Amenities - Question of Cities

The new challenge: Rising heat and worsening water
access in cities

As the heat hits hard, people can stay hydrated and offer a glass of water to others, but where is the water? Water access and equity, critical underpinnings of a dignified life, hurts the most in summer as vast numbers…

How Mumbai’s slums won the battle for access to water

Around 1,000 of the 1,400 families in Ganpat Patil Nagar in Mumbai’s Borivali received piped water in 2021, some 23 years after…

The many costs of heat
and water

Extreme heat is emerging as one of India’s most significant climate risks, with impacts that extend beyond just rising temperatures. Heat affects…

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…

Built form worsens unbearable heat in Mumbai’s SRA buildings

Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) buildings in Mumbai’s Goregaon East record higher temperature than surrounding areas because of the built form – tiny…

Shade as infrastructure for Hyderabad’s vendors in scorching sun

The city’s tree cover has shrunk, taking away the natural shade that would have provided some respite for thousands of vendors forced…

Bengaluru re-imagined through its incredible water network

Bengaluru’s water woes are not new but, this letter to the city by a hardcore Bengalurean and water expert, is a tender…

Lighting, shadows, and cognitive dissonance in
urban spaces

This essay presents an emerging concern about how urban environments should be understood and designed in terms of lighting, and shows how people experience cognitive dissonance when exposed to fragmented lighting, uncoordinated shadows, and over-illumination in cities such as Mumbai…

Mumbai’s healthcare system shows the public, not the private, matters

With its tertiary and secondary hospitals hardly functioning, the pressure falls on the large public hospitals, most of which are located in…

Why governments promote private profiteering and undermine public goods

The increasing trend towards privatising public goods and services under the pretext of making them cost-efficient has, in fact, come at a…