Environment - Question of Cities

How cities subtly changed the flavour of festivals

People in cities celebrate their traditional cultural festivals - with a difference. As city living becomes more demanding and public spaces shrink, festival rituals are adapted. Festival celebrations, altered to suit modern urban living but retaining some rituals that people…

The neoliberal state and the environmental cost of Neopolis

That Hyderabad’s urban planning trajectory is informed by neoliberal logic is evident in the new sub-city Neopolis. This approach sees the urban environment purely through an economic lens which severely affects the natural infrastructure of the place. Despite the government’s…

Addressing water inequity in Dhulikhel is critical for environmental justice

The water security in Dhulikhel, a thriving mid-hill town 24 kilometres from Kathmandu, is determined by the interplay of history, geography, caste and similar socio-cultural dimensions. Amid rapid urbanisation, the impact of Climate Change and ineffective water governance in new…

The green does not have to lose the battle to the grey in our cities

Large swathes of green cover are being cleared to make way for construction and infrastructure across cities in India. Trees are being cut, large canopies felled, old trees badly and unscientifically pruned. Urban plans and projects do not take trees…

‘Cities are valued as places of commerce and not well-being, so trees are seen as dispensable’

In an age when cities are building more malls, parking lots, offices, schools and colleges, there seems to be hardly any room for trees. We have stopped valuing the natural resources and the ecosystem they support; as cities turn grey…

‘By leaves we live, the world is mainly a vast leaf colony’

They are everywhere, although hidden sometimes, but provide a layer of comfort amidst the grey concrete. Lush green landscapes not only soothe the eyes but allow people-nature bonds to form in cities. As a business place for hawkers, resting place…

Walking through a green Mumbai, meeting special and rare trees

Oasis in a concrete city, areas like the Five Gardens in Dadar Parsi Colony are a veritable treasure trove for naturalists and tree lovers. Here, besides the ubiquitous Banyan and Peepal, less-seen species in Mumbai such as Almond, Copper Pod,…

Libya floods: Derna drowning was a man-made disaster decades in the making

Two dams collapsed upstream towards the Jebel Akhdar (the Green Mountain) in Libya, overwhelmed by the rain surge from Storm Daniel. A seven-metre wave thundered down Wadi Derna through the city, washing whole suburbs into the sea. The Turkish Red…

Women move the narrative from victims to agents of change

At a time when extreme weather events are causing damage and destruction around the world, women are silently turning climate crusaders in their communities and leading mitigation or adaptation measures. Women are affected disproportionately more and in different ways than…

Mithi: Desperately seeking course correction, ecological restoration

It’s been 18 long years since the Mithi river was blamed for Mumbai’s worst flood. Ten committee reports and thousands of crores later, the authorities have scrambled to deepen and desilt the river besides construct retaining walls on both the…