Urban Planning | Development and design of urban landscapes

Matharpacady: Redevelopment wriggles its way into a heritage precinct

Amid the titled and colourful bungalows in Matharpacady in south Mumbai, patches of redevelopment stick out like sore thumbs. Steeped in heritage and history, the gaothan has about 300 residents living in its 50 to 55 houses. Most residents are…

‘Redevelopment created houses as commodities for transaction, forgot about people’s lives and equity’

Mumbai has resembled a construction site for the past many years with redevelopment on virtually every other street. Together with large infrastructure…

People of Dharavi nonchalant and apprehensive about redevelopment

What was once a small cluster of huts on a marsh in 20th century Bombay is now 595 acres of cramped houses,…

Greater Dhaka: Making liveable city in times of Climate Change is all politics and planning

Dhaka has been experiencing longer summers with heatwaves, weaker monsoons and shorter winters, indicating the Climate Change impact. Studies show that the…

Nepal’s Melamchi, still recovering from 2021 flood, shows multiple risks of rapid urbanisation

Melamchi, 76 kilometres from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, was bouncing back from the massive 2015 earthquake when the flood in 2021 brought further…

Delhi’s heatwave, floods, and G20 beautification force urban poor to pay heavy price

In the sweltering heat of the Indian capital, the lives of the urban poor have been turned upside down by the ruthless…

Climate justice eludes the displaced from Karachi’s Orangi Nala

After the heavy floods in 2020, the decision to remove illegal settlements along one of Karachi’s streams, Orangi Nala, to make way…

‘We are scared that the polluted Mithi might flood again’

As Mumbai’s most prominent river and natural drainage channel, the Mithi has mostly been struggling to flow despite the restoration work after the destructive 2005 floods. The pollution, concretisation and encroachment that led to Mithi’s pathetic state have also impacted…

Mithi: Desperately seeking course correction, ecological restoration

It’s been 18 long years since the Mithi river was blamed for Mumbai’s worst flood. Ten committee reports and thousands of crores…

Kochi caught between the Periyar, surging sea and tidal floods

The intense rainfall in July and August in Kochi this year alarmed those who had witnessed the deadly floods in 2018 when…