Urban Planning | Development and design of urban landscapes

From St. Inez Creek to Goa’s stories of water systems

The short film, Avnati, tells the story of the degradation of the St. Inez Creek that flows through Panaji through the lives and memories of people around it. From an idyllic place where people recall floating paper boats, the water…

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…

Zero-fare is women’s ticket to freedom, work, and study

After Delhi rolled out its zero-ticket ride for women in 2019, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana followed. Early reports suggest that…

Building bridges: Why it need not be street vendors versus cities

Though a cityscape is nothing without its street vendors and they are an integral part of a city’s economy providing many services…

The spectacular failure of planning cities, as we know it. What next?

The widely-prevalent conventional urban planning framework in India, focused on land use, zoning and building regulations, is out of step with the…

How people reimagined the practice of public spaces in Delhi

Over decades, democratic protests have moved locations from the old city to the Boat Club and, more recently, to Jantar Mantar and…

Redesign: The key to the Gordian knot of Mumbai’s congested and unsafe places

The city’s landscape has been constantly changing but what has remained consistent over the years is the chaotic cluttered mess outside its…

‘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 of people, makes environmental justice urgent. Environmental issues are seen as problems to be solved with technological interventions,…

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,…

We want safe cities, we want feminist cities

The heinous rape-murder of a doctor in Kolkata sparked off heated discussions on women’s safety in cities. Safety of women anywhere is…