Archives - Question of Cities

To record and remember changing cities is to resist their erasure

As cities transform with breath-taking speed and the shiny new replaces the fading old, resisting the physical change is impractical and untenable. Resistance then takes other forms such as documenting, recording, collecting stories, organising walks, logging the everyday life, and…

Watching over the water of our lakes and wetlands

Thane and Navi Mumbai, old and new cities respectively which are often overshadowed by Mumbai, have seen their ecological abundance of rivers, creeks, wetlands, hills and forests threatened by ‘development’ plans and infrastructure projects. Professionals, environmentalists, architects, traditional communities like…

‘Resistance is needed for government to perform its basic duties’

Eminent environmentalist Ravi Chopra resigned from the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee to supervise the Char Dham road-widening project in 2022 as an act of protest. His advice to limit the road width in the fragile Himalayan terrain had been overruled.…

We want safe cities, we want feminist cities

The heinous rape-murder of a doctor in Kolkata sparked off heated discussions on women’s safety in cities. Safety of women anywhere is non-negotiable, it is the bare minimum, and it is not entirely women’s responsibility. Women also need to be…

Small but significant changes for gender-inclusive cities

Safe and clean public spaces, accessible convenience areas and toilets at regular intervals, areas that they can rest for a while, streets and footpaths that do not threaten even in the dark, responsive mechanism to complaints are some of the…

‘The Delhi metro is inclusive but also not equitable’

The metro in New Delhi was a game changer for women, making travel accessible, faster, and safer. Greater ridership by women is a good social indicator, says anthropologist and author Rashmi Sadana, because it means more women work, their health…

Self-policing for safety: Memoir of a weary woman

This personal essay explores, with anecdotes and examples, how young girls are conditioned into behaving a certain way, within frameworks set in homes and schools, to remain safe at all times. This then influences the way women hold themselves in…

How cities are changing from ‘patriarchy in stone, brick’

Innumerable studies have revealed alarming data on the rising crimes against women in public spaces. Aiming to make the outdoors safer, a few cities across the world have taken deliberate steps and adopted ideas to make women feel safe and…

Pune’s growth story reminds us that nature does not send an invoice

As Pune amalgamates larger non-urban areas into the city limits, expanding in all directions, the frenzy of development has also meant fast-depleting natural areas. The frequent floods and harsh summers are alarms that can no longer be ignored. As the…

Why Pune’s riverfront development is a bad idea

The controversial project, spanning 44 kilometres of the Mula, Mutha and Mula-Mutha, aims to construct embankments, walkways, plazas, access roads, gardens and plant trees along the riverbanks. It is more about creating land for construction than cleaning and rejuvenating the…