Built environment - Question of Cities

Climate’s sizzling frontier: Northeast heats up, must plan with nature

Summer temperatures have risen to record highs and, importantly, nights have become warmer in Guwahati with the rapid urbanisation. People have taken to air conditioners and cold drinking water. Guwahati is not alone. From Shillong’s hills to Aizawl’s ridges to…

The journey from dingy to vibrant, meaningful spaces in Govandi

The cramped and ill-maintained Natwar Parekh Compound in Mumbai’s Govandi is hardly a place children can feel at home, run around, explore the world and learn. But they, facilitated by civil society organisations, have turned their dingy spaces into Kitab…

Physical space and mobility top two challenges for children in 300+ cities: LSE research

How the built environment and policy decisions of cities can support or hinder healthy early childhood development and what city officials identify as the biggest challenges were subjects of research analyses from 358 cities across 75 countries at LSE Cities,…

Mainstreaming green buildings in climate era

More than two decades later, certified green or sustainable buildings account for just over five percent of the constructed stock in India. While the two rating systems, the Indian Green Building Council and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, have…

Moving towards sustainable goals brick by brick

The green building movement has been gaining momentum in India with governments doling out incentives. A recent report ranks India third in the world for certified green buildings. However, outdated bye-laws of urban local bodies and the lack of awareness…

Towards making green buildings a reality in India

Sustainability in the construction sector, especially green buildings, should not be an afterthought but a fundamental component of building design itself. Pointing to tangible and intangible benefits for all stakeholders, the green building rating system brought out guidelines, further leveraged…

Gender-walking through Kolkata to reimagine a better city for all

Can walking around a city as women and other genders make it accessible and safer? Can a city be ungendered and welcoming of all? Kolkata’s Gender Community Walks have been getting students, professors, researchers and other professionals to walk in…

What if women designed the city? A voyage from brutalism to biophilia

Biophilic design which addresses the disconnect between people and the natural world, when adopted by women, can foster healthier and beautiful places. It holds the potential to rectify the negative impacts of Brutalist architecture, descending from modernist planning, which codified…

Urban spaces and mental health: The important correlation we miss

In the race to construct cities with mega projects, the relationship between the built environment and people’s mental health is rarely acknowledged. Asocial behaviour and mental illnesses like anxiety and depression are the outcome of urban planning and design. While…

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 disrupting lives, has spawned mitigation measures. They are essential but are they enough? As Climate Change makes its…