Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
The enduring image of a city is a busy population always on the move. Yet, as this assessment by the Centre for Science and Environment shows, mobility in Indian cities is severely hampered by a wide range of constraints: inadequate public transport and lack of access to it, less-than-ideal last-mile …
This new report by UNEP and UN-Habitat has identified urbanization as one of five main drivers of environmental change. It has looked at the impact on cities and city residents of related challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. It has also presented the types of solutions that …
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on cities – putting unprecedented pressure on municipal budgets and public services, exacerbating inequalities and revealing their extreme fragility to shocks. At the same time, cities offer among the most promising opportunities to build back better with speed and impact, and the crisis …
Increasing the transparency and accountability of urban climate governance in this way will serve as a starting point for identifying investment gaps and exploring opportunities for mobilizing new resources. It will also help to identifying ways to mainstream climate change and environmental objectives at central-, state-, and city-level through a …
The NITI Aayog launched a report on measures to ramp up urban planning capacity in India, recommending 'Healthy City for All' by 2030. The report also recommended a Central Sector Scheme '500 Healthy Cities Programme', for a period of 5 years, wherein priority cities and towns would be selected jointly …
All cities around the world face common challenges, related to the provision of housing, water, energy, transport and waste management. Achieving net zero at city scale requires a transformation in how energy is produced, distributed and consumed in support of these services. This briefing paper shows how the built environment …
The Enabling Conditions for Urban Climate Finance Part 2 is a contribution of the World Bank to the State of Cities Climate Finance Report 2021. Part 2 analyzes enabling frameworks and presents solutions for mobilizing urban climate finance at scale to transition cities to low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathways. It seeks …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Council of Engineers & Others Vs State of Punjab & Others dated 19/07/2021 regarding restitution of designated green belt in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Ludhiana and stopping of its unlawful conversion into residential plots and by planting saplings of indigenous …
The intention of the initiative is to identify lessons on how to strengthen urban finance, building on a range of city case studies from countries selected to represent different levels of urbanisation and structural transformation, examples, and discussions with key stakeholders. Cities can be engines of productivity, but only when …
This issue paper proposes a novel framework to support a transformative recovery in cities of the global South. COVID-19 has created a critical juncture in the development of cities in the global South. Local governments and grassroots organisations have led urban responses that have been pivotal in shaping the pandemic’s …
This report titled “Re FORM: Lessons for Urban Governance futures from the Pandemic” is based on the study which was undertaken by Scaling City Institutions for India (SCI-FI), Centre for Policy Research (CPR). The study explores the impact of COVID-19 on public spaces, housing and slums, water and sanitation, public …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Kapil Dev Vs Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change dated 25/05/2021. Grievance in the application was against proposed amendment to the Master Plan of Ludhiana for developing a Modern Industrial Park in the forest area and on the flood …
Cities are critical to the global energy transition. The most visible energy transitions today occur in major cities. With their comparatively large revenue bases, big cities have the regulatory frameworks and infrastructure to scale up renewables and meet emission reduction targets. Small and medium-sized cities (with less than one million …
This book is a collaborative effort born under the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to address the uncertain future of cities. After an online series of the same name, where Emergency Architecture & Human Rights, Think Fast: a Collective Urban Response to COVID-19, Copenhagen Architecture Festival, and multiple practitioners and …
This book explores how Asia’s fast-growing cities can fulfil their potential as engines of economic prosperity and provide a livable environment for all citizens. Major challenges faced by Asian cities include poor planning, a lack of affordable housing, inequalities, pollution, climate vulnerabilities, and urban infrastructure deficits. The book’s 19 articles …
The Municipal Performance Index (MPI) was launched as an accompaniment to the Ease of Living Index. It seeks to examine local government practice in municipalities across areas of services, finance, policy, technology and governance. It seeks to simplify and evaluate the complexities in local governance practice and promote the ethos …
This book highlights the complexities around making adaptation decisions and building resilience in the face of climate risk. It is based on experiences in sub-Saharan Africa through the Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) applied research programme. It begins by dealing with underlying principles and structures designed to facilitate effective engagement …
To hold global average temperature increase to 1.5°C, global CO2 emissions need to reach net-zero by 2050, with rapid decarbonisation in all sectors. Global transport emissions have continued to steadily increase, with transport emissions accounting for 24 percent of direct CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. This study look specifically at …
Social-ecological transformation in Asian cities is instrumental to achieving many global development and climate targets. As dense settlements of human and economic activity, Asian cities present unique challenges but also opportunities for low-carbon transitions.
The Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of M. C. Mehta Vs Union of India & Others dated 14/08/2020. The case related to the authority of the "Monitoring Committee to seal the residential premises on the private land” particularly when they are not being used for …
