density - Question of Cities

Why are we pushed into unsustainable high-density living?

While not negating the benefits of density such as higher productivity, shorter commutes, and lower carbon footprint, the downsides of the high density approach have rarely been critically examined. Among them are how the high density doctrine has been weaponised…

The anatomy of density in our cities: a storyboard, a way of seeing

Density, in urban planning, is often reduced to a simple metric: the number of people within a given land area.[1] But it is more than just bodies per square kilometre. It is also the concentration of housing units, the total…

A kilometre in South Delhi, two starkly different densities

The building and people densities across the upscale Sainik Farms and the poorer Sangam Vihar are too stark to ignore – languid life in a low density neighbourhood in one, constant struggle amidst high density in the other. Both are…

‘Infrastructure and design of buildings matter, not only density’

Density is not the only factor in people in Mumbai’s slum rehabilitation colonies getting tuberculosis; a multi-disciplinary study showed that the built form mattered including light and ventilation, distance between buildings, and open spaces. Mumbai’s norms for slum rehabilitation buildings,…

Density as urban good: A critical compendium

Density in India’s cities was not accidental. It was a part of an urban development approach and policy greatly influenced by the World Bank and other multilateral institutions since the 1990s. If the argument is that high density is good…