The 2026 Global Liveability Index ranks Copenhagen highest and identifies Damascus among the lowest. Chinese cities show significant improvements, contrasting with Indian cities' poor performance. Despite India's growing economy, the author stresses the critical need to enhance urban liveability. Indian cities suffer from meager budgets, unlike China, which fiscally empowered its urban zones at a similar GDP-per-head level. Structural reforms are essential for urban India to provide better lives, extending beyond air quality. While municipal bonds are a positive step, they are insufficient to address the systemic challenges and improve urban liveability effectively.