Sustainability - Question of Cities

Go, Goa, Gone: Ecology and ethos being erased by commerce

The state was once a poster for all things exquisite with breath-takingly beautiful landscapes and seafronts, villages nestled in the greens, laid-back way of life. Goa turned to commerce, tourism, real estate development almost with a vengeance in the 2000s.…

Panaji at the crossroads of economic boom and ecological decline

The spectacular expansion of Panaji has meant an assault on its natural flood drainage network, creeks, estuaries, lush hillocks, mangroves, and marshlands.…

Big bold ideas that can change public or affordable housing in our cities

India’s urban housing crisis is well-known. Millions live in slums and jhuggis. The housing paradox in Mumbai and Delhi, now increasingly seen…

They woke us up to climate change, and an equitable world

Over the past decades, multilateral agencies and international organisations drew forces together to conduct studies that led to path-breaking reports on environment…

‘Keep environmental justice at the core, not mere environmentalism’

India’s economic growth model, which is based on passing costs to the poor and marginalised while the benefits are for another class…

How bold urban designs are changing our relationship with cities

As cities develop, streets and public spaces are built to give more room to an increasing number of vehicles. In the process,…

Pune’s growth story reminds us that nature does not send an invoice

As Pune amalgamates larger non-urban areas into the city limits, expanding in all directions, the frenzy of development has also meant fast-depleting…

Why Pune’s riverfront development is a bad idea

The controversial project, spanning 44 kilometres of the Mula, Mutha and Mula-Mutha, aims to construct embankments, walkways, plazas, access roads, gardens and plant trees along the riverbanks. It is more about creating land for construction than cleaning and rejuvenating the…

Pune was peths, rivers, and pleasant summers

All cities change but, for Pune, this has meant the fading out of some favourite spots of old residents -- its natural…

Green movements as guardians of Pune’s nature

Individual efforts and collective actions by Punekars to save Pune’s ecological heritage in the past few years have brought hope to the…