As the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most-populous state, Lucknow has attracted hundreds of thousands of migrants from rural areas, swelling the city’s population. Yet the city hasn’t completed any major new sewage infrastructure since before the country won independence in 1947. As much as 70% of residents don’t have sewage service, leaving much of [...]
Kamal Meattle reported the results of his efforts to fill an office building with plants, in an effort to reduce headache, asthma, and other productivity-sapping aliments in thickly polluted India. He presented his innovative idea at the TED Conference this year.
DNA India points us to tiny hamlets within the suburbs of densely populated Mumbai, India. Mumbai was a cluster of seven islands with several villages not more than 70 years ago (my ancestors hail from one of them). I’m glad to see some remnants of those humble roots but these will not last long.
Quick calculations showed that, given construction costs in the 1990s, profits made from the market-rate sale of 560 apartments would finance 1,000 free homes for slum-dwellers. So, to give away 160,000 homes, developers would have to sell almost 90,000 full-price homes. In total, they would have to build 250,000 each year. In an insightful article, [...]
Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person is building a monstrous residence in the heart of densely-populated Mumbai. The structure is 490 feet tall and includes a corporate meeting facility along with his 35,000 square feet of private residence. Arzan however is impressed by the architectural aspects of the structure which might change the way high rises [...]
Ash talks about the adverse environmental impacts of religious festivities in India. But I am glad that things are changing and people are taking remedial steps to reverse such damage. Ganesh Chaturthi is an annual religious festival celebrated by Hindus in India. It has grown from household worship to societal celebration involving huge idols of [...]
Mumbai is where I spent most of my life before heading west. Technically, it is the land of my ancestors although it is an immigrant city which incidentally is also the best thing about it. But the geography of the city i.e. the long peninsula stretching out along the mainland into the Arabian sea has [...]
co-authored by Rohit Pradhan Back in the days when Doordarshan (Indian state television) ruled the airwaves, if you tuned in during the weather forecast, you wouldn’t be completely off the mark if you thought that India’s urban regions comprised solely of Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras – conveniently located in four corners of India. It [...]
While the housing market in the United States is going belly up, the construction boom in India refuses to subside. With the new economy booming, demand for city housing is at an all-time high. However with incomplete and insufficient information and awareness, consumers can be duped by unscrupulous developers who promise the moon but fail [...]
The ‘white flight’ to the suburbs was followed by other citizens who well, were not so white. When the Fair Housing Act criminalizing racial discrimination in housing came into effect followed by the gradual decline of exclusionary zoning practices like redlining, etc, communities hunkered down further by creating the ‘gated community’. Justified in the name [...]
Brilliant image, eh? (click here to enlarge). These are the days I wish I was in Mumbai but then again, I rather not.
Much ink has been spilled ( or bytes consumed) discussing Lata Mangeshkar’s alleged threat to quit Mumbai if the flyover on Peddar Road is built. A little bit of background if you have missed out on the story. Mumbai has been on a flyover building spree for the past 4-5 years and every time someone [...]
A death blow for affordable housing in Bombay as nearly 285 acres of land occupied by defunct textile mills is proposed for sale to private builders without a component of affordable housing.
Kolkata (Calcutta) squatters vow to carry broomsticks and chili powder as defensive weapons against police violence while protesting against a court order forcing their eviction. Chili powder bombs against tear gas shells; should be an eye-burning experience. [via]
A Charles Correa-designed building, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research was opened recently on MIT campus.
Page optimized by WP Minify WordPress Plugin