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Question of Cities

Question of Cities

Menumenu

Shobha Surin

  • Movements
  • Collective Action
  • Right to the City

We, the people, must fight to save our cities and ourselves

Governments and authorities are the custodians of our ecology but, in the past few years, people have resisted and protested actions of their governments to save trees, forests, hills, rivers, creeks, seafronts, wetlands and more. While the prevailing urban development…
By Shobha SurinSeptember 20, 2024
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  • Movements
  • Collective Action
  • Green Zones

‘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.…
By Shobha SurinSeptember 20, 2024
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  • Climate Change
  • Sustainability
  • Urban Planning

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…
By Shobha SurinAugust 23, 2024
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  • Natural Environment
  • Climate Change
  • Land Use

‘Maharashtra had 1,500 landslides in 2021, so 1,500 lessons but nothing learnt’

The Wayanad landslides bring back memories of last year’s landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, on the Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats that straddle down to Kerala. Almost 30 percent of Maharashtra is landslide-prone. The recurring landslides have put the…
By Shobha SurinAugust 9, 2024
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  • Built Environment
  • Sustainability
  • Urban Floods

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…
By Shobha SurinJuly 26, 2024
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  • Climate Change
  • Natural Environment
  • Urban Planning

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…
By Shobha Surin and Shivani DaveJune 28, 2024
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  • Climate Change
  • Heat Waves
  • Urban Planning

‘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…
By Shobha SurinMay 31, 2024
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  • Climate Change
  • Sustainability
  • Urban Planning

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…
By Shobha SurinMay 17, 2024
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  • Nature in Cities
  • Green Zones
  • Movements

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…
By Shobha SurinApril 19, 2024
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  • Public Transport
  • Infrastructure
  • Urban Planning

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…
By Shobha Surin and Shivani DaveFebruary 23, 2024
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Question of Cities is India’s only online journal dedicated to urbanisation, ecology and social equity. We strive to document stories and develop dialogues on these themes to imagine, create and re-create cities. The journal is published by the Mumbai-based trust, Participatory Urban Design and Development Initiative (PUDDI).
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