In this report, ESCAP explores the future of urbanization in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on the dynamic shifts in the region’s urban landscape. It highlights the region’s demographic transformations, including population ageing, and the persistent challenges of urban poverty and inequality. The analysis covers urban areas of all sizes, …
This report documents a wide range of projects, programmes and plans currently being pursued by African cities as part of a new mode of low-carbon urbanism that is simultaneously helping to realise virtuous cycles of local economic development and social inclusion, as well as climate risk reduction. The emerging evidence …
Policy think tank formed by PM Modi has suggested ways to execute the project better Bengaluru, Kolkata miss Smart City list Within days of the government announcing 98 shortlisted names for smart cities, a report backed by NITI Aayog, a policy think-tank formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has suggested …
The Government of India (GoI) initiated the ‘100 Smart Cities Mission’ in 2014. This has triggered deliberations across the country on the concept of smart cities, the need and the orientation of the Mission in the context of India’s present urbanisation scenario. The concept of a ‘Smart City’ is a …
This paper attempts to identify a strategy for improving collaboration between stakeholders working in Dhaka city to improve climate change resilience of the urban water and sanitation (WATSAN) sector, with a focus on the urban poor. The findings are derived from reviewing existing literature and consultations with 32 key informants …
The presence of vegetation in urban areas - along the roads, in the parks and in your neighbourhood - can limit city heat effect to a great extent, says a Nasa study. Using multiple satellites' observations, researchers found that areas in the US covered in part by concrete surfaces had …
BHUBANESWAR: Noting that UK-India ties are undergoing a major transformation amid flourishing trade and business, Britain today sought concrete steps to further strengthen bonds with states like Odisha in their journey towards poverty reduction and prosperity. "Since 2010 UK-India relationship has undergone an important transformation. Trade links have been strengthened, …
The Stockholm World Water Week’s focus on “Water for Development” comes at an opportune time. Water as a sector in world affairs is reaching a tipping point. Over the next two decades and more, the global push for food and energy security and for sustaining urbanization will place new and …
As demand for water grows, the world must focus on how the precious resource will be shared among farmers, the energy sector and cities if it is to achieve the United Nations' new development agenda, a World Bank expert said. The world faces a 40 percent shortfall in water supplies …
The doom and gloom predictions of increasing battles around the world over water are a myth, with only a handful of disagreements over shared waters leading to armed conflict, an expert said. Competition over water has often been cited as having a potential for turning into conflicts between countries fighting …
THE number of people facing food shortage in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) bloc has gone up by 13 per cent from 24.28 million in 2013/14 to 27.41 million this year. SADC Secretariat’s Director of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mrs Margaret Nyirenda, told Southern Africa Documentation and Research Centre …
Humanity has used up a full year's supply of ecological resources by the middle of August, according to an international NGO. Known as ‘Earth Overshoot Day’, Thursday marked the point where the earth can longer regenerate the natural resources being used that year, and the point we go into ecological …
This letter assesses low carbon scenarios for India at the subnational level in the passenger road transport sector. We estimate the future passenger mobility demand and assess the impact of carbon mitigation policies using the Asia–Pacific Integrated Assessment/Enduse models. This letter focuses on the transitions of energy and emissions of …
The researchers combined Landsat and MODIS data in a land model to assess the impact of urbanization on US surface climate. For cities built within forests, daytime urban land surface temperature (LST) is much higher than that of vegetated lands. For example, in Washington DC and Atlanta, daytime mean temperature …
Urbanisation, rampant felling of trees to blame for the depletion Over 1,500 billion cusecs of water flow has reduced in the Ganga catchment area of Himalaya due to falling of trees and destruction of other vegetation areas to make way for urbanisation and road construction in the Himalayan region. It …
Two City University students yesterday filed a judicial review application, asking a court to quash the Town Planning Board’s decision to allow residential development on a former green-belt site in Shek Kip Mei. The two applicants are environmental policy student Kwok Ka-ping and accounting student Lau Tung-kiu. The land in …
This paper reviews the current state of the literature on Indian urbanization to analyze existing urban development trajectories at the state level in order to understand the challenges Indian cities face as well as the opportunities available to them to adopt transformative urban processes that can foster inclusive economic growth …
Urban planners in the State can leverage technology to build resilience to climate change and minimise the risks to the population, according to Usha P. Raghupathi of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi. Dr. Raghupathi, who is in the city to participate in a training programme on Urban …
Global trajectories for reducing carbon emissions depend on the local adoption of alternatives to conventional energy sources, technologies, and urban development. Yet, decisions on which type of capital investments to make, made by local governments as part of the normal budget cycle, typically do not incorporate climate considerations. Furthermore, current …
KOCHI: As part of Holy Father Pope Francis’ humanitarian vision, Vatican-based Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences will extend support to Kochi to tackle the challenges of human-induced climate change and to maintain environmental sustainability. As part of the initiative, Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany made a detailed presentation on …
Stressing on his commitment to increase the forest cover percentage of the state from its existing 82 to 85 per cent and above Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki today took part in the 'festival of trees' plantation programme organised by the environment and forest department here. He along with …
