Sustainability - Question of Cities

India must lead the climate conversation on mitigation, with urgency

Climate change negotiations mean little unless India is prepared to commit to phasing out fossil fuels and evolve a clear framework on mitigation. The annual UN Conference of Parties this year, or COP28, included the phrase “transitioning away” from fossil…

Climate and health: Historic COP28 declaration but India has miles to go

Climate change has wreaked havoc with people’s health all over the world for decades but this theme got its due space at…

COP28 skirts climate justice, shies away from phasing out fossil fuels

Although COP28, hosted by the oil-producing nation of UAE and controversial in some measure, important decisions and initiatives were launched to reduce…

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…

Climate adaptation funds are not reaching frontline communities: What needs to be done about it

After the brouhaha at the launch of the Loss and Damage Fund during COP27 last year, the reality has sunk in that…

Festivals in cities, beyond celebrations, shape public place and identity

Cities are theatres of celebration of different kinds of festivals, from the traditional and religious to the contemporary and cultural. People congregate…

When celebrations also mean bad air, deafening noise and waste mounds

The glitter and bonhomie of festivals in India bring in unwanted and unhealthy guests in the form of pollution and waste. Every…

Is there a robust festival economy? You bet, it’s roaring

Festivals spawn their economy as consumption and gifting peaks to coincide with the celebrations. Diwali, Eid, Christmas or any regional or community-specific festival increase footfalls in both the local street markets as well as luxury retail stores, boosting the economy…

How cities subtly changed the flavour of festivals

People in cities celebrate their traditional cultural festivals - with a difference. As city living becomes more demanding and public spaces shrink,…

The neoliberal state and the environmental cost of Neopolis

That Hyderabad’s urban planning trajectory is informed by neoliberal logic is evident in the new sub-city Neopolis. This approach sees the urban…