Gurugram Most Suitable City to Live in COVID-era

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Square Yards has released a first-of-its-kind COVID Suitability Index report. The latest research report by the company tilted “Suitability Index: The COVID Perspective”, aims to study the suitability of living and working in three prime cities of India namely Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurugram with respect to COVID based on meaningful parameters. Not only are these cities the top real estate destinations in the country but were also one of the top cities to be severely hit by COVID. This is where the relevance of a Suitability Index kicks in. Four prime parameters were considered for computing the Suitability Index: Population Density, Covid Infected Cases, Hospital Infrastructure and the Open Areas Ratio of each locality or zones in the selected cities. The report uses these factors and the COVID status in three selected cities to ascertain the suitability of these cities. Anand Moorthy, Business Head – Data Intelligence & Asset Management Services - Square Yards says, “The Suitability Index is an attempt to bring many non-transaction elements to the forefront that can have an impact while making a decision about your dream home since it has become your working pad also. The ‘new normal’ is here to stay and the idea is to look at factors other than proximity to work or affordability that impact choice of residence. The report throws light on the core factors affecting Covid-19 or any other pandemic situation to help a prospective buyer or lessee to choose their location of residence mindfully.” As per the report, Gurugram was the most suitable city to live from a COVID perspective amongst the three cities studied. The East zone in Gurugram, the Western and Central suburbs in Mumbai and Mahadevapura zone in Bengaluru were found to be the most suitable to live from a COVID perspective. While both Mumbai and Bengaluru had only 1.3 and 0.30 COVID hospitals available respectively per 10, 000 people, Gurugram outshone both with 2.5 hospitals per 10, 000 people. Contrary to the common notion, the report suggests that Mumbai has the highest Open Area ratio amongst the three cities at 45%. Mumbai was the most densely populated at 60, 000 people/Sq.Km. while Gurugram had the lowest population density at 4,200 people/Sq.Km. The COVID-suitability heat map for each city suggests that across all cities, suitability increased as we moved away from the city centres and older parts of the city towards more peripheral locations.