beyond drains and flyovers: why indian cities need smarter, urban flood-resilient buildings

It’s 7 a.m. in Bengaluru. You’re ankle-deep in water, stuck outside your gate. School’s shut. The milk hasn’t come. The maid can’t wade through. And forget getting to the office. Sounds familiar? Welcome to urban India’s new normal, where monsoons don’t just bring water, they bring paralysis. From Mumbai’s submerged rail tracks to Chennai’s floating colonies, Indian cities now see urban flooding with a predictability we should be ashamed of. But maybe it’s time to ask: what exactly are we preparing for? Drains and roads dominate the headlines. But what happens after the water seeps...
July 1, 2025

Buildings Speak. Are We Listening?

Have you ever stepped into a room and instantly felt your shoulders drop? Or walked into a space that made...
June 24, 2025

Urban Heat Islands: A Burning Reality for India’s Fast-Growing Cities

A recent study published in npj Urban Sustainability—titled “Surface Urban Heat Island Effects Intensify More Rapidly in Lower Income Countries”...
June 10, 2025

Delhi EV Policy 2.0 Next Month, Says Transport Minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh at Urban Adda 2025 held in New Delhi

New Delhi, June 3, 2025 — Urban Adda 2025 kicked off at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, today, bringing together...
June 4, 2025

Urban Adda 2025: Igniting Conversations for a Sustainable, Equitable Urban Future

New Delhi: As India’s cities expand at an unprecedented pace, so do the challenges—and opportunities—of urban living. This June, New...
May 31, 2025

Reviving Ayodhya’s Forgotten Waterbodies: A Community Blueprint for Resilient Cities

Unlocking urban resilience starts with reactivating the oldest and most overlooked layer of infrastructure: our natural water systems. When rainwater...
May 31, 2025

No Toilets, No Creches, No Footpaths: Why Indian Cities Are Failing Mothers

“What if caregiving weren’t treated as a private problem—but a public design priority?” Every year, Mother’s Day floods our timelines...
May 16, 2025

Popular

india’s tryst with designing pedestrian-friendly streets

Pondy Bazaar, has been Chennaites’ most sought after shopping destination for several decades, long before the large shopping malls sprung...
February 13, 2020

ahmedabad opens people friendly happy street

The two-decade-old Khau Gali, the gastronomy high-street of Ahmedabad,  has returned in a new avatar as “Happy Street Ahmedabad" after...
February 8, 2020

electric buses making inroad in cities in india

The urban mobility sector in India is presently facing various challenges such as increasing private vehicle ownership, degrading air quality,...
October 3, 2020

why affordable housing in gujarat is a riddle?

When in 2012, Gujarat Housing Board (GHB) reappeared in front of the people and the media after almost a decade...
February 15, 2020

god is in the market: is city planning in india getting hijacked by free-market overtures?

In the summer of 2015, the Narendra Modi government announced the 100 Smart Cities Mission. Once the list of cities...
January 13, 2020

making walkability in vogue in india, still a far cry

In the growing urban centres of today’s world, accessibility and walkability have become one of the growing concerns.  Accessibility, in...
January 28, 2020

decoding india’s e-mobility policy & future landscape

In a rapidly transforming mobility paradigm, India has some inherent strengths and comparative advantages. The country also has a little...
February 18, 2020

understanding the social cost of climate-change in india

Based on the IPCC 2018 report, it is estimated if trends in climate change and land holdings in India continue...
April 14, 2020

what nations can learn from australia bushfire?

We have seen enough of what has been happening in forests of Amazon, US state of California and more significantly...
January 24, 2020

what’s in store for sustainability, corporate social responsibility and climate action in budget2020

Indian budget, Budget2020, preparation process now over and to be presented on the floor of the parliament by the Union...
January 31, 2020

Be in the know. Be The Trendsetter.(Don't Worry... We Don't like spam either )