Urban villages - an oxymoron?
Urbanisation in developing countries is marked by large increases in population and has consequences such as sprawl. As a physical phenomenon, …
World @ 8 billion: WHO handbook now covers family planning during epidemics, high-risk HIV
Practical measures detailed to support the continuity of family planning services during emergencies
Deadly target
Health experts blame Centre's over-emphasis on women's sterilisation for the Chhattisgarh tragedy
Walk the village talk
After raising the political profile of village councils, government wants to downsize them
Earth day musings: Can this pandemic change the idea of a city?
Post-pandemic, the new normal in our cities need to be more humane and inclusive and urban renewal must be designed on a human scale
Urban commons: Rethink their management
Loss of urban ‘commons’ and ‘communing’ among larger public have a direct impact on the way a city and its society are …
What Nigerian cities can learn from the rest of the world
The rapid rate of urban population growth, fuelled by massive rural to urban migration, has overwhelmed public sector resources in the country
New ride sharing algorithm promises better deal for riders and drivers
Researchers at IIT-Delhi have developed an algorithm that can guide taxi drivers to take a route where they can find more commuters for sharing
Bike-share companies are transforming US cities – and they're just getting started
The humble bicycle, aided by smartphone technology, is resurging as an urban transportation option
The waste conundrum
An experiment of decentralized solid, liquid and energy management in a Delhi colony is unique because the efficient functioning of a well …
New-look farming fumbles to an erratic start
The Planning Commission is embarking on a new approach to agriculture planning. But state governments and the finance ministry are reluctant to …
Community welfare works as a contraceptive
In Pakistan, they are controlling population growth by raising the living standards of local communities through Pasbaan, the social …
Unfriendly neighbourhoods
In their rush to meet the housing requirements of cities, planners are turning a blind eye to the quality of the built environment
Incomplete irrigation projects overshoot budget
The state governments' failure to complete irrigation projects has led to an escalation of their combined cost by close to a whopping one lakh …
Diesel prices: don’t miss the point
Fuel price reform is inevitable and necessary, but clean fuel and public transport agenda for health protection must not be derailed
Institutional monitoring of PPP projects made mandatory
Agencies, ministries implementing such projects will need to set up monitoring units to ensure private concessionaires follow Planning Commission …
Road to cool cities: Codes based on unique ‘urban form’ can be helpful
Urban India is a heat trap, but road orientation, building materials and zone-specific master plans can drastically enhance thermal comfort
NITI Aayog begins business without action plan
Will the Aayog's vision be any different than the top-down approach of its predecessor, the Planning Commission?
Bihar plans policy change to push urbanisation
The state government has prepared a draft seeking changes to ‘old criteria’ for notifying semi-urban or rural area as urban
Yojna Banao Abhiyan - then a hit, now a miss
The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and …
Habitat III: the biggest conference you’ve probably never heard of
More than 25,000 delegates will meet in Quito in October to set out a New Urban Agenda for the UN, to be implemented over the next 20 years
How agriculture can be intensified in Africa without causing harm
Sustainable agriculture in Africa has the ability to act as an example for other regions worldwide. But to do this the approaches and technology …
Women to the fore
The International Conference on Population and Development is doing more than just providing lip service to the cause of women
Lifting the barriers
Reproductive choice, gender equality and sustainable development are closely connected, say the latest report on the world's population
Talking about air
Participants at a recent workshop in Hyderabad expressed concern over the growing rate of air pollution in South Asia