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, …
Noting that an efficient transport system was ‘critical’ for orderly growth of cities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the government has decided to support preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for Metro rail in all 19 cities with a population of over two million. Laying the foundation for …
David Cameron yesterday reassured opponents to a third runway at Heathrow that he would honour his manifesto not to expand it before the end of the current parliament. However, amid increasing speculation that the Government is preparing for a controversial U-turn, it has emerged that a cross-party commission will be …
New Delhi Castigating municipal bodies for the high level of pollution in cities, Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai said on Wednesday the urban bodies must cleanse and update their books of accounts in order to tap the bond market as it is the practice in developed and emerging economies. …
Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has ruled out any significant changes in the land acquisition bill. “There will be no significant changes to the bill. Just like the Supreme Court has ruled that there is a basic structure to the Constitution, there is a basic structure to the bill that …
Delhi-NCR is fast becoming an “island of heat”, as surface temperatures have risen by 2-3 degree Centigrade in the past three decades, says a new study. With a population of 21 million, Delhi-NCR has become hotter than it was 30 years ago largely due to industrialisation, rising population and massive …
Experts Demand Environment-Friendly Building Norms For New Urban Areas New Delhi: The new areas of Delhi, categorized as ‘urbanizable areas’ in Master Plan 2021, are mainly tracts of farmland dotted with farmhouses. But now that they have been opened up for urbanization, city-based urban planners and architects want the government …
In this new report UNISDR provides a snapshot of resilience building activities at the local level and identifies trends in the perceptions and approaches of local governments toward disaster risk reduction. This report provides a snapshot of resilience building activities at the local level and identifies trends in the perceptions …
This new UN report advocates for a 'good', people centred city of the 21st century. It includes a new City Prosperity Index which shows at a glance how a city is faring in productivity, infrastructure, equity, quality of life and environmental sustainability. The city is the home of prosperity. It …
This document reports on a resilience-building curriculum that includes laying the groundwork for addressing climate change and climate resilience, conducting a climate change vulnerability and risk assessment, and using this assessment and other materials to prepare an initial resilience strategy, developed in 15 cities in 5 countries — Vietnam, Indonesia, …
This handbook is a resource for enhancing disaster resilience in urban areas. It summarizes the guiding principles, tools and practice in key economic sectors that can facilitate the implementation of resilience concepts into decisions over infrastructure investments and general urban management as integral elements of reducing disaster and climate risks. …
A Bill to provide for the establishment of an Authority for the purposes of protection, conservation, restoration, regeneration and integrated development of lakes situated in urban areas and peri-urban areas of the State and to provide for the matters connected therewith and ancillary thereto. This Act may be called the …
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) project have released a report, titled “Impacts of Megacities on Air Pollution and Climate.” The report provides an initial assessment of available information on air pollution and climate impacts in megacities globally. The report concludes that, unless city …
Rapid urbanisation and drastically changing lifestyles have exposed people to severe allergy-related disorders in developing countries like India but lack of research and speciality in the discipline means they remain ill-prepared to deal with the problem. In December this year, India will for the first time play host to over …
AHMEDABAD: The population of vultures in the city may not have shown a decline in the 2010 census, but the expert scavenger is quickly losing ground here. Ahmedabad has seen a drop of about 44 per cent in the bird's population in just two years, according to latest figures. This …
Africa's urban population is growing faster than that of any other region, but many of its cities are not keeping pace with the increasing demand for food that comes with that growth. The FAO publication says policymakers need to act now to ensure that African cities will be "green" enough …
The Government of India is in the process of setting up a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency. The bureau would, among other things, take necessary steps to conserve water in agricultural, industrial and domestic use. Disclosing this in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today, the Minister of …
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has called on the Government to step in and put a stop to development proposals that could impact England's Green Belt policy. Development proposals include over 80,000 new houses, new roads, open cast coal mines, an airport expansion, golf courses and industrial parks. …
Environmentalists are up in arms against a proposed housing project, in the 36-acre mangroves associated with the Negombo lagoon. They claim that it would cause an outright environmental disaster. Director of the Environmental Conservation Trust Sajeewa Chamikara alleged that the land was a prime mangrove forest and the largest one …
Asia must act now to pave the way for green, resource-friendly cities or face a bleak and environmentally degraded future, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report. “Asia has seen unprecedented urban population growth but this has been accompanied by immense stress on the environment,” said ADB’s Chief Economist …
India's most ambitious urban development plan, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, has run into a wall with the finalisation of its second phase being delayed due to a turf war between the Urban Development Ministry and the Planning Commission. The two sides are fighting over which government agency …
