Data Provenance
Provenance, licensing, and methodology for all data used in the open-source city QOL scoring framework.
Methodology
This open-source city QOL framework evaluates 10 major Indian cities across 19 indicators in 4 equally-weighted dimensions (25% each). Dimensions are derived from the GHSCI "11 Ds" framework (Giles-Corti et al., Lancet Global Health 2022), collapsed into four thematic pillars: Active & Sustainable Mobility, Transit Infrastructure & Access, Safety & Liveability, and Environmental Health. Equal weighting is standard practice in composite indices when no expert survey is available.
Each indicator is normalized against benchmark-anchored reference points: a “worst reference” (typically the lowest-performing Indian city or national average) and a “target” (international best practice such as WHO guidelines or Vision Zero standards). Scores range from 0 (at or below worst reference) to 1 (at or above target).
Cities are graded A–E based on their composite score. Missing data points receive a score of 0 (null penalty) to incentivize open data publication.
Active & Sustainable Mobility
Transit Infrastructure & Access
Safety & Liveability
Environmental Health
Grade Scale
Indicator Sources
Data provenance for each of the 19 indicators.
| Indicator | Source |
|---|---|
| Traffic Fatalities | NCRB ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ (2022) |
| VRU Fatality Share | NCRB ADSI state/city tables (2022) |
| Walking Mode Share | Census 2011 + city CMP/CTTS reports |
| Cycling Mode Share | Census 2011 + city CMP/CTTS reports |
| Footpath Coverage | City CMP / Smart City CDP / DULT audit reports |
| Rail Transit Length | Metro rail corporation annual reports + Indian Railways |
| Bus Fleet per Lakh | State transport corporation annual reports (BMTC, DTC, BEST, etc.) |
| Transit Stop Density | TransitRouter + metro station data + OSM |
| Cycle Infrastructure | OpenStreetMap (cycleway=* tags) |
| PT Accessibility | Derived from transit stop density + catchment analysis |
| PM₂.₅ Annual Average | OAQ / CPCB monitoring stations (WAQI fallback; CPCB annual baseline) |
| NO₂ Annual Average | OAQ / CPCB monitoring stations (WAQI fallback; CPCB annual baseline) |
| Congestion Level | TomTom Traffic Index (2023) |
| Noise Pollution | CPCB National Ambient Noise Monitoring Network (NANMN) |
| CO₂ Emissions | UrbanEmissions APnA city profiles |
| Fuel Consumption | PPAC district-level fuel sales data |
| Green Cover | ISFR / HUGSI / CSCAF assessments |
| Sustainable Mode Share | Derived from Census + CMP mode share data |
| Road Density | Municipal corporation road network data |
Data Readiness Matrix
Per-city data layer availability. Missing data is penalized in scoring.
| Layer | Ahmedabad | Greater | Chennai | National | Hyderabad | Indore | Kochi | Kolkata | Mumbai | Pune |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altmo Traces | ||||||||||
| Bus Stops & Routes | ||||||||||
| Metro Stations | ||||||||||
| Suburban Rail | ||||||||||
| Walking Infrastructure | ||||||||||
| Cycling Infrastructure | ||||||||||
| Metro Frequency | ||||||||||
| Bus Frequency | ||||||||||
| Metro Ridership | ||||||||||
| Safety / Accident Data | ||||||||||
| Air Quality |
Data Confidence Rating
Weighted composite of 6 factors measuring data quality and freshness. Thresholds: Gold ≥ 70, Silver ≥ 45, Bronze < 45.
Confidence Factors
Live-overridden indicators / total available
Bus, metro, rail data completeness checklist
Weighted data layer availability score
Available indicators / 19 total
PM2.5 + NO2 live air quality sensors
Walking & cycling activity data
| City | Tier | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Greater | Gold | 73.4 |
| Hyderabad | Silver | 65.8 |
| Chennai | Silver | 65.4 |
| National | Silver | 62.4 |
| Mumbai | Silver | 61.0 |
| Ahmedabad | Silver | 61.0 |
| Kochi | Silver | 58.8 |
| Kolkata | Silver | 58.2 |
| Pune | Silver | 56.4 |
| Indore | Bronze | 36.4 |
Transit Map Data
Sources for the transit infrastructure layers displayed on city maps.
Bus Stops
Metro Stations & Lines
Suburban Rail
Company Markers
References
65 sources across 12 categories.
Academic & Research (8)
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1.
Allirani, H. & Verma, A. (2025). “A novel transportation Quality of Life Index framework for evaluating sustainable transport interventions.” Journal of Transport Geography.
Framework design, Fuzzy-AHP dimension weights, scenario strategies -
2.
Vajjarapu, H. et al. (2023). “Travel Demand Model for Bengaluru.” ASCE Journal of Urban Planning and Development.
Bengaluru VKT, emissions, scenario validation -
3.
Guttikunda, S. & Kopakka, R. (2013). “Source apportionment of air pollution in Hyderabad.” UrbanEmissions.info.
CPCB-funded receptor model study; vehicular 31%, dust 26% -
4.
TERI (2018). “Source Apportionment of PM2.5 & PM10 in Delhi NCR.” The Energy and Resources Institute.
Hybrid emission inventory + CTM study; transport 13–39% -
5.
TERI (2024). “Prioritisation of Actions in Pune & Nashik.” The Energy and Resources Institute.
NCAP actions prioritisation, source apportionment validation -
6.
ARAI (2022). “Pune District Emission Inventory.” Automotive Research Association of India.
Transport exhaust 20%, road dust 19%, industry 19% -
7.
SAFAR/IITM (2021). “Pune Emission Inventory.” Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Ministry of Earth Sciences source apportionment -
8.
RMI (2024). “Transforming Delhi’s Power Grid.” Rocky Mountain Institute.
Delhi grid energy mix; 25–33% renewable, imports ~90% of power
National Government Sources (8)
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9.
NCRB (2022). “Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India.” National Crime Records Bureau.
City-wise traffic accident fatalities, VRU fatality shares -
10.
MoRTH (2022). “Road Accidents in India.” Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
National traffic fatality benchmarks and state-level data -
11.
Census of India (2011). Registrar General of India.
Decennial mode share data (walk, cycle, PT, private vehicle) -
12.
CPCB (2023). “National Ambient Air Quality Status.” Central Pollution Control Board.
Annual PM2.5 and NO2 monitoring data from continuous stations -
13.
CPCB (2024). “National Ambient Noise Monitoring Network (NANMN).”
24×7 ambient noise at 10 stations/city across 7 major cities -
14.
CEA (2025). “CO2 Baseline Database v21.0.” Central Electricity Authority.
Grid emission factors; national weighted average 0.710 tCO2/MWh (FY 2024–25) -
15.
PPAC (2023). “District-level Fuel Sales.” Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, MoPNG.
Transport fuel consumption (100% petrol + 60% diesel share) -
16.
FSI (2023). “India State of Forest Report.” Forest Survey of India.
Urban green cover for 7 mega cities
Air Quality Data (6)
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17.
OAQ (Live). “Open Air Quality Data.”
Primary source; CC BY 4.0; raw µg/m³ PM2.5 and NO2 from 571 CPCB reference stations across 8 cities -
18.
WAQI (Live). “World Air Quality Index.”
Secondary fallback; AQI sub-indices reverse-converted to µg/m³ via EPA breakpoints -
19.
CPCB (2023). “National Ambient Air Quality Status — Annual Report.”
Tertiary fallback; city-level annual average PM2.5 and NO2 from continuous monitoring stations -
20.
WHO (2021). “WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines.”
Benchmark targets: PM2.5 5 µg/m³, NO2 10 µg/m³ annual -
21.
India NAAQS (2009). “National Ambient Air Quality Standards.” CPCB.
Annual PM2.5: 40 µg/m³, NO2: 40 µg/m³ -
22.
UrbanEmissions.info. “APnA City Program.” Guttikunda et al.
City-level PM2.5 source apportionment, transport CO2 estimates
Traffic & Congestion (3)
- 23.
- 24.
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25.
WHO (2018). “Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region.”
Noise pollution target benchmark (55 dB Leq)
Energy & Emissions (2)
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26.
BEE. “Vehicle Emission Rates.” Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India.
Car: 0.142 kg CO2/km, two-wheeler: 0.045, auto: 0.060, bus/metro: 0.025 per pax-km -
27.
Ember (2024–25). “India Electricity Data Explorer.”
State-level grid energy mix (renewable vs coal share)
Transit Infrastructure Data (6)
- 28.
- 29.
- 30.
- 31.
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32.
Delhi/Hyderabad Metro Lines. kavyajeetbora/metro_accessibility.
Metro line geometries for accessibility analysis -
33.
BMRCL Hourly Ridership. Vonter/bmrcl-ridership-hourly.
Station-wise hourly ridership data; CC BY 4.0
City Transport Plans & CMPs (8)
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34.
DULT (2020). “Bengaluru Comprehensive Mobility Plan.” Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Karnataka.
Mode share, footpath coverage audit (37%) - 35.
- 36.
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37.
CMDA (2008). “Chennai Comprehensive Traffic & Transportation Study.”
Chennai mode share and footpath coverage (45%) -
38.
RITES/DIMTS (2019). “Delhi Transport Demand Forecast.”
Travel demand, mode share, footpath coverage (25%) -
39.
CMP/ICLEI (2018). “Indore Mode Share Study.”
Indore mode share and footpath coverage (20%) - 40.
- 41.
Transit Operators (Bus Fleet) (10)
- 42.
- 43.
- 44.
- 45.
- 46.
- 47.
- 48.
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49.
WBTC. West Bengal Transport Corporation, Kolkata.
~1,337 buses + private (22 per lakh; pop ~60 lakh KMC) - 50.
- 51.
Metro & Rail Systems (8)
- 52.
- 53.
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54.
DMRC. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
393 km operational (largest in India) - 55.
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56.
Southern Railway Suburban + MRTS, Chennai.
~510 km broad gauge + 19.3 km MRTS, 148 stations, ~1.2M daily - 57.
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58.
MMTS. Multi-Modal Transport System, Hyderabad.
90 km suburban rail, 36 stations -
59.
Pune Suburban Railway (Pune–Lonavala).
~64 km corridor, 17 stations
Open Transit Data (GTFS) (3)
- 60.
- 61.
- 62.
Activity & Mobility Data (2)
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63.
Altmo Core Platform. GPS activity traces via Strava OAuth.
2.1M+ activity traces, company geo-fences, leaderboards - 64.
Safety Reports (1)
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65.
Bloomberg BIGRS (2022). “Mumbai Road Safety Report.”
365 fatalities (2.8 per lakh) — lowest rate; pedestrians 44%