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Forget the winner: the Town. Central Mumbai is the talking point, and Dadar - Shivaji Park the big buzz. R Swaminathan finds out why.
How did Dadar-Shivaji Park, Lower Parel, Andheri and Worli manage to beat Bandra so easily? What does an average Mumbaikar want from his locality? Does housing score over education? How do medical services compare with, say, entertainment facilities?
These questions were answered by a DNA-IMRS survey, which polled 2,300 Mumbaikars in the 18-45 age group. (Also Read: Here’s how we did it).
The sample was asked to rank areas according to a livability index, which involved grading housing, education, entertainment, infrastructure, medical facilities, living conditions and support systems. The highest score possible in the index was 10 and the lowest, 0. (See Decoding the liability index).
If you leave out the Town areas (See Top5 Townlings, in bottom strip), Dadar-Shivaji Park came first in all parameters, except entertainment, an area where Bandra scored the highest. Entertainment facilities included easy and affordable access to good restaurants, malls and shops, good pubs, bars and discotheques, and good gymnasiums and clubs. But even in entertainment facilities, Dadar-Shivaji Park came in second, beating Andheri, Juhu and Khar. In fact, over 85 per cent of the people surveyed felt the area offered good entertainment. (See ‘Top 5 in Entertainment’)
With new-economy businesses like business process outsourcing units, media, and financial services establishing operations in Central Mumbai areas like Lower Parel and Worli, Dadar-Shivaji Park has become the preferred residential location for senior executives. Its win-win mix of good housing (87 per cent Mumbaikars vouched for it) and easy availability of houses on rent (77 per cent of the respondents felt so), combined with an old world neighbourhood and modern outlook has made Dadar-Shivaji Park the city’s new flavour.
It seems natural that Lower Parel (Rank 2) and Worli (Rank 4), located in the vicinity of Dadar-Shivaji Park and housing several corporate offices, have also moved up the pecking order. Interestingly, however, only 56 per cent think that purchasing a home in Dadar-Shivaji Park is within their budget, while only 55 per cent feel rentals are within their reach. In short, houses are there for the taking, but prices are beyond the reach of middle-class Mumbai.
Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report on rental and realty prices for Dadar says the monthly rental for a 850 sq.ft. 2-BHK apartment is Rs25,000, while the market price for the same is more than Rs75 lakh. Dadar-Shivaji Park gets the highest score in education—colleges, schools and coaching centres—with more than 90 per cent saying the area has the best educational institutions. Dadar, and nearby Matunga, has always been known for its colleges, like Catering College, Kirti College, Ruia and Potdar. Only Bandra, which is ranked second, comes close to Dadar-Shivaji Park’s score with over 85 per cent of the respondents saying colleges, schools and coaching centres are of good quality. More than 85 per cent of Mumbaikars also feel support systems—availability of maids, parking facilities, medicine shops, dvd/video libraries, open spaces, crèches, parks, laundry shops, home delivery of groceries, and children’s parks—are good in Dadar-Shivaji Park.
Expectedly, Andheri (West), third in the pecking order, has done well. Although the locality does not score high on infrastructure, medical facilities, and healthy and safe living conditions (Mumbaikars gave it 4, a notch below its overall ranking of 3), it is ranked second only to Dadar in housing. It matches its overall ranking in education and entertainment. With multiplexes like Fame Adlabs and Fun Republic, the entertainment quotient is quite high. Over the years, Andheri has become one of the most sought-after localities because of affordable rents, proximity to film and entertainment industry hubs and excellent connectivity with other western suburbs.
More than 85 per cent of Mumbaikars vouch for the good educational and entertainment facilities in Andheri. Over 80 per cent feel it is relatively easy to get support services. The downside: Andheri’s roads and the approach to the railway station, with less than 60 per cent approving of it.Worli, meanwhile, gets singled out for support systems, where it scores a relatively low 6. Along with Lower Parel, Worli is one of the few areas where residential and commercial properties stand cheek-by-jowl, and that puts added pressure on support services. More often than not, the commercial sector is able to outbid households for support services, creating scarcity for housewives.
The biggest surprise is the emergence of Sion-King Circle as a serious contender, bagging an overall 6th rank. (Also Read: Sion moves into King’s circle).
Despite getting a low rank on support systems (14), housing facilities (10) and entertainment, infrastructure and medical facilities (8), Sion-King Circle comes 6th on the back of its strong educational and infrastructure facilities. Over 80 per cent Mumbaikars say Sion-King Circle has good colleges, schools and coaching institutes. More than 75 per cent also give Sion-King Circle a good score on hospitals, shops, connectivity, public transport, railway stations and water. Mumbai’s brand new pecking order proves one thing. When it comes to living it up, Mumbaikars prefer the calm and quiet to the hip and happening.
Decoding the livability index
Every Mumbaikar’s Quality of Life (QOL) is determined by certain quantifiable factors. That single assumption was the starting point of the livability index. We went out to find out from average Mumbaikars as to what they think constitutes day-to-day life. The sample size for this pre-survey was 500 and it was conducted across both genders, across all socio-economic groups and across all areas of the city. Based on their suggestions, the livability index included the following factors:
1. Housing facilities
2. Educational facilities
3. Entertainment facilities
4. Infrastructure facilities
5. Healthy and safe living conditions
6. Support systems
The respondents were asked to rank these factors according to impor tance. Based on the ranking, each fac tor was given a specific weight:
1. Housing facilities - 0.30
2. Educational facilities - 0.27
3. Infrastructure and hospitals - 0.17
4. Entertainment - 0.13
5. Healthy/safe conditions - 0.09
6. Support systems - 0.04
When the questionnaire was administered, each respondent was asked to rank localities on the above mentioned factors. The top ten ranks were aggregated for each area on each factor.
The total score for each area on each factor was multiplied by the specific weight given to each factor, which translated into the livability index score for that locality.
