URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL EVOLUTION AND BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY IN PUNE: A BAI AND IMURA MODEL-BASED ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69980/2edymr13Keywords:
Bai and Imura model, business sustainability, MSMEs, infrastructure pressure, sustainable urban management, Pune cityAbstract
Urban environmental change is not only a municipal planning concern. It also shapes the operating conditions of firms, industries, workers, markets, and local economic systems. This study examines the environmental evolution of Pune city through the Bai and Imura model and interprets this evolution from a business sustainability perspective. The model classifies urban environmental issues into four categories: poverty-related issues, rapid industrialization-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues, and wealthy lifestyle-related issues. Using secondary data from Census sources, Pune Municipal Corporation reports, socio-economic surveys, Maharashtra industrial statistics, transport records, and pollution-related institutional sources, the study maps Pune’s urban indicators to these four categories. The analysis indicates that Pune has made visible progress in several Type I indicators, including water access, sanitation, literacy, and infant mortality. Type II issues remain important because of the city’s strong MSME and industrial base, although selected air pollution indicators remain within prescribed standards in the data used. The city’s present environmental pressure is more strongly reflected in Type III and Type IV issues, particularly vehicle growth, two-wheeler dependence, electricity consumption, solid waste generation, e-waste, and lifestyle-related health concerns. The study argues that these issues have direct implications for business sustainability, industrial efficiency, workforce conditions, infrastructure reliability, compliance planning, logistics, and emerging circular-economy opportunities. The paper contributes by extending the Bai and Imura model from an environmental classification framework to a diagnostic framework for understanding the changing business sustainability conditions of a rapidly growing Indian city.
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