Built Environment - Question of Cities

The life and times of Jane Jacobs, the urban activist who revitalised city planning

Jane Jacobs and her community-based ideas of urban planning snowballed into a movement as her influence spread. The urbanist and activist single-handedly transformed city-making and fought for a healthy, vibrant city. A series of engaging illustrations charts the life, times…

Heat Action Plans: The way ahead as India sizzles with higher temperatures

As cities in India brace for a harsh summer once again, the importance of Heat Action Plans has been underlined. A good…

The story of India’s scorched cities in four maps

Why India’s cities need to prepare and implement Heat Action Plans is evident in the maps which clearly show the rising frequency…

Urban festivals: Beyond art are difficult dialogues and political mobilisation

Cities have had a romance with urban art and culture festivals for centuries. Festivals showcase their most fetching aspects, display local talent…

‘Urban art festivals are event-centric. They can be visceral provocations and part of a larger ongoing public discourse’

It was the festival time in Mumbai with a number of them making the most of the city’s short-lived winter. Each neighbourhood…

Urban landscape changes as stories, talents emerge from Mumbai’s lesser-known public spaces

The Govandi Arts Festival was an event of many firsts. It brought together communities and people who shared one platform, but many…

Creating the right environment and spaces to make voices heard

Organising an urban festival is like weaving a multi-colour quilt. One of the many challenges is curating the events which will draw…

Lessons from independent India’s urbanisation: Plan cities based on sustainability and social equity

The first three planned cities in India were to be reflections of a modern and secular new nation, built form of the new democratic republic. Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, and Gandhinagar could have become the template of India’s urbanisation, strengthening their role…

How Gandhinagar transformed from ‘Gandhian’ city to GIFT City

More than a decade after Chandigarh was built, the planners of Gandhinagar had the opportunity to re-envision a city with different or…

‘Gandhinagar is a green ghost capital city – and hardly Gandhian’

When Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar was conceptualised, it seemed like an ideal place to live in with a vast expanse of greenery. The…