Blogs

In her introduction to the Budget for the financial year 2023-24, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said “We are implementing many programmes for green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment, and policies for efficient use of energy across various economic sectors.” The term “green” appears 22 times in the speech. Green Growth has been stated as one of seven priorities alongside inclusive development and infrastructure and investment in the Union Budget announced on Wednesday. But how green, inclusive, and sustainable development-...

Shaping efficient and equitable urban service delivery for sustainable growth

India is projected to overtake China as the most populous country in the world this year. The shifting demographics are bound to see heightened demand for education, healthcare, jobs, and civic amenities, putting existing systems under stress. Current urban services delivery models, in transport, water and waste management are plagued by outdated legacy systems, lack of data and restrictive policies and regulations. Focusing on technology-led innovation has the potential to...

Disclaimer: All pictures are of participants in the Healthy Cities for Adolescents (HCA) project and have been taken with their consent.

This is the second blog in a two-part series on Adolescents and Public Spaces. This blog touches upon the importance of adolescent inclusion in public space development processes by focusing on engagement as one of the ways this can be achieved. Read the first blog in the series here.

...

This blog is the second in a four-part series that highlights critical aspects of implementing the Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP). The authors spotlight opportunities that lie in equitable and inclusive climate action with a focus on residents of informal settlements who make up more than 42% of the city’s population. Read the first blog in the series here.

“Diversity makes cities vibrant...

More than 700 million people in India currently depend on forests and agriculture for sustenance, mostly comprised of highly vulnerable groups such as tribals, women, smallholders and marginal farmers. Any threat to these forests and farmlands poses a risk to the dignified survival of these populations. To protect and conserve these forests and farmlands and ensure a continued flow of ecosystem services, nature-based solutions such as landscape restoration can prove effective. Land restoration can both...

Every year during the winter season, air quality across India deteriorates to hazardous levels. The combination of low temperatures and still conditions keep pollutants trapped in the atmosphere, further exacerbating the issue. Interestingly, neither coastal nor some of our cleanest cities are strangers to this phenomenon. For instance, Mumbai saw several poor air quality days this year with the...

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, concluded with delegates reaching an agreement to establish a fund for Loss and Damage to help vulnerable countries deal with the severe impacts of the climate crisis. Despite the urgent need for countries to adopt ambitious climate actions aligned with science, COP27 saw no major developments to accelerate mitigation. The developments also fell short of ramping up the adaptation finance to double by 2025 — as envisioned in COP26. While the implications of COP27 will be felt for decades to come, in this interview we...

Look anywhere in a city and you will see more people on foot than in cars. Yet city roads and urban public spaces are rarely designed keeping pedestrians in mind, making it particularly challenging for children and the elderly. Integrating street infrastructure and raising user awareness is key to improving accessibility and enabling safer and smoother pedestrian and vehicular movement.

The Reimagining Fort Kochi project, developed under the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative is working to improve accessibility at the RoRo jetty node in the...

Disclaimer: All pictures are of participants in the Healthy Cities for Adolescents (HCA) project and have been taken with their consent.

This is the first in a series of blogs on Adolescents and Public Spaces. In this, we talk about how adolescents can partake in the public space development process and lead public space initiatives contributing to their well-being.

India’s potential for growth rests on the investments in and development of its youth, with...

India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country in 2023. As the population practically doubles, cities are under extreme stress to ensure the provision of education, employment, and basic services.

A critical aspect of meeting these requirements is ensuring equitable access to existing opportunities and services that are often scattered across a city. An affordable,...