Blogs

In July this year, Bengaluru witnessed heavy flooding which prompted the state government to issue a directive to clear all encroachments on storm water drains and lakebeds, articulating the cause and effect between the city’s development boom and the overburdening of its infrastructure. Over the years, wetland and low-lying areas that long provided critical storm water drainage had either been built up, or been used as a dumping ground for construction debris and solid waste, degrading its hydrologic functionality....

India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. In 2014, the National Crime and Records Bureau recorded 142,000 deaths, a sharp rise from 98,000 deaths in 2005. This increase has fast outpaced the corresponding population growth during the same time period. A majority of road accident victims are in the age group of 15 to 45 years, which not only puts a serious economic burden on their families, but also has a significant impact on the GDP of the country. This problem will grow to more alarming proportions, unless we make take urgent and far-reaching measures to...

Every year, approximately 1.25 million people die in road traffic crashes. In 2015, India recorded 146,133 road traffic fatalities, which means that we account for over 11 percent of the global numbers. While India is home to roughly two percent of all motorized vehicles globally, our roads are some of the most dangerous in the world. Experts agree that road safety needs a safe systems approach. A big deterrent to this in India, however, is...

Over the last decade, Bengaluru has seen tremendous growth. This unprecedented expansion has resulted in urban sprawl, with the peripheral areas of the city experiencing growth rates of over 100 percent. In turn, this has caused inefficiencies in infrastructure and service delivery, lowering people’s quality of life.

WRI India, through its Sustainable Cities programme, assists urban centres like Bengaluru to make informed decisions on land-use and infrastructure that typically have 40-100 year lock-in...

This blog post was originally published on TheCityFix

Around the world, urban leaders including university presidents, renowned architects, city mayors and financial managers are recognizing the need to manage explosive energy demand growth from rapid urbanization. But changing business-as-usual development is not an easy task.

Today, 12 new cities are committing to accelerate their efforts in making buildings more energy efficient by joining the...

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...

In recent times, discussions around internal carbon pricing have been intensifying. Carbon pricing shifts costs away from society to the polluter, and provides incentives to reduce emissions. More than 430 companies globally have implemented internal carbon pricing – evidence that corporates are recognising that this benefits more than just climate.

While most policies follow the ‘polluters pay’ principle,...

This blog originally appeared on TheCityFix

This series examines the reality and implementation bottlenecks of clean transport initiatives in India, covering areas such as emission standards, alternative fuels, and electric vehicles.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Delhi’s air ranks among the worst in the world. Of course, the situation is not limited to the capital—the WHO ambient air quality database lists 12 other Indian...

This blog originally appeared on TheCityFix

Globally, 1.3 million people die each year in road traffic crashes. India, with only 2 percent of the global motor vehicle population, accounts for more than 10 percent of those fatalities. Further, in 2014 about 1.41 million people lost their lives on India’s roads—which is 3 percent greater than the fatalities in 2013. With one fatality roughly happening every 4 minutes, Indian road are considered some of most dangerous roads in the world.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)...

This article was originally published by the Indian Express.

At the very least, the odd-even policy will initiate a conversation on car use.

Kudos to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and all others in the Delhi government responsible for announcing a car-restriction programme. It is great to see city leaders realise that private vehicles cannot solve its mobility problem and start a diet programme. Even London needed 30 years of debate before a visionary mayor, Ken Livingstone, put in...