The best of QoC 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, it is customary to compile year-end lists of the work done throughout the year. At Question of Cities, we join the bandwagon not as an exercise in self-congratulation but more as a reflection of…
Delhi’s double whammy of heat and polluted air demands review of Heat Action Plan
If air pollution is hazardous and deadly for people, then poor quality air combined with high temperatures is worse, as seen in this ethnographic-like study of Delhi’s Sanjay Colony. However, the city’s Heat Action Plan (HAP) does not recognise, let…
Ignoring the right to shelter keeps Dhaka’s poor cornered
Severely affected by climate change in their homes, between a thousand and 2,000 people migrate to Dhaka every day in search of work. The continued migration from rural Bangladesh has transformed the city into a super-dense place, housing nearly 44…
Sustainable drainage essential to solve Guwahati’s flood crisis
Assam is highly vulnerable to climate change and its largest city, Guwahati, bears the brunt of it. The change in rainfall pattern has made Guwahati flood-prone over the years but the city is unprepared to deal with the natural calamity.…
Vulnerabilities of informal settlers continue to exacerbate amid policy conundrum
Kathmandu’s squatter settlements have grown four-fold from 1985 to 2022, and they continue to expand. Mostly migrants, the squatters lack legal tenure to the place they occupy. Living under pathetic conditions in structures which are not houses, their lives are…
The COP28 climate agreement is a step backwards on fossil fuels
In a significant move, countries have agreed to shift from fossil fuels. But, the agreement falls short in addressing the use of fossil fuels at the heart of the climate crisis. Such an approach is inconsistent with the scientific consensus…
Wake-up call: India’s air pollution-related deaths among highest in the world
As winter sets in, the air quality in most cities in India turns critically poor. Triggered by climate change, the situation worsens every year, impacting people’s physical and mental health. More than 2.3 million Indians died prematurely due to pollution…
Urban spaces and mental health: The important correlation we miss
In the race to construct cities with mega projects, the relationship between the built environment and people’s mental health is rarely acknowledged. Asocial behaviour and mental illnesses like anxiety and depression are the outcome of urban planning and design. While…
The silent epidemic: Air pollution infiltrates our lungs, our lives, say people
No one has been spared by the effects of air pollution. A nagging cough, throat infection, lung ailments, breathing problems, and tiredness have become common. Doctors have been seeing a rise in patients with the same symptoms and yet cities…
Let’s breathe better air, said cities and fought air pollution
As people in cities across India struggle to breathe through the smog and haze that now characterise winter months, a number of solutions are discussed of which a few are adopted before the season changes and the air clears. There’s…