Public spaces - Question of Cities

‘In India, play is a luxury…parents and teachers should understand its importance’

As cities expand, the number of open spaces and in-between spaces for play are shrinking. Playgrounds and gardens are an afterthought. Mumbai has seen creative ways to resist the erasure of spontaneous play emerge despite the incessant construction, congestion, and…

Play spaces for adolescents: The missing link in our cities

Urban spaces are currently spaces of adult hegemony designed for their work and mobility. Even when play spaces are built, they are for children but adolescents – at the threshold of childhood and adulthood – are usually left out. India…

Placing platform workers in the city’s urban imagination

The city is the place of work for millions of platform or gig workers in India who number an astounding 7.7 million in official records but could well be three times that. Yet, the relationship between them and the city…

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…

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…

How festival celebrations define, and redefine, public spaces

Diwali celebrations are a public affair, so are celebrations of other festivals across communities. The festivalisation of public spaces -- streets, squares, markets, footpaths – is welcome and binds people in cities but it also lends these spaces political colours…

The spectacular failure of planning cities, as we know it. What next?

The widely-prevalent conventional urban planning framework in India, focused on land use, zoning and building regulations, is out of step with the demands of the time we live in, especially climate change events. Development Plans or Master Plans approach natural…

How people reimagined the practice of public spaces in Delhi

Over decades, democratic protests have moved locations from the old city to the Boat Club and, more recently, to Jantar Mantar and Ramlila Ground. In every location, people agitating for their causes and articulating their demands from governments, turned non-protest…

Women architects: From slogans to struggle in making gender-inclusive cities

The work of women planners and architects has received little acknowledgment or visibility. That their perspective leads to more inclusive and sustainable cities is now accepted in some circles, their involvement has led to gender issues reflecting in urban plans,…

Festivals in cities, beyond celebrations, shape public place and identity

Cities are theatres of celebration of different kinds of festivals, from the traditional and religious to the contemporary and cultural. People congregate and celebrate, but the story of festivals in cities does not end there. Festivals help to shape –…