URBAN PLANNING

A recent study shows unplanned growth and urbanisation have raised summer surface temperatures in some areas by as much 5.8 degree C over the period 1991-2016.

There are evident reasons behind the failure of vertical garden projects in the city undertaken by government departments earlier. How can GCC avoid the same mistakes?

Six neighbourhoods have been chosen for Phase-1 of the Mega Streets project. But what is it all about? How were the six locations chosen? And what can residents expect?

The lockdown has exposed the grave vulnerabilities of lakhs of people in resettlement colonies of Chennai. What are the lessons from this experience?

With successive stages of unlock underway, how can the crowded streets, shopping hubs, markets and buses of Chennai become spaces safe for people?

The T Nagar Pedestrian Plaza is one of the flagship projects that have been launched under the smart city banner in Chennai. Raj Cherubal, CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited, speaks of the work that went into creating the plaza and the challenges faced in the process.

RTI responses point to rampant, unregulated commercialisation on GST Road. What is often missed is the link between such commercial construction and the growing, chaotic traffic on this important national highway.

Technology in many ways forms the base for a smart city. With the 2015 floods exposing the city’s inability to deal with heavy rains and flooding, the smart city mission should address the gaps and build resilience through use of digital infrastructure.

Want to know more about decentralisation of urban governance? Wish you had a greater say in the way your ward is governed and managed? Come, meet this women’s group to know how you can make these reality.

Zoning laws, that classify lands within a municipality as residential, commercial, mixed and more, are rarely followed in Chennai and many residents continue to suffer as commercial establishments mushroom in their once-quiet neighbourhood. It’s perhaps time for citizens to wake up and raise their voices.

Krupa Ge, author of Rivers Remember, speaks about the research that went into writing the book and key learnings for Chennai and other cities from the floods of 2015.

An eco park at Paruthipattu Lake is due for inauguration. But with restoration work causing raw sewage to enter the lake, citizens are least cheered by the prospect of a boating facility and more worried about groundwater contamination in this time of acute water scarcity.