direct impact while taking home buying decisions. He added that the new normal will stay for some time now and the idea here is to unearth factors other than affordability or proximity to the workplace with regard to impacting home choices.
For a detailed report on this read the articles we were featured in:
moneycontrol.com – https://bit.ly/3xg6Vcl
YourStory – https://bit.ly/3veOJOP
Bhaskar Live – https://bit.ly/3geVZG9
Mumbai Live – https://bit.ly/35aRp5C
Published Date: June 11, 2021
