Sustainability - Question of Cities

Overtourism has led to touristified destinations, unsustainable ecology, and angry locals

What was once pleasurable travel has turned into a massive global industry of tourism. While its place in the economy of a nation or city is well acknowledged, there are increasing instances, from across the world and within India, of…

Ecotourism: Small steps forward but a giant leap remains

Ecotourism, as a path to make tourism sustainable for nature and people, is still a fraction of India’s gigantic tourism industry, mostly…

Community-based tourism offers hope and sustainability in the Northeast

Away from the colour and clamour of mega festivals, in a few towns and villages of Sikkim, Nagaland and Meghalaya, community-based tourism…

Why annoyed locals are pushing back on tourists
in India

The sheer number of tourists descending into Goa, clogging up roads, raising property prices, disrupting daily lives of locals has taken a…

International tourist hotspots, hit by protests, seek to reduce footfalls

Overtourism in some of the world's most popular destinations such as Barcelona, Mallorca, Venice, and Bali has led to a series of…

‘Better dust upon leaves than in the lungs of the citizens’

Patrick Geddes, the Scottish biologist, conservationist, sociologist and town planner who spent long years working in India, believed it was important that…

Fighting erosion, climate change in the Sundarbans

The people of the Sundarbans show how they are the force of resilience, battling cyclones, and disrupted livelihoods. Adopting nature-based solutions, they…

Mainstreaming green buildings in climate era

More than two decades later, certified green or sustainable buildings account for just over five percent of the constructed stock in India. While the two rating systems, the Indian Green Building Council and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, have…

‘The battle is formidable (but) governments are unwilling to push initiatives’

What was triggered off as an idea in the early 2000s with the Green Business Centre in Hyderabad became the green building…

Moving towards sustainable goals brick by brick

The green building movement has been gaining momentum in India with governments doling out incentives. A recent report ranks India third in…