Archives - Question of Cities

Heat index, or the temperature it feels like, will change the way India measures heat

Mere air temperature or land surface temperature, conveyed as minimum and maximum temperature twice a day, is no longer enough to combat heat during the harsh summer. The heat index, which layers temperature with other factors such as relative humidity,…

‘This summer heat is cooking our bodies alive, sweat runs off our feet’

The unbearable heat across cities this summer has been the harshest for outdoor workers who have no option but to toil through the high temperatures, without mitigating measures such as cool shelters and drinking water booths which should be provided…

Looking beyond heat action plans to blunt the impact of urban heat

As cities are being designed and redesigned, governments must look beyond heat measurements and Heat Action Plans to tackle the impact of rising temperatures. The dense urban sprawl, and loss of trees have exacerbated the effects of Climate Change. How…

Bengal’s cities face ‘extreme danger’ as they turn heat wave hotspots

Kolkata and Asansol, the former with its proximity to the sea and the latter located near the lower fringes of the Chhota Nagpur plateau, experienced sudden and intense heat this year. Both the cities in West Bengal have expanded in…

Anniversary Edition

QoC Charter to make our cities habitable, equitable and sustainable

As cities have been undergoing development at the cost of ecology, they are fast becoming vulnerable to the effects of Climate Change. The new cities, dotted with high-rises and wide roads, have no space for pedestrians and eco-friendly bicycles. The…

Anniversary Edition

Making nature and people in cities the focal point of dialogues

As Question of Cities completes a year, we present to you some of the best and the most-read essays or on-ground stories through the year – with the added value of having the writers reflect on a few key questions.…

Anniversary Edition

From the QoC Desk

As Question of Cities completes a year, we bring to you video editorials which outline our journey and the need for a journal focused on cities chronicled and explored through the lenses of natural ecology, social equity and sustainability. Architect-activist…

Anniversary Edition

Showcasing our one-year journey

As Question of Cities completes a year, here's a glimpse into how the journal came to be and how it shaped up. Editions that covered themes ranging from Climate Change to Independent India's first cities to gender made QoC's first…

Reading Jane Jacobs today: Why her urban renewal agenda is still relevant

The doyenne of urban activism, Jane Jacobs, urged professional urban planners to understand that a city is more than its economy and its structures, that it is made by the everyday lives and interactions of people. Through her writings and…

Jane Jacobs’ focus on people and everyday lives in cities resonates in India

Jane Jacobs, the American journalist and barefoot urban planner of the 1960s, was often dismissed as a ‘housewife’ and her creatively built community of protestors as ‘nothing but a bunch of mothers’ by professional planners. However, Jacobs kept her focus…