Archives - Question of Cities

Influencing change in cities through urban design interventions

Design holds incredible power to influence change in cities, address climate crises, break the prevailing order of exclusion, and renew nature-people relationship. In the re-envisioning of our cities, urban design must dismantle many walls in which it now exists, including…

‘Ecology and landform give rise to urban form. Town planning flattens it to 2-dimension’

Cities have been turned into a mechanical mode of counting numbers with excel sheets, looking at which plot of land can be sold for what kind of profits. Urban design necessarily responds to landform; without landform, there is no urban…

Lighting, shadows, and cognitive dissonance in
urban spaces

This essay presents an emerging concern about how urban environments should be understood and designed in terms of lighting, and shows how people experience cognitive dissonance when exposed to fragmented lighting, uncoordinated shadows, and over-illumination in cities such as Mumbai…

‘Cities that care’: A blueprint for feminist cities

A city is the ultimate act of an inclusive democratic society, a political act. It is also an important vehicle for the aspirations of equality of historically marginalised like the poor, women, caste and gender minorities, and people with different…

How ecologically-sound is Kolkata’s New Town?

Designated a Platinum Rated Green City in 2020, New Town chalked out sustainable measures within the constraints of an already planned city and has attempted to implement them. To that extent, it could be a template for urban developments across…

Rooftop cooling as design intervention to beat the heat
in Delhi’s Sultanpuri

The cramped homes, shared walls, asbestos or tin roofs, and narrow lanes make the indoors hotter than the outdoors in the Labour Colony here, leaving residents unable to cook, work or sleep. Unable to afford air conditioners and coolers, residents…

‘I have a negative sense of the judiciary; conflicting orders are passed’

An important path to protect ecology and seek environmental justice has been through the courts where, in numerous cases, citizens and lawyers have turned crusaders for nature. The Supreme Court noted last April that the right to a healthy environment…

Delhi’s Biodiversity Parks show a face of urban ecological restoration

Delhi’s seven biodiversity parks offer a glimpse into how urban ecological renewal can take shape and why it is critical in the time of rapid urbanisation and intense climate change. Spread over nearly 3,000 acres, these parks, thoughtfully and scientifically…

Bengaluru lakes: A trickle of renewal, a long way ahead

The restoration of lakes is at a crucial juncture. As the authorities announce plans to rejuvenate more of the nearly 300 lakes in the city, the experience of volunteer groups, individuals who have done the work so far, and the…

How people power reclaimed the Vishwamitri for Vadodara

From building a coalition against the Vishwamitri Riverfront Development Project to getting it scrapped – a rare success – people’s movements have interwoven passionate activism with law, science, and data. Their collective engagement and dogged sense of purpose made all…