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A tamarind tree has been living on our ancestral plot for more than 150 years. It has been a member of our family for generations. Its branches arch over the terrace of our house. I grew up playing under this tree – eating both its ripened and still-raw, sweet and sour fruit, and sampling its flowers and tart leaves for good measure. The crown of the tree is wide enough to provide shade to the adjoining municipal school and offers respite to innumerable heat-afflicted pedestrians, including schoolchildren and hawkers. In a recent discussion on redeveloping our plot, the developer took it...

India is the seventh most climate-vulnerable country in the world, with nine of its states among the top 50 most vulnerable regions globally. The country's cities are at the forefront of the climate crisis with more than 80% of the urban population living in hazard-prone districts....

Climate change-induced events such as heat waves and floods severely impact the quality of life in urban areas. It can be financially disruptive and even fatal, disproportionately impacting settlements most vulnerable to climate risks. Greening of open spaces can be an important strategy for addressing such increasing urban heat and flood-related risks in cities. However, as our cities expand, rampant urbanization adversely impacts the availability of and access to such open spaces.

In Mumbai,...

“Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.” ― Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

India’s growth trajectory reveals the sheer diversity in the nature, pace and scale of change across its urban centers. They are spread across the spectrum, from small village towns finding themselves on the cusp of being deemed urban, to members of the densest urban agglomerations in the world. Research has indicated the existence of multiple...

Situated along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, in Puri, Odisha, the Penthakata settlement relies on the sea for its livelihood. While men set sail for fishing, the narrow streets spanning through shacks and semi-pucca houses buzz with activities of daily living. Small, poorly ventilated houses and the need to share public utilities push women and children outdoors, to get fresh air or for cooking, showering, washing clothes and playing.

Like other women from the community, Chittama makes several trips to get water from the municipal public water taps for domestic use. Due to...

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) that concluded earlier this week saw delegates from across the world fly down to Dubai, leading to resurfacing of the dilemma of carbon emissions associated with flying to attend the climate conference. The aviation industry accounted for 2.4% of the global carbon...

India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, despite an ongoing global slowdown. This growth must happen without compromising on sustainability, which is a cornerstone of holistic development and critical to India meeting its net-zero targets.

Much of the decarbonizing focus is on the transport sector, which is responsible for...

India accounts for nearly one fifth of the world’s annual child births and is enjoying a demographic dividend that is expected to peak around 2041. A supportive ecosystem and healthy physical environment are critical to helping our young children maximize their potential. Urban design and city planning, beyond just building playgrounds, play a crucial role in...

Earlier this month, the UK government dismissed ’15-minute cities’ – an urban planning concept that reimagines neighborhoods as self-contained spaces, offering residents all they need, in a 15-minute radius on foot or by bicycle. With the government taking up...

The issue of Delhi's poor air quality resurfaces episodically in the public consciousness. It garners attention on social media, in newspapers and in scientific studies, largely during the winter months. During this period, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) drops from 'poor' to 'severe', across most monitoring stations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends air quality standards with limits on air pollutant concentration,...