Smruti Koppikar - Question of Cities

Built Environment
Community Chronicles
Right to the City

Urban festivals: Beyond art are difficult dialogues and political mobilisation

Cities have had a romance with urban art and culture festivals for centuries. Festivals showcase their most fetching aspects, display local talent through exhibits and the performing arts, and, in the process claim – or reclaim – public spaces in…

Climate Change
Natural Environment
Pollution

Mumbai needs an Ecological Plan beyond the quick fixes for air pollution

Mumbai’s air quality has been deteriorating since November last year but hardly anyone thought it would soon get the dubious tag of the second-most polluted city in the world. Even the Arabian Sea, the city’s natural cleanser, could not help…

Gender
Right to the City
Women in Cities

Planning and building gender-inclusive cities is the need of the hour

Women and other genders interact differently with the city from the way men do. What work they do, where they live, how they commute, and how they spend leisure hours are determined by what the city offers them – and…