The best of QoC 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, it is customary to compile year-end lists of the work done throughout the year. At Question of Cities, we join the bandwagon not as an exercise in self-congratulation but more as a reflection of…
Pakistan’s women struggle to make voices heard in Climate Change conversations
The impact of climate-induced catastrophes doubles in Pakistani women as they are left out of the decision-making policies. Heat waves and floods have battered the country with greater intensity each passing year. Women living in informal settlements in Karachi, one…
Delhi’s heatwave, floods, and G20 beautification force urban poor to pay heavy price
In the sweltering heat of the Indian capital, the lives of the urban poor have been turned upside down by the ruthless demolitions carried out for Delhi’s G20 beautification drive and subsequent floods. Forced out of their homes and left…
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…
‘This year’s Yamuna floods are a trailer of bigger floods to hit Delhi’
New Delhi and parts of the National Capital region (NCR) struggled through a massive flood in July, the likes of which had not been seen in many decades, certainly since 1978. Yamuna River breached its previous highest flood level by…
As floods ravage cities, the game changer is to plan with nature
Every monsoon, cities across India witness flood fury. Urban flooding, which is becoming more frequent and intense every year causing devastation and disrupting lives, has spawned mitigation measures. They are essential but are they enough? As Climate Change makes its…
‘Mumbai’s development not being done as per its extreme climate risks’
India’s financial capital, Mumbai, witnessed its worst flood in July 2005. Since then, it has found a place in the list of world’s coastal cities projected to be at risk from floods, cyclones, storm surges and sea level rise due…
Drain the rain: Why urban India floods, how to build sponge cities
Urban floods have become an inseparable part of city life every monsoon. Lives are lost, livelihoods are disrupted, and property and infrastructure worth thousands of crores are damaged or destroyed. With the increasing challenges that Climate Change has brought and…
‘We need to plan cities for extremes. Climate Change is all about extremes’
The torrential rain and floods in Bengaluru in early September grabbed international attention, showing up wide cracks in the basic infrastructure of the ‘IT capital of India’. Tractors rescued the better off people to safety, the less privileged were left…
Hyderabad’s high-flood index demands focus on disaster mitigation measures
The heavy rainfall in July in one of India’s IT hubs, Hyderabad, threatened to cause devastation like the 2020 floods. Although it was not as severe as the earlier calamity, the extreme climate laid bare the city’s failure and the…