India
Is Walkability a Universal Human Right?
An Indian newspaper has started a campaign aimed at making Chennai more accommodating to pedestrians. The issue is particularly acute in the global South, as growing auto ownership threatens the safety of those yet to climb the economic ladder.
Will America Take the Lead on Climate Change?
Mark Landler reviews the recent efforts of the Obama administration to make headway on climate change through executive order, diplomacy and economic incentive.
By Urging Action on Climate Change, Kerry Ruffles Feathers in India
At the beginning of a two-day trip to India, the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made solving climate change a focus of his public remarks. The U.S.'s own failures elicited skepticism from locals.
It's Time to Turn Back the Clock on Slum Upgrading
In the 1970s and 80s, bottom-up slum upgrading schemes inspired by the ideas of British-born architect James F.C. Turner benefited tens of thousands of residents of Mumbai. Current policies incentivize top-down redevelopment, harming slum dwellers.
Does Delhi's Drive to be a World-Class City Doom Low-Income Communities?
A proposal for a vertical neighborhood in Delhi is long on height but short on insight, according to Greg Randolph of the American India Foundation. Is Delhi ‘poised to repeat the public housing mistakes of the West’?
Minister Reins in Mumbai's Haphazard Development Controls; Will the City's Skyline Suffer?
The chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra (home to Mumbai) is pushing to rationalize the region's density controls, which had been prone to abuse by developers. Some fear the controls will result in more homogenous designs.
Build, Don't Bulldoze, Slums to Reduce Poverty
Indian journalist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar examines the opportunities that informal settlements provide to the poor and unskilled for ascending economic and social ladders.
World Bank: Carbon Pricing Key to Tackling Climate Change and Poverty
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim explains why climate change is a poverty issue - and why we must tackle it today to ensure that carbon emissions do not continue rising after 2016. Establishing a world price on carbon will be difficult to achieve.
IEA: No Progress in Cleaning World's Energy Sources
According to a newly released report by the Paris-based International Energy Association (IEA), "Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2013", notwithstanding some bright spots, there is little progress in reducing the carbon content of energy sources.
New Study Details the Deadly Effects of China's Air Pollution Problem
New details from a landmark study on the leading causes of death worldwide presents a gloomy picture of the effect of air pollution on the health of China's residents. The toll is 25 million healthy years of life snatched from the population.
Sustainability's Latest Tool: Gamification
Already popular in several sectors, 'gamification' is increasingly being used to educate and engage the public around sustainability issues. Can "using fun and games for serious purposes" bring about environmental improvements?
An Incremental Approach to Slum Improvement
Flavie Halais looks at both successful and unsuccessful cases of alleviating slum conditions on three continents. For the best results, practitioners must be more adept at problem solving and creativity than pure design.
The World's Priciest Homes: New Delhi's Crumbling Bungalows
They're filled with musty bathrooms and peeling paint, and they're selling in the tens of millions of dollars. Jim Yardley examines New Delhi's real estate boom, which is driven by "ego, status and some unique distortions in India’s economy."
The Importance of Making Cities Places of Belonging
Mumbai architect Pallavi Shrivastava reflects on the impact that the inaccessibility of the city has on the status of women in society and their ability to shape the future of the places in which they live.
Britain Offers Planning Expertise for Nine New Indian Cities
On a recent visit to India, UK Prime Minister David Cameron offered his country's assistance in planning and developing nine new cities along a 600-mile corridor linking Mumbai and Bangalore by 2030.
Why Are India's Cities So Short?
They're among the most populous cities in the world. So why are India's largest cities virtually bereft of skylines? Mark Bergen explores the answers.
To Reduce Urban Poverty, Empower
Offering a list of policy innovations in several emerging mega-cities, URB.im managing editor Josephine d’Allant argues for empowerment over charity in the battle to improve conditions for the urban poor.
Despite Global Pleas, the U.S. Abstains from Leading on Climate Change
Global leaders met last week in New Delhi to discuss climate change mitigation through sustainable development measures. For those on the front lines of climate change, the intransigence of the U.S. has sparked concern, reports Joanna Zelman.
Can Planning Policies Solve India’s Gender Divide?
As recent headlines reveal the insecurity faced by women in India’s largest cities, the role – and responsibility – of urban planning is being questioned.
India Comes to Grips With the Challenges of Urbanization
In the first entry in an eight-part series, Aparna Piramal Raje explores the challenges facing an urbanizing India that lacks sufficient planning to ease the country's transition from a nation of villages.
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Barrett Planning Group LLC
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
