Cities and Invisible Classes

Whenever we think about cities, our imagination goes to clean roads, bridges, fascinating buildings and apartments, shopping malls, and industrial zones. The imagination of the inhabitants of a city reflects the educated people living a healthy lifestyle, working in offices, and going to clubs and shopping complexes. Urban localities have been portrayed as homogenised societies as if only the wealthy and educated people live there and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle.

But the moment we enter the cities, we find stark contradictions in our assumptions about urban society. We do not only see rich people but also rickshaw pullers in the busy market lanes, street vendors, handicraft sellers at traffic lights, labourers at construction sites, etc.