QoC-CANSA Fellowship - Question of Cities

Centring climate justice in rapidly urbanising cities of South Asia

The region is among the most vulnerable to climate change. With nearly 2.5 billion people and a limited capacity to adapt to climate change, South Asia shows how inequity and injustice lie at the heart of climate action. Billions in…

Deconstructing Hyderabad’s investment ‘climate’ and technological ecosystem

Market-led growth exploits natural resources, increases pollution, and creates vulnerabilities and inequities which worsen the climate impact on people. This essay examines…

Karachi, choking on plastic, searches for solutions as climate impact looms

Plastic pollution and urban flooding go hand in hand. In 2022, catastrophic floods in Karachi claimed many lives and devastated the city.…

Guwahati’s green cover is declining but is key to its climate resilient future

The rising temperatures in Guwahati underscore the need for trees and green areas to combat climate impacts, but the city does not…

‘Climate solutions should be grounded in human rights, equality, and participation of worst hit’

Climate change is a human rights issue too, as judgments in India and abroad recently underscored. This recognises that not all people…

Delhi’s double whammy of heat and polluted air demands review of Heat Action Plan

If air pollution is hazardous and deadly for people, then poor quality air combined with high temperatures is worse, as seen in…

Ignoring the right to shelter keeps Dhaka’s poor cornered

Severely affected by climate change in their homes, between a thousand and 2,000 people migrate to Dhaka every day in search of…

Sustainable drainage essential to solve Guwahati’s flood crisis

Assam is highly vulnerable to climate change and its largest city, Guwahati, bears the brunt of it. The change in rainfall pattern has made Guwahati flood-prone over the years but the city is unprepared to deal with the natural calamity.…

Vulnerabilities of informal settlers continue to exacerbate amid policy conundrum

Kathmandu’s squatter settlements have grown four-fold from 1985 to 2022, and they continue to expand. Mostly migrants, the squatters lack legal tenure…

New cities, old predicaments: Role of planning in climate mitigation

Urban planning and policies play a crucial role in the relationship between cities and the climate crisis. This is evident in the…