Urban Planning | Development and design of urban landscapes

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 Periyar River submerged vast areas of the city. Nearby, the Chellanam-Cherai coastal stretch has seen huge sea surges…

Frequent flood hazards show the downside of urbanisation

The northern hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the north-eastern state of Assam have been reeling under massive floods this…

As floods ravage cities, the game changer is to plan with nature

Every monsoon, cities across India witness flood fury. Urban flooding, which is becoming more frequent and intense every year causing devastation and…

‘Mumbai’s development not being done as per its extreme climate risks’

India’s financial capital, Mumbai, witnessed its worst flood in July 2005. Since then, it has found a place in the list of…

Gurugram: Navigating the waters between urban planning and floods

The bustling and swanky city in Haryana and part of the National Capital Region, Gurugram – earlier Gurgaon – witnessed rapid urbanisation…

Drain the rain: Why urban India floods, how to build sponge cities

Urban floods have become an inseparable part of city life every monsoon. Lives are lost, livelihoods are disrupted, and property and infrastructure…

Streets, not designated spaces, reverberate with protesters and their songs

Protests, a democratic right, need public spaces but maidans, city squares, prominent landmarks and monuments in India’s cities have been gradually cordoned…

Heat index, or the temperature it feels like, will change the way India measures heat

Mere air temperature or land surface temperature, conveyed as minimum and maximum temperature twice a day, is no longer enough to combat heat during the harsh summer. The heat index, which layers temperature with other factors such as relative humidity,…