Blog Posts: low carbon cities

This blog post was originally published in The Hindustan Times.

As per the State of Global Air 2018 report, the country lost 11 lakh people due to air pollution. But, we have still not understood the severity of the issue.

Last Sunday, over 3,000 people turned up in the morning to protest against the growing air pollution in Gurugram. Protests are part of our society, so it was not surprising to see...

This blog post originally appeared in TheCityFix.

If you drive out of New Delhi west along National Highway 48, you will find yourself reaching a small district in Haryana state named Jhajjar. Just 50 miles from the national capital, its demographic contrast is unmistakable. The bustle and density of New Delhi fades, replaced by agriculture and scattered industry. The population of the district is just 1 million. Jhajjar city has about 50,...

On Sunday, India’s latest bicycle sharing system was launched in New Delhi following on from the successes of Mysore, Bhopal, and other Indian cities, which have helped garner interest in cycling as an alternative mode of commute. The bike share system was launched by Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, and Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament, New Delhi.

Under the Smart Cities initiatives, NDMC launched this bicycle sharing system with SmartBike, a Hyderabad-based company which has teamed up with...

This blog post originally appeared in TheCityFix.

In 2013, the world’s cities accounted for 64 percent of primary energy use and 70 percent of CO2 emissions. Energy use in buildings is the second largest contributor (after transport) to urban GHG emissions and to urban heat islands. Emissions reductions programs for buildings, then, could bring deep decarbonization to cities and other benefits to boot, like lower energy costs....

Technology has revolutionised daily commutes by providing increasingly efficient transport options in Indian cities. Young and dynamic entrepreneurs are deploying technology-bases solutions to offer more convenient, comfortable, and reliable commutes. For example, ridesharing and similar apps have changed the way people in cities like Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai commute.

Earlier this year, WRI India Sustainable Cities launched the New Mobility Accelerator 2016, offering new and innovative early-stage shared mobility businesses an...

This blog post originally appeared on Insights.

We cannot curb the effects of climate change without building, managing and living in our cities differently. And finally, the world is starting to realize this.

Historically, discussions on climate policy have largely portrayed cities as the source of problems, painting them as major polluters and areas of intensive resource consumption. The conventional wisdom was—and partially still is—that national governments were...

This piece originally appeared in The Indian Express

No responsible city government can afford to ignore the benefits of rapid transport. As cities grow, investments are needed to ensure that the majority of citizens can travel safely and rapidly. Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) systems are best placed to solve commuter problems in Indian cities. They take about a tenth of the cost and implementation time of metro systems, and can be easily expanded.

Any new public service must withstand...

How can Mumbai become a Smart City that the nation is proud of? The recently published Draft Development Plan (DP) for Mumbai was so poorly received by various stakeholders that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis scrapped it on the 21st of April, 2015. It has to be reworked in just four months – an opportunity to bring in much needed change in the planning discourse.

Since the DP followed a traditional process of proposing land uses and development control regulations, it is no surprise that the plan did not deliver on the local needs, sentiments and aspirations of citizens. This...

This blog post originally appeared in TheCityFix.

Like many cities around the world, Indian cities are experiencing urbanization, motorization, and increasing congestion. Coupled with declining public transport use and infrastructure expenditures that promote a car culture by building roads and flyovers (overpasses), Indian cities are losing out on the standard of living that residents deserve. The next decade requires focus...

This blog post originally appeared on TheCityFix.

In June 2014, the Government of India announced its ambitious plan to build smart cities across the country. This plan will be administered by the Ministry of Urban Development, and will focus on building new smart cities and redeveloping existing urban regions with populations of over 100,000 people. The government announced last...