As an emerging player in the domain of high-rise development, India is restructuring how it engages with urban growth by shifting from horizontal sprawl to vertical expansion.

As Mumbai mops up after its worst floods in more than a decade, experts say India must police urban sprawl more tightly to protect its packed cities from ever more frequent, fatal floods.

According to the Asian Development Bank, India loses up to $22 billion annually due to urban transport inefficiencies, logistics delays, and poor infrastructure.

Researchers argue that greenbelts almost always work in curbing sprawl, particularly in larger cities. It looks at 60 cities in Europe, half of them with a greenbelt, half without, and uses open ...