GENRE: Solutions

For years, the environment and earth have slowly been decaying, slipping away from our grasp little by little. A few noticed, and many didn't.  The global surface temperature has been measured since 1880 at a network of ground-based and ocean-based sites. Over the last century, the Earth's average surface temperature has risen by about 1⁰C. The eleven warmest years this century have all occurred since 1980, with 2016 being the warmest on record. Coastal regions are getting warmer in summers and colder in winters as the years pass. The average temperature margin between summers and winters is increasing everywhere. Hundreds…

Sakthi Vel N was on his way home from Kodambakkam on a busy night. He was stopped by the police personnel who asked him where he was from, to which he responded that he was from Vyasarpadi. Without any second thought, the police seized his bike. They asked him to go to the police station to collect his bike. "I had all my documents right there but that was apparently not enough. The fact that I am hailing from Vyasarpadi was enough for the police personnel to judge that there would be criminal cases against my name," said Sakthi Vel.…

Chitlapakkam has evolved over the years from being a Town Panchayat sandwiched between Tambaram and Pallavaram Municipalities to now being a part of the Tambaram Corporation. Chitlapakkam has seen tremendous growth, with a population of 40,000 residents at present. Many residents still commute to the core city for work or study. One aspect that has been a pain point for residents has been the poor bus connectivity. After tremendous efforts, a mini-bus route that was discontinued has been brought back to service, with residents hoping for more such services in the coming years.  Mini-bus service in Chitlapakkam For more than…

The infamous floods of 2015 were a catalyst for the formation of many a residents' welfare association (RWA) in Velachery and other parts of the city. The need for collective action was felt acutely during this time as residents were marooned in more ways than one. The AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association (ACRWA) in Velachery West was started as a response to the crisis that ensured during the floods and the difficult aftermath that many residents had to deal with.   Some home truths from the floods The 2015 floods were a difficult time for all Chennaiites, especially those in…

It’s 6:30 am on a quiet street in Nutan Society, Vadodara and a vehicle comes by. Three people wearing green T-shirts alight and start moving about, calling out to the street dogs, petting and then catching them by hand. A woman moves towards them, shouting at them, unsure of their intent. Calmly, one of the members stops to explain about the animal birth control programme, assuring her they will sterilise, vaccinate the dogs and drop them back in a few days. They provide her the facility’s details and invite her to see the work first hand. She visits the place…

"The house feels like a furnace during summers. We live in a very congested space which makes it difficult to sit inside the house and even more difficult for me to cook due to the heat. I get headaches and my kids experience skin problems too," says Guna, a resident of Jyothipura, an urban poor settlement in Bengaluru. Heat stress is not a new concept given the realities of rising local temperatures in India. But Guna’s plight, faced by every family living in tin-roofed houses in informal settlements, reflects the inequitable realities of heat stress in urban India. Houses of…

Two years ago, the Bandra West railway station area used to be crowded, chaotic and messy. Commuters heading towards the trains jostled not only with those leaving, but also with the many rickshaws, share-rickshaw drivers, vehicles and occasional hawkers vying for their attention. Vehicles squeezed past each other narrowly, making it unsafe for pedestrians. “I used to take the train to work every day for eight years,” recalls Samir D’Monte, founder and principal architect at SDM Architects. “I realised then that there was a lot of scope for improvement.” Sketching out a few plans for reworking the railway station area,…

On July 15th, Citizen Matters hosted a City Townhall for participants of the 'If I were the Mayor' contest, held over the months of April-May earlier this year. The contest had been hosted in collaboration with Kuviraa, an initiative that aims to increase political engagement in young girls across India, and Reap Benefit, an organisation that is trying to build a cadre of young people who are problem solvers in their localities through skill building. The contest encouraged children to imagine themselves as the Mayor of Mumbai and highlight key issues they would address.  By May 2022, over 50 entries…

Data suggests that every year more than 30 children die due to traffic on Indian streets. The number of vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate, while the infrastructure to hold them remains limited. Poor traffic management near school zones, particularly, is a safety concern for all as vehicles queue up, reducing visibility. As schools return to pre-pandemic routines, it is important to reexamine children’s safe access to schools. Small changes could make roads safer. For example, identifying road traffic crash hotspots around schools could prevent fatalities and encourage the use of public and other alternative modes of transport, like biking. “Children…

This monsoon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to help Mumbaikars brace themselves for days of heavy rain through a disaster management app. Accurate information and warnings are of utmost importance at such times, as they can help people make better decisions about their safety. The mobile application Disaster Management BMC, available on both iOS and Android, will be relaunched to keep citizens informed about the state of monsoon. It was first launched in 2016 but failed to reach the masses. Through this app, areas likely to be waterlogged will be flagged anywhere between six to 72 hours in advance,…