Urban Planning | Development and design of urban landscapes

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…

‘Urban planning tends to be driven by money, not natural ecosystem’

Once known as a salubrious city with abundant green, Pune has transformed into a crowded and chaotic city grappling with rapid urbanisation,…

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…

Why India’s cities are not prepared for extreme heat and high rainfall

Searing heat scorched northern India, including Delhi, before rains hit hard. Flooding threw life out of gear in Pune, Bengaluru, Itanagar among…

Trees and urban forests under attack in cities – and what to do about it

This summer saw temperatures across the country, especially in northern states, soar well beyond 40 degrees Celsius. Even cooler hill stations sweated…

1.5 degrees Celsius lifestyles and the city

For cities, addressing the lifestyle choices of their inhabitants is not merely a luxury but an imperative. By framing 1.5C lifestyles in…

Linear parks hold power to transform cities and be climate warriors

The simple but powerful idea of creating long stretches of parks along physical infrastructure and natural areas can transform a city by making it more green, creating accessible open spaces, reconnecting nature and people, and reducing heat and floods. Cities…

Minnesota park: An example of building public spaces for diverse communities

Phalen Park in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a model for inclusiveness and social interaction among diverse urban communities, adding to the city’s…

Urgent heat conversations and actions we need in India to cool down cities

As millions of Indians struggle through an relentlessly scorching summer with never-before high temperatures, Heat Action Plans have become critical to people’s…