Category: Analysis
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Bholakpur’s Warming Pulse: A Decade of Urbanization and Heat
Have you ever noticed how much hotter it feels in a congested part of a city compared to a park or a quiet neighborhood? That’s what scientists call the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. It happens when cities, with all their buildings and roads, get much warmer than the green areas around them. The Urban… Continue Reading
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No City for Pedestrians – Analysing Mumbai’s Road Crash Deaths in 2023
A collateral of road traffic that we have learnt to live with is road crashes. In every Indian city they account for hundreds of deaths every year, with at least a death per day in most large cities. In 2022, when national level data was last published, 1.68 Lakh people died on India’s roads. Mumbai’s… Continue Reading
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Restoring Dug-up Roads and Fixing Roads and Drains – BBMP’s Work Orders 2024-25
BBMP’s work orders data tell you about the work orders BBMP made payments for. The data includes ward number, the description of the work undertaken, the name and contact of the contractor who undertook the work, and how much was paid for the work. Wards that saw a lot of work orders being generated should… Continue Reading
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Mumbai Traffic Violations: Many Challans, Few Paid
Mumbai has among the highest number of private vehicles in India closing in on 5 million vehicles. With such a high number of vehicles and high congestion, traffic violations are expected to be high and to be an important source of revenue for the state. Challans data for 2024 paints an expected picture with 59… Continue Reading
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State of Bengaluru Lakes – 2024-25
In December 2024, Oorvani Foundation conducted a Masterclass on Lakes followed by an OpenCity datajam on the topic of Bengaluru Lakes. The goal of the masterclass was for people to understand how our lakes work, their interconnectedness, and what to look for to judge a healthy, well-maintained and functioning lake by learning to audit the… Continue Reading
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Bengaluru Climate Action Cell: Achievements And Disappointments
Bengaluru’s first ever Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) was launched on the 27th November 2023. The main objectives of BCAP are to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the city, and build adaptation and resilience against climate change hazards in a collaborative manner, leading to inclusive outcomes for Bengaluru’s citizens.This article attempts to take… Continue Reading
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Caught in the Heat Trap: How Urban Sprawl is Reshaping Life in Hyderabad’s Kondapur Ward
Hyderabad, a city synonymous with India’s burgeoning IT sector, has witnessed an unparalleled boom in recent decades. The very landscape of the city has been transformed, none more so than in areas like Kondapur Ward, no. 104 – a bustling stretch encompassing the high-tech corporate hubs of Hitech City, the rapidly developing Kondapur, and the… Continue Reading
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Climate Action Plans (CAPs) in Indian Cities: Towards Balancing Inclusive Adaptation and Mitigation
Cities of the 21st century, largely in developing countries given their elevated vulnerabilities, necessitate a substantial share of the global climate change costs. An immediate and a measured addressal is an emerging imperative. As a first step, several Indian cities have embarked on developing Climate Action Plans (CAPs) outlining exhaustive climate actions. While this is… Continue Reading
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Tracking Urban Heat in Bellandur
The Bellandur area and ward is synonymous with the IT boom in Bengaluru over the last 20 years and in many ways it represents a microcosm of how the city has evolved in the first quarter of the 21st Century. Large glass buildings housing IT companies sit alongside unplanned apartment constructions and gated communities which… Continue Reading
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Nature-Based Solutions: An Introduction
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are gaining global recognition for their ability to tackle environmental, social, and economic challenges by working with nature. These solutions are diverse and widespread, with applications in urban planning, agriculture, coastal protection, flood management, and climate change adaptation. Overview of NBS approaches NBS Label Origin Place Origin Year Countries/Continents Prevalent Brief Description… Continue Reading
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Road Safety: Traffic Violations and Fines in Bengaluru
Bengaluru has the highest number of private vehicles in India, having crossed the 1 Crore mark in 2023. The high number of vehicles, combined with the relentless congestion in the city, has meant that there is also a high number of violations that are observed on the street like wrong-side driving, reckless driving, using mobile… Continue Reading
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Childcare and Domestic Work – Time Use Survey
In the first part of our analysis of the National Time Use Survey 2024, we looked at how men and women in the large cities are spending time on employment, commute, rest and recreation. We noted how there is a large gap between men and women in most activities except sleep and entertainment. The question… Continue Reading