Shobha Surin - Question of Cities

Why Mumbai should look beyond Chitale Committee report

In the aftermath of the July 2005 flood, the fact-finding committee submitted its report within nine months. The Madhav Chitale Committee report was widely hailed on two counts – for showing Mumbai’s grave deficiencies in flood management and suggesting a…

Why India’s cities are not prepared for extreme heat and high rainfall

Searing heat scorched northern India, including Delhi, before rains hit hard. Flooding threw life out of gear in Pune, Bengaluru, Itanagar among other cities through June. Hundreds lost their lives. Cities were ill-equipped to address these extreme weather events whose…

‘Move from crisis-oriented approach during heat waves to making cities heat-resilient’

Every year, discussions in the public and private domains on heat start around March-April and peak in May-June. These usually focus on short-term measures, a set of dos and don’ts for people, which are important but limited from a long-term…

Green talk: Included in party manifestos, excluded from campaigns

As slugfests and fiery speeches take centre stage throughout the campaign in the 2024 general elections, environmental issues and climate change which affect one and all have hardly been given space. Manifestos of political parties mention them in varying degrees…

How Punekars fought for their hill, Vetal Tekdi, to save its ecology

Pune’s citizens have been fighting to save Vetal Tekdi, the city’s lungs and a popular open space, from being destroyed for developmental projects. Realising the importance of nature in a rapidly expanding city, a coalition of citizens and groups have…

How most Indian cities moved from public to private transport modes

Public transport, often led by a robust network of cleaner fuel-driven buses, is increasingly seen as the silver bullet in fast-growing cities to reduce congestion on roads, lower transport emissions which contribute to air pollution, and make commuting affordable for…

The green does not have to lose the battle to the grey in our cities

Large swathes of green cover are being cleared to make way for construction and infrastructure across cities in India. Trees are being cut, large canopies felled, old trees badly and unscientifically pruned. Urban plans and projects do not take trees…

Jaga: Odisha’s land title to slum dwellers worthy of emulation

In a landmark move, pushed by slum dwellers’ movements, the Odisha government introduced a law which made the Jaga Mission possible. Instead of evicting slum dwellers from nearly 3,000 slums in its cities, including from prime areas in the capital…

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,…

Jane Walks: A global movement to connect with cities and communities

How well do you know your city and its neighbourhood? Have you explored its layers of history and observed the nooks and corners that are changing? When Jane Jacobs Walks started in 2007 in the United States, a year after…