Environment - Question of Cities

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…

If lakes are built over, where will water go, ask Bengaluru kids

What it means to see a city through young eyes and reflect on questions that adults bypass, consciously or unconsciously, came through in a social experiment. The ‘Walk on Bangalore’ exploration, led by the Mod Foundation, found that the questions…

‘A happy city is where joy is not a commodity’

Rapid and unplanned urbanisation has hardly left open spaces for children. The carefree running, the cycling without the fear of speeding vehicles, the freedom that open spaces offered are now stories told by the older generations. The way cities are…

Fighting erosion, climate change in the Sundarbans

The people of the Sundarbans show how they are the force of resilience, battling cyclones, and disrupted livelihoods. Adopting nature-based solutions, they use vetiver as a powerful natural tool to combat soil erosion and understand that protecting the streambanks from…

Countries set green examples in buildings

The effects of climate change are visible in all cities across the world. Tackling this through green solutions means buildings that integrate energy-efficient measures to improve energy performance, sustainable water management, and recycle and minimise waste. That more countries and…

How urban plans can, and must, value trees

Urban development plans and master plans have traditionally seen trees as impediments to ‘development’, rarely acknowledging them as natural wealth of cities and hardly making provisions to protect and preserve them. This will no longer work in the time of…

Bad news for Earth: Hot leaves can’t catch carbon from air

Leafy canopies play a crucial role in regulating the global climate – and mitigating global warming. But, as a recent study shows, rising temperatures will severely affect the ability of tropical forests to photosynthesise. This, in turn, will hinder their…

Tag: Environment

The journey from dingy to vibrant, meaningful spaces in Govandi

If lakes are built over, where will water go, ask Bengaluru kids

‘A happy city is where joy is not a commodity’

Fighting erosion, climate change in the Sundarbans

Countries set green examples in buildings

How urban plans can, and must, value trees

Bad news for Earth: Hot leaves can’t catch carbon from air

Guwahati is fast axing its trees and undermining its future

‘Cutting trees has become as routine as buying stamps at post office’

Walking with the trees of Mumbai, their fragrance and taste in tow