Archives - Question of Cities

Traditional urban planning fails women; make them visible in planning to transform cities

Do women feel safe in cities? Do they get equal job opportunities and amenities as men? A woman’s experience of safety, ease of mobility and so on is determined by the way cities are organised. It is important for urban…

‘We get flash floods but we have never experienced this type of flood’

Assam, and its neighbouring region, was lashed by the harshest monsoon rain in years, resulting in massive inundation and floods across 32 of the state’s 36 districts, displacing lakhs of people and destroying crops and property. Weeks later, people continued…

Assam floods: Infrastructure-led ruptures in the ecological landscape

The extreme rain and floods in Assam last month hit international headlines. As stories of loss and destruction tug at heart and the state continues to reel under the aftermath of the calamity, various causes are being put forth to…

Climate migrants: From cyclone-hit Sundarbans to Kolkata’s miserable shanties

The real struggle for those battered by cyclones starts after the calamity when they are forced to leave behind their home, land and fields as villagers living around the Sundarbans have had to do. As Climate Change led to more…

Techno-fixes for flood risk mitigation in Mumbai: An ecological critique

Monsoon has displayed its fury this year once again, spreading havoc and flooding cities such as Guwahati, Nashik, Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Hyderabad. The grim situation has put the focus on systemic and structural causes, and on how we build our…

If Aarey shrinks, Mumbai will gasp for breath

Aarey Colony, also called Aarey Forest, at the northern end of the city has long functioned as its lungs, providing the city with fresh air and a vast expanse of green amidst grey concrete. A portion of Aarey was finally…

Hyderabad’s Khajaguda Rocks and its ecology yield to posh urban spaces

The luxury apartments, commercial buildings, and spanking new roads at Khajaguda have come up at a huge cost – the loss of the city’s prehistoric rocks and an entire ecological system that the rock formation supported. The sprawling 150-acre site,…

To build sustainable cities, keep nature and people at centre of urban planning

The rampant destruction of natural areas and biodiversity is significantly contributing to frequent and intense climate events threatening not only our health, but our very survival. The loss of life and property owing to extreme weather events bring forth responses…

Walk through Mumbai’s oldest dock, meet its fishing community

At the 147-year-old Sassoon Dock, at the very tip of Mumbai, the organised mess and noisy routine involves thousands of people who live off fishing activities. The morning drill, from 3.30am to 10am, starts from catching fish to selling and…

A tall order: Housing as part of the ‘Right to the City’ is long, hard work

The Delhi High Court’s judgment in the Shakur Basti petition in 2019 foregrounded the Right to the City for slum dwellers, bringing hope for those who were facing forceful eviction. The verdict, widely seen as progressive, spelled out the rights…