Environment - Question of Cities

Rising heat makes cool
Kashmir history

As Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir turn hotter than ever in summer and winters become warm, discussions revolve around declaring heat waves in a region known to be bitterly cold to cool. Heat is no longer an aberration but…

Shade as infrastructure for Hyderabad’s vendors in scorching sun

The city’s tree cover has shrunk, taking away the natural shade that would have provided some respite for thousands of vendors forced to work in the harsh summer sun. As vendors focus on finding spots on roads and pavements, severe…

Pune riverfront work narrows the Mula-Mutha, slashes
green to grey

The network of rivers in Pune have created and sustained life; their banks, riparian zones, and channels (not canals) have been functional spaces for humans and flora-fauna, nurturing an eternal ecological truth. The riverfront development will turn it from a…

Nuts, bolts, and budgets of riverfront development

Riverfront development has rapidly become a defining feature of cities across India, with projects underway in cities from Ahmedabad to Guwahati and Hyderabad and more. Framed as efforts to “revitalise” rivers, these projects have largely followed a standardised template, set…

Halla bol: Why protests are intrinsic to city-making

Resistance and protests are increasingly framed as undesirable, even anti-national. Yet, they have always defined the character of cities. Protests seem to be thinning out in cities across India but it may have more to do with how the governments,…

‘There comes a tipping point when people say enough
is enough’

In the past few years, Dehradun went from being a salubrious hill city to having summer temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, floods and landslides. Thousands of trees were felled for massive infrastructure projects. Locals call this large-scale devastation of nature…

Clean air and water in Thrissur. Breaking barriers in Chennai

Drawing a circle from Thrissur to Chennai, Mumbai, and back to Thrissur, this multi-city letter weighs in to reminisce what used to make them ‘home’ earlier, and what has changed over the decades and what has not. It then re-imagines,…

Dehradun, we dream a future without air purifiers and ailments

Two summers ago, when the temperature of Dehradun touched 47 degrees Celsius, many realised the price of sacrificing trees for development and came out to protest. The picturesque hill station has been marred by over-tourism, congestion, excessive construction, and poor…

QoC salutes Dr Madhav Gadgil

Among the strongest advocates for the conservation of the Western Ghats, Dr Madhav Gadgil, who passed away on January 7, left behind a huge ecological legacy. A celebrated scientist, ecologist, and scholar, Dr Gadgil embodied the idea and belief that…

The Aravallis at the crossroads: Facts, fallout, and the fight

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