Vijaylakshmi When we think of green spaces in urban areas, we generally have in mind parks, forest remnants, and water bodies like wetlands and lakes in and around the city. Depending on their size, habitat heterogeneity and expanse, these ecosystems are believed to conserve urban biodiversity in varying capacities. If given an opportunity to add … Continue reading Alternate Urban Green Infrastructure
Ventilators For A Burgeoning City
Divya Mehra Delhi, the capital of India, is the second-largest city in the country and one of the fastest-growing urban metropolises, catering to a population of more than 16.76 million people (Census, 2011). The pressures of a growing population have led to unbounded urban sprawl, and over the last six decades, agricultural and fallow lands … Continue reading Ventilators For A Burgeoning City
Nocturnal City
Ajay Immanuel Gonji I was awakened by the mild but discernible honk of a vehicle and soon realized that the bus that I was travelling in had come to a halt. I looked out of the glass window from my reclining seat but could only see a dense growth of vegetation shimmering from the faint … Continue reading Nocturnal City
Urban Green Spaces and Human Health
Vipin Kumar and Sonali Chauhan There is an increasing demand for residential and commercial spaces , as infrastructure is often preferred over natural spaces in the city. The industrial model of development through which we create our cities results in a double kill - i) decline in natural green spaces (which are pollution controlling agents … Continue reading Urban Green Spaces and Human Health
Learning to Live in Cities: Challenges of Urban Green Spaces
Sonali Chauhan My work as a researcher in the field of ecology doesn’t always mean spending several hours in forested areas but it also means spending long hours in front of a computer doing regular administrative work. While I enjoy being in the field collecting data and working on plants, I am not particularly enthusiastic … Continue reading Learning to Live in Cities: Challenges of Urban Green Spaces
Island City
Shiwani Figure How the Urban Heat Island Effect occurs. Image Source: Yamamoto (2006) in Mohajerani et.al, 2017 Standing in the shade of a tree on a hot summer day is often relaxing and refreshing. One would appreciate this all the more had they experienced the sweltering heat of Delhi’s summer. Being one of the most … Continue reading Island City
Wetland Restoration through a Cultural approach
Vijaylakshmi Suman Ecological restoration can be understood as an ensemble of practices from the natural sciences, the social sciences, politics, and technology. The objective of this article is not to overload readers with jargon from ecological restoration, instead, to generate a discussion that focuses on the concept of wetland restoration as a cultural phenomenon. Despite … Continue reading Wetland Restoration through a Cultural approach
Dhanauri: A Bird Habitat Amidst Human Habitation
Himanshu Choudhery The Dhanauri wetland is a small but important wetland located in Greater Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, close to the Okhla bird sanctuary and Surajpur wetland. The wetland is surrounded by several villages, namely, Dhanauri, Amipur Bangar, Thasrana, Gadana and Bhatta. The wetland, which is mostly composed of marshes, is a … Continue reading Dhanauri: A Bird Habitat Amidst Human Habitation
It takes Two to Tango
Kartik Chugh For thousands of years, humans and other animal species have accompanied each other with a strong bond. Human-animal relationship has been prevalent in the course of human history and is rooted in our co-evolution. The companion species which were not part of the same ecological niche became a part of an evolutionary process … Continue reading It takes Two to Tango
A Bird in Hand Worth Protecting
Himanshu Choudhery With an escalating human population, due to high rates of migration from rural to urban areas, cities around the world are becoming very populated and polluted. This influx of people in urban areas has led to an overall reduction in green cover as natural spaces are converted into residential areas to accommodate the … Continue reading A Bird in Hand Worth Protecting