Air quality - Question of Cities

Designing urban spaces for children’s mental well-being

In national emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters, and war-like situations, it is the physical and social fabric that keeps the society together and also safeguards the mental well-being of children. Even otherwise, they require spaces that cater to their…

Delhi experience shows why clean cooking fuel needs more than Ujjwala

Household cooking stoves, or chulhas, contribute to carbon emissions besides endangering the health of millions of women. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in 2016, intended to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to deprived households. However, the…

How most Indian cities moved from public to private transport modes

Public transport, often led by a robust network of cleaner fuel-driven buses, is increasingly seen as the silver bullet in fast-growing cities to reduce congestion on roads, lower transport emissions which contribute to air pollution, and make commuting affordable for…

How adopting green measures made air more breathable

As all major cities across the world grapple with poor air quality, it becomes imperative to take responsibility and translate plans into action. A series of seminars and talks from local to national and international level on Climate Change ends…

Right to Environment: It’s time to foreground it and for people to claim it

People’s Right to Life in India assumes, and indirectly devolves into, the Right to Environment based on judicial interpretations and orders. As pollution of air and water deepens across India, urban space becomes more congested or privatised, and Climate Change…

Mainstreaming Climate Change in Navi Mumbai’s Development Plan

Navi Mumbai, the satellite city planned and built nearly 50 years ago to decongest Mumbai, has chalked out its draft Development Plan 2018-2038. The plan, however, fails to address ecological issues, especially the imminent hazards brought on by Climate Change.…

World’s most polluted city: Delhi chokes and struggles through the smog

Delhi, the capital of India, also lives with the dubious tag of being the most polluted city in the world. Even as it is enveloped in a blanket of smog every year, especially in winter, air quality governance is far…

Delhi’s direct line from air pollution to disease

With the onset of winter in Delhi, smog is back and so are a plethora of diseases. The impact of air and water pollution on health is worsening, not sparing even the young. Lung ailments and heart diseases have become…