Rethinking urban sprawl in India: biodiversity and just sustainabilities

Urban sprawl has become a defining feature of India's urban transition, yet it is commonly framed as a problem of land-use inefficiency and unplanned growth. This Viewpoint argues that such perspectives overlook the ecological and justice dimensions of sprawling urbanisation. The Viewpoint reconceptualizes urban sprawl as a governance challenge that fragments local ecosystems, accelerates biodiversity loss, and reproduces environmental inequalities. Rapid metropolitan expansion is transforming wetlands, agricultural land, forests, and peri-urban commons into built environments, weakening ecological connectivity and urban resilience. Existing planning approaches remain growth-oriented and institutionally fragmented, prioritising economic development over ecosystem integrity and environmental justice. The Viewpoint contends that biodiversity should be embedded within local planning through ecosystem-sensitive governance, nature-based solutions, and participatory decision-making. Reframing urban sprawl through a Just Sustainabilities lens provides a more integrated approach to achieving ecologically resilient, socially equitable, and democratically governed urban futures in rapidly urbanising India.