Environment - Question of Cities

Three trends in cities we will closely watch in 2025

As curtains come down on 2024, the hottest year on record, building sustainable cities has become more urgent than ever. What kinds of cities are being built across India as urbanisation picks up pace? What core ideas inform urban development?…

What enraged us and what gladdened us in 2024: An overview

When we look back at the year fast closing upon us all, there was not much to cheer about how our cities were built, how the environment was undermined in the name of development, and how people mostly coped with…

Move the air pollution needle to smaller and neglected cities

Conversations and policies on air pollution are mostly centred on Delhi and Mumbai but other cities and towns have been facing toxic air too. These are, at best, footnotes in national conversations on air pollution. Authorities here go in for…

Air pollution hits women informal workers hard and different

Like other aspects of cities, air pollution too affects women and men differently. Besides the usual respiratory ailments associated with poor quality air, women’s reproductive health, mental health, even anaemia levels show adverse impacts. This is particularly acute for women…

City averages not good enough to measure air pollution

The average Air Quality Index shows only the central or typical value. It cannot be an accurate representation of air quality in different areas of cities. Beyond the average, it’s clear that some areas have cleaner air and better readings…

Lahore’s dangerous smog brought disease and death – and touched diplomacy

Through most of November, Lahore and Multan, among other places in Pakistan, suffered record-breaking air pollution that saw Air Quality Index in the 1000s. The official number seeking medical treatment for respiratory problems in smog-affected districts touched 1.8 million. Although…

Lesser-known world summits for the planet and people

Away from the international glare of the annual climate summit, other equally important global conferences were held through October-November – the UN Conference of Parties on Biodiversity (also called COP16) which focused on funds to protect the world’s biodiversity but…

‘Goa has successful ecological movements but we should not have to keep doing this’

From a languid destination for vacations, Goa has turned into a hotspot for tourism projects, real estate development, and large investments. Village lands, khazan lands, lush forests, and a natural water network have come under intense pressure from massive development…

From St. Inez Creek to Goa’s stories of water systems

The short film, Avnati, tells the story of the degradation of the St. Inez Creek that flows through Panaji through the lives and memories of people around it. From an idyllic place where people recall floating paper boats, the water…

Eco-friendly festivals are still a dream

Most festivals have a long way to go to become genuinely sustainable even as greenwashing -- claiming false or exaggerated environmental benefits -- takes hold. Knee-jerk reactions such as banning or restricting firecrackers only days before Diwali hardly help. Purposeful…