Sustainability - Question of Cities

A compendium on Chandigarh and Le Corbusier

How Chandigarh came to be built is a well-known story, one that scholars and urban planners revisit every now and then. What Chandigarh’s masterplan stands for, how much of it was realised, why its planner Le Corbusier imagined the Capitol…

COP27 failed to move the needle on climate action, poor will suffer as cities face climate disasters

Another climate summit is over and after hours of debates and discussions, it’s back to the ground to act on the pledges…

Cities have to walk the central government’s talk on climate action

Besides the usual negotiations and national commitments, the recently-concluded Conference of Parties (COP27) in Egypt saw the launch of initiatives for cities…

‘Every rupee a city spends now on projects must have a climate lens’

If cities are at the forefront of mitigation and adaptation against Climate Change, then a network of cities forged across international borders…

India’s climate action planning needs ecological vision and social sensitivity

The National Action Plan on Climate Change of 2008 was criticised for lacking depth, vision, and urgency; these have not been addressed…

Mainstreaming Climate Change in Navi Mumbai’s Development Plan

Navi Mumbai, the satellite city planned and built nearly 50 years ago to decongest Mumbai, has chalked out its draft Development Plan…

Right to clean air: Stop the smog

The Right to Environment includes the right to clean air. But are we really breathing clean air? The rising ailments show that…

Delhi’s real town planner, the Yamuna, still gasps for life

Over the decades, even as multi-crore programmes to clean the river are expanded, the Yamuna and its floodplain continue to be polluted. Delhi takes from the Yamuna but treats it as a receptacle for its waste. As long as this…

Digitalisation cannot be an unqualified “smart” solution to urban issues

As many cities become smarter by harnessing digitalisation and technology, sustainable development and ecology have been pushed behind. Smart Cities Mission, offered…

Policing in Cyberabad: India’s techno dystopia encroaching on people’s rights

Hyderabad’s policing has turned “cop-less” as police personnel were replaced with cameras, traffic offences automated, and smartphones replaced the old batons. For…