Archives - Question of Cities

Streets, not designated spaces, reverberate with protesters and their songs

Protests, a democratic right, need public spaces but maidans, city squares, prominent landmarks and monuments in India’s cities have been gradually cordoned off by governments that are unwilling to have such voices question the dominant narrative they set. Instead, governments…

How India’s financial capital shrunk protest sites, turned down protesters’ volume

Bombay, later Mumbai, has seen huge historical protests. Its protest sites were many – Chowpatty, Hutatma Chowk, Kala Ghoda, Gowalia Tank Maidan (now August Kranti Maidan), Jambori Maidan, Azad Maidan, Dadar station. All of them witnessed massive demonstrations and protests…

Jantar Mantar apart, Delhi’s streets and borders are now temporal protest spaces

The Boat Club was once a favoured protest space in the national capital, so were the grand avenues of Janpath and Rajpath, and the majestic India Gate. Increasingly, for reasons of security or keeping protesters away from power, protests were…

Protest sites signal democratic strength of cities

India is not new to protests and demonstrations. Its many public spaces have been platforms to question the government of the day or employers, to raise voice against abuse and exploitation, to debate and demand change. They are hubs where…

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.…