Delhi

Adversity and urban planning: Designing safer, more resilient cities

The overall picture of Delhi's socio-technical vulnerability is extremely complex. The city has a population of 16 million people with about 45 percent living in a combination of unregulated settlements, including unauthorized colonies, villages, slums, and the like. Yet, despite all its challenges, Delhi manages to sustain a remarkable micro-resiliency owing to its resident’s history of resourceful adaptation and state-led social programs. One of the examples, the 'Bhagidari Program,' is an attempt to resolve the various problems faced by the city’s residents through a partnership scheme: Resident Welfare Associations, NGOs, civil society organizations and groups of residents participate in a "process of dialog and the discovery of joint-solutions." Read more.

Submitted by Priyanka Jain — Tue, 03/25/2014 - 00:00

Retooling 'Cities for Life': New approaches to urban infrastructure and service provision

To me, the more difficult part of this question may not be answering what a more equity-driven approach to city infrastructure would look like — but figuring out how we would get there from here. In Chennai, we have interacted with government servants from a number of agencies that regularly deal with the urban poor, such as officials from the Slum Clearance Board or the city department that builds and maintains public toilets. Especially in India, government officials are often portrayed as corrupt and lazy, barriers to better governance. However, what we have found is that many officials are actually sincere and hardworking, but that they themselves face barriers that prevent them from taking actions that benefit the poor and create a more equitable city Read more.

Submitted by Editor — Thu, 03/13/2014 - 15:43

The story of a river turned sewer

In Indic mythology, there once was a time when cowherds had shunned the water in the bend of the holy River Yamuna near Vrindaban. The water had become lethal due to the poison spat out each day by a dreaded, multi-hooded snake called Kaliyā. One day Krisha, an incarnation of divine god Vishnu, danced on the hood of Kaliyā. The dance subdued the serpent and it left for the ocean on the command of Krishna. Today, another "Kaliyā" treads the water of the River Yamuna. The lack of political will and concern on part of the civilian population has made the water lethal and shriveled the river's ecosystem. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Priyanka Jain — Mon, 02/10/2014 - 00:00

Four questions for the year 2014

For those of us living in Delhi today, let's start our look at 2014 by admitting that we're lucky. We don't live in the city we lived in two years ago, where our political choices were so limited and our collective conscience was in a state of sleepy inertia. If you followed the debates and movements of the year 2013, you know there is still hope for our city. But all of this aside, we still have a problem: water scarcity through corruption, slum rehabilitation, and sexual assaults affect the citizens of Delhi across class, caste, and gender boundaries. Before Delhi progresses up the ladder of livability, the year 2014 will require answers to four big questions. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Editor — Mon, 01/06/2014 - 00:00

Solar rickshaws pave the way for prototypes at mega-events in India

The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi brought the world's attention to India. The major event was one of the first and largest of its kind to be held in the country. "A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games to date. It was also the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982," according to statistics on the event. While the mega sporting event was rife with controversy, it also presented the opportunity for the city to test out new transport methods and for international organizations to introduce greener and cleaner ideas. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 08/19/2013 - 00:00