Team QoC - Question of Cities

Why cities need care committees, why rehab buildings are slum-like

Planning a city without adequate attention to design at macro and micro levels across it makes for chaos, clutter, difficulties in access and more. At the intersections of design and gender, and design and rehabilitation housing in Mumbai, Question of…

‘No spatial planning instrument designed for people’s decisions of public space’

Building sustainable and liveable spaces, conserving and expanding open spaces, drafting and implementing policies for sustainability and inclusiveness, involving people across class and geography in the design of their living and working environments can make cities where people live comfortably…

Modern planning forgets traditional, eco-sensitive designs

Of the many design elements that have fallen out of favour is the jharokha, especially in hot places. The enclosed stone window projecting from the outer wall allowed ventilation inside, ensured privacy, and was a climate device. From Assam’s flood-resilient…

Planning does not make space for women, children, and
the informal

The way cities are planned and built reveals a disconnect and inequity in how they treat the marginalised, the informal workers, women and children, many of whom bear the brunt of the extreme weather conditions. “When a city doesn’t plan…

‘Build the roads and bridges
for the Kumbh, but save
the Godavari’

Maharashtra’s ancient city, Nashik, by the Godavari is on an overdrive to prepare for the Kumbh Mela 2027 where the devout gather every 12 years to take a dip in the sacred water. But the river is struggling to flow.…

The unheard stories of people’s struggle and protest for water

Protests for the simplest of human needs – water – took place in many cities and towns of India this summer, from Jaipur and Indore to Delhi and Palghar, as the harsh summer and depleting water levels led to acute…

Ten reports on heat, heat risks and women, and water challenges

As most cities in India record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, the warning signs of climate change cannot be ignored. Over the years, researchers have, through their studies and reports, detailed the impact of extreme heat. Climate change is a…

‘What’s the strategic component in Great Nicobar? The logic is entirely financial’

The dense forest of 130 square kilometres in the Great Nicobar, an area equivalent to 38 percent of Mumbai, faces total erasure by a Rs 92,000-crore mega development project of a transshipment terminal, port and airport. “We are signing off…

Do not touch our trees: Citizens echo across cities

From Pune to Hyderabad, citizens are protesting large-scale tree cutting linked to roads, metros, flyovers, mining and real estate projects despite worsening urban heat. In Pune, activists say decades of infrastructure-led concretisation have devastated tree cover, even as the city…

Paris shows the cool way to prioritise nature over concrete

Paris went from grey car-centric to green and tree-filled, planting nearly 1,00,000 trees and creating 531 gardens, and two urban forests with Mayor Anne Hidalgo leading the transformation. To make the city more liveable and breathable, and to reduce excessive…

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