Built Environment - Question of Cities

Footpaths of India: Microcosms of our lives and shared spaces

Footpaths are shared spaces in India’s cities. From pedestrians who walk for work or for leisure to vendors who offer all kinds of services in the informal markets, from authorised or unauthorised parking spots to the occasional impromptu performances, footpaths…

India’s missing pavements, thanks to car-centric planning and official apathy

Life happens on pavements or footpaths in cities across India. A mind-boggling number of people walk to work or for leisure every…

Footpaths in India: The dangerous gap between policy and reality

Walking on Indian footpaths is like a hurdle race given the many obstacles present on them. We do not need walkability studies…

Mapping neighbourhoods, one by one, to improve walkability

Except in a few select areas of the city, pavements in Mumbai are a poor apology for walking infrastructure and common space.…

Where pavements hold space for conversations and ideas, besides mobility

Some cities in the world see pavements as insignificant in the urban design, a waste of space on car-centric roads, but other…

Wake-up call: India’s air pollution-related deaths among highest in the world

As winter sets in, the air quality in most cities in India turns critically poor. Triggered by climate change, the situation worsens…

Urban spaces and mental health: The important correlation we miss

In the race to construct cities with mega projects, the relationship between the built environment and people’s mental health is rarely acknowledged.…

The silent epidemic: Air pollution infiltrates our lungs, our lives, say people

No one has been spared by the effects of air pollution. A nagging cough, throat infection, lung ailments, breathing problems, and tiredness have become common. Doctors have been seeing a rise in patients with the same symptoms and yet cities…

Let’s breathe better air, said cities and fought air pollution

As people in cities across India struggle to breathe through the smog and haze that now characterise winter months, a number of…

Streets are sutradhars of people’s lives, first units of neighbourhoods

Streets, as living and meeting spaces for people, are more than roads. Street-based neighbourhoods reflect social cohesion and inclusiveness in cities but…