In a swelter over shelter

Besides highlighting some of the enduring concerns faced by today's urban planners, what else has the Istanbul 'city summit' -- Habitat II -- …

Price of urban sprawl

Urban sprawl has caused conditions of insecurity in the peri-urban areas.

Night under a winter sky

As night falls in Delhi and mercury dips, Meeta Ahlawat ventures out with her camera to make a warm conversation with the homeless in the city. …

India's urban renewal plan goes wrong

The Centre's ambitious urban renewal plan has one basic flaw: in the name of public-private participation it tries to give greater agency to …

Trapped in a quagmire

Pollution, disorderly urban growth and inadequate basic services are plaguing the Kathmandu valley and adversely affecting tourism, the valley's …

Fishers at bay

When it was introduced in 1991, Coastal Regulation Zone was a blanket notification to protect India's coast and fisherfolk. In 17 years, it was …

Helping children find work at home

Gramashrama, a children-based organisation in Karnataka, is trying to understand the causes of migration and prevent the exodus of youngsters …

Homing in

After 20 years of non-performance, heads of states will finally sit down to decide where, when and how they will provide people with roofs over …

Embodied energy demystified

Building materials are much more energy-intensive than perceived. India lags in taking steps to reduce their use

Small towns Big mess

India's urban environment is a ghastly cocktail of prosperity, poverty and pollution. A study of eight towns moving towards the precipice of disaster

Keep it flowing

Tour of a house that thrives on air circulation, saves energy cost

Too cool for comfort

How rising incomes are lowering room temperatures at the cost of energy, health and comfort

Building dreams for homeless

Government promises land to the homeless in its draft Homestead Bill, but where’s the land?

A window to well-being

Natural ventilation is a good way to perk up life

Private project in public park

Residents of Vadodara protest construction of a multimedia laser fountain in a heritage park

Waking up to the horrors of child labour

Several groups are working among child workers in India, seeking to improve their working and living conditions

Lighting up hearts

A hospital for cardiac patients in Ahmedabad is sunlit to cheer up patients. It saves energy, too

Playing with sea

Flouting laws, over 90 hotels have mushroomed on what once was a pristine beach in West Bengal

Dilli's world class pretensions exposed

At the outset, I wish to express my profound sense of shock and sadness at Sunita Narain’s unfortunate accident. I continue to pray and …

A thin green coating

No check on performance of green-rated buildings; developers pocket government incentives

Rooted to earth

A social force called water

The state is struggling to meet the rising water demand. It is time to learn from the days when people arranged their own water. In cities and in …

Greenest of all

Model building design that helps save energy and money by exploiting the sun’s movement

Meltdown

Till a couple of decades ago Bangalore was a sleepy city -- running to the rhythm of old trading networks and retired people taking their evening …

Green home