Built Environment - Question of Cities

Mumbai’s BEST is being killed, political will to revive it is absent

Should the city have robust, reliable and affordable public bus transport or not is the question facing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra government. The approximately 3.3 million commuters of BEST buses would vote a resounding yes, if they…

The BEST Museum as Mumbai’s memoir – and more

A well-curated transport museum is a significant historical documentation and the story of a city. How ironic then that the BEST Museum…

Shab-Parak: Night fliers of Delhi bus that’s a community

As India’s national capital sleeps, night buses keep the city connected and their commuters find the true meaning of accessible and affordable…

‘BEST is a municipal responsibility, it’s stupid to
think of profit-loss’

The cash-strapped Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), still the most reliable mode of transport, is going through a rough patch with…

Guwahati’s buses a lifeline but unequal, tedious, sometimes unsafe

Despite a good ridership, Guwahati’s bus system puts commuters through inconveniences such as unscheduled stops, delays by drivers and conductors, overcrowding and…

How children co-created 250 metres of happiness around schools

What started out as a project in one Delhi school to make the area safer for children and meaningful for the community,…

Want to invent leisure from leftovers? Laggere shows the way

Pushed into congested homes in the city’s margins, the children of the resettlement colony in Bengaluru’s Laggere have evolved their own ways…

‘In India, play is a luxury…parents and teachers should understand its importance’

As cities expand, the number of open spaces and in-between spaces for play are shrinking. Playgrounds and gardens are an afterthought. Mumbai has seen creative ways to resist the erasure of spontaneous play emerge despite the incessant construction, congestion, and…

Play spaces for adolescents: The missing link in our cities

Urban spaces are currently spaces of adult hegemony designed for their work and mobility. Even when play spaces are built, they are…

Designing urban spaces for children’s mental well-being

In national emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters, and war-like situations, it is the physical and social fabric that keeps the society…