This article, based on household panel data collected from slum surveys in the national capital of India, Delhi, aims at assessing the phenomenon of mobility and its determinants in the context of the city’s slums. It notes that mobility occurred in a highly limited sense and, second, the extent of mobility is not uniform across slum households, which, in the literature, is interpreted as time-independent mobility. The article also envisages changes in terms of overall well-being rather than reflecting only on income mobility. It tries to identify the determinants of mobility through various econometric models, and given the city’s environment, individual-specific factors such as educational attainment are important. Even within the city, activities and labour market characteristics vary widely across areas, and the outcomes in terms of mobility tend to be different, reflecting physical segmentation of the labour market, mobility constraints and variations in individual motivational drive.
Urban expansion threatens groundwater sustainability, yet regional-scale assessments can mask localized impacts. This study presents a GIS-based multi-criteria framework to quantify this 'paradox of scale', assessing the conflict between urban growth and the potential of groundwater recharge at Kahramanmaras & cedil;, T & uuml;rkiye, during the period 2000-2025. Using open-source datasets (GHSL, CHIRPS and SoilGrids), natural recharge potential was modelled, and annual loss attributable to urbanization was quantified. Although the regional mean groundwater recharge potential index (GRPI) declined only marginally (0.449 -> 0.447) during this period, spatial analysis revealed a disproportionate, effectively irreversible loss within the most critical recharge zones. In total, 10.7 km & sup2; (3.55%) of top-priority 'hotspot' areas were converted to urban land, with losses unevenly distributed; the faster-urbanizing district forfeited a larger share of its hotspots. These findings indicate that reliance on regional averages is inadequate for sustainable planning. The resulting hotspot map provides a decision-ready tool to prioritize conservation of strategic recharge zones and strengthen long-term water security in rapidly urbanizing regions.
This study examined the spatiotemporal impacts of climate change in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The study included social, demographic, economic and physical susceptibility factors of the spatiotemporal impacts of climate change through land use and land-use change. The article indicates that the large population and urban structure are expanding. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) results for Rawalpindi and Islamabad from 2000 to 2020 indicate a gradual degradation of overall vegetation cover, mainly due to rapid urban expansion and land-use transformation during the study period. Spatial analysis (given in the maps) reveals that natural vegetation and agricultural areas have been replaced by impervious surfaces, reducing the overall vegetative extent. These results indicate that urban growth outpaced natural vegetation regeneration, leading to an overall decline in ecosystem health and vegetation continuity across the Rawalpindi-Islamabad region. This requires authorities to have comprehensive urban planning policies for sustainability.
This study investigates the urban heat island (UHI) effect and temperature trends in urban and rural areas of Agra, India, by using 2-m temperature data from the ERA-5 dataset for the period 1961-2020. A comprehensive temporal analysis is done in both urban and rural areas to explore temperature variation on a seasonal, decadal and climatological basis. Seasonal and decadal analyses indicate that urban areas experience higher temperatures than rural regions, especially during winter and pre-monsoon seasons. The UHI intensity has decreased in recent decades and the temperature in rural areas has been continuously increasing and shifting towards urban areas. The Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope tests were applied to find significant temperature trends. The statistical test was significant during the monsoon season in both urban and rural areas. This study suggests that UHI mitigation strategies are needed in Agra, which has implications for public health, energy use and urban development.
The Beirut port explosion exposed deep-rooted urban inequalities and governance failure in 2020. Focusing on Mar Mikha & euml;l, one of the most severely affected neighbourhoods, this article analyses post-disaster recovery through the lens of crisis urbanism and emergency governance. Drawing on a stratified field survey of 259 residents, it examines the material, social and psychological impacts of the blast, as well as the uneven reconstruction that followed. In the absence of a coordinated state response, recovery was led by NGOs, civil society and residents, producing a fragmented process shaped by disparities in aid, visibility and tenure. The article critiques dominant resilience discourse, arguing that in contexts of protracted crisis, resilience becomes a selective and exclusionary mechanism. Rather than redressing injustice, it risks reinforcing existing vulnerabilities. This study contributes to critical urban geography by linking everyday recovery practices to broader debates on governance, inequality and the political economy of disaster.
Resilience is one of the most important components for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study aims to determine city resilience by computing a resilience index using four major dimensions: socio-economic, environmental, disaster risk and sustainability. Data from the Urban Centre Database (2015) were used for city-level estimation of resilience. The min-max and global goal standardization techniques were used to convert variables into a dimensionless measure, accounting for their direct relationship with the resilience index. Spatial distribution maps reveal significant disparities in socio-economic, environmental, disaster safety and sustainability indices across countries. Furthermore, significant variations in resilience were found across regions, countries and urban centres. Cities in Europe and North America exhibited higher resilience, whereas in Asian and African regions, resilience was found to be the lowest. Therefore, countries in the developing world, low-income and low-middle-income groups need to act through policy and programmes to make their cities resilient.
In this modern era, investigating the factors influencing energy intensity is a valuable area of research. Although numerous studies have explored the influence of macroeconomic variables on energy intensity, limited research has addressed its asymmetric effects. Recognizing the significance of asymmetries, this study investigates the non-linear impacts of urbanization, industrialization, financial development and education on both aggregate and disaggregate energy intensity in Pakistan. This study utilized data for the period 1972-2022 and followed a relatively new estimation technique: the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model. The empirical outcomes demonstrated that urbanization and industrialization have a constructive influence on aggregate and household energy intensity, while their impact is adverse in the case of industrial sector energy intensity. The financial development confirmed a constructive influence on both household and industrial sector energy intensity, while its impact was found to be the opposite in the case of aggregate energy intensity. Education exerts a constructive influence on disaggregate energy intensity in the industrial sector and on household energy intensity, while there is an adverse relationship in the case of aggregate energy intensity. These findings suggest that to reverse the rising trend of energy intensity, it is crucial to focus on enhancing basic infrastructure in rural areas and adopting energy-efficient production techniques. Besides this, sound financial systems in the industrial sector and improving education levels also diminish energy intensity and enhance production under the current status quo of the Pakistan economy.
This study explores the adaptive capacity to flooding in urban coastal communities of La Paz district, Philippines, by assessing key determinants: economic resources and capital, technology, infrastructure services and planning, information and skills, institutions and governance, equity and social capital; and the influence of related enablers and barriers. A mixed-methods approach, including interviews, focus group discussions and the analytic hierarchy process, was used to evaluate and weigh these determinants and construct indices to measure adaptive capacity. An analysis shows that adaptive capacity varies across La Paz communities, with institutions, infrastructure and information and skills being of the most relative importance. Though the overall adaptive capacity is rated medium, communities in barangays (smallest administrative units) Tabuc Suba, Magsaysay Village and Rizal are especially vulnerable due to high flood exposure and access to limited resources. As flood risk is projected to increase globally, enhancing the capacities of both highly and less exposed communities remains crucial.
Ensuring sustainable universal primary education for all school-age children in low-income nations remains a major challenge. A variety of factors are influencing a large percentage of students to drop out without completing their primary education. The main objective of this study is to identify the spatial disparities in sustainable universal enrolment rates and explore the socio-economic risk factors that could potentially influence primary school enrolment rates across Bangladesh. The spatial patterns of children's enrolment in primary education were examined along with the associated social and economic risk factors. Spatial regression models and spatial autocorrelation approaches were employed for data analysis, using six variables obtained from World Bank data. The spatial patterns of school enrolment rates were analysed using spatial autocorrelation approaches (Local Moran I and Getis-Ord Gi*). The risk factors of primary school enrolment rates were explored using spatial regression models including ordinary least squares, spatial lag and geographically weighted regression. It was observed that a higher level of primary school enrolment clusters is found in the western regions of Bangladesh. These hot spots in geographic areas are located mostly in Khulna and Barisal divisions and some parts of Rangpur division, while the lower (cold spots) are in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions. Among the five socio-economic variables, it was observed that school enrolment is highly negatively correlated with the body weight of school-going children, whereas there is a different magnitude of positive correlation observed for the other four variables.
Public open spaces (POSs) play a crucial role in enhancing the quality of urban life, particularly in hill cities where challenging topography influences accessibility and movement patterns. Space syntax can aid in understanding the route choices of users, evaluating certain routes for improved walkability, and understanding pedestrian behaviour in urban environments, among others. Previous space syntax studies primarily focused on a two-dimensional spatial understanding of cities, but there is a scarcity of studies that explore a three-dimensional perspective. It is observed that the route choices and options in hill cities vary from those of cities in the plains. Therefore, this article intends to study the routes and pedestrian choices to access POS, taking the case of Aizawl, Mizoram (India). Space syntax is used as a methodology for the analysis of the accessibility of open spaces. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of mobility behaviour in complex urban environments and offers practical insights for planners and policymakers in developing sustainable and inclusive urban networks and accessible public spaces in hill cities.
Sustained growth and ushering in cooperative federalism are twin imperatives that India faces. As the 16th Finance Commission (FC) 1 has its deliberations underway, this article underlines the importance of the third tier of government, focusing on urban local bodies (ULBs). It recommends that the good work done by the earlier FCs be continued, especially that of using a quasi-formulaic approach in working out the magnitude of the fund flow towards ULBs, to bring in an element of buoyancy in their revenues and make them 'partners' in the development process. The instrument of incentives to elicit cooperation from local bodies, as introduced by the various FCs, is critically discussed in this article. The evidence so far, in this respect, is positive, and it is incidentally recommended that the 16th FC and future FCs formulaically strengthen this aspect at the state level too.
A swift rise in population across developing nations has led to unplanned and haphazard built-up expansion, resulting in the significant urban sprawl and degradation of natural ecosystems. Sustainable urban development necessitates the identification of ecologically balanced and spatially suitable areas for future growth. This study conducts a land use suitability assessment for the Bhubaneswar planning region, considering 13 criteria by integrating geographic information system tools with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, namely the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and best-worst method (BWM). A range of biophysical and socio-economic factors were systematically analysed to create a comprehensive spatial suitability map. The analysis categorized land into five suitability classes: very high, high, moderate, low and very low. The results indicate that of the 13 criteria that influence urban growth, the ones that have the greatest effects on urban expansion are as follows: distance to roads, land use/land cover, distance to built-up areas, slope and population density. Model validation using the receiver operating characteristics curve yielded area under the curve values of 0.89 for AHP and 0.86 for BWM, indicating high predictive performance and model reliability. The findings underscore the importance of strategic planning, particularly in the western and eastern peripheries of the Bhubaneswar planning region, which are dominated by forest cover and agricultural land, respectively. This study demonstrates the efficacy of integrating geoinformatics with MCDM approaches for land suitability analysis and provides a robust, data-driven structure to assist urban planners and policymakers in fostering sustainable urban expansion.
This article explores the housing experiences of migrant renters in three major Vietnamese cities—Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang—through a qualitative study of 60 participants combining in-depth interviews and participant observation. The analysis is organized around four thematic domains: meanings and attachments to home, spatial and material practices of place-making, belonging and social embeddedness, and the intersections of housing insecurity with identity and affect. Findings show that migrant renters attribute layered meanings to their rental dwellings, from sites of economic necessity to spaces of family continuity and emotional refuge. At the same time, they actively engage in place-making practices such as personalizing interiors and negotiating shared spaces to create a sense of home despite constraints. Social networks and neighbourhood relations emerge as critical to establishing belonging, though experiences vary across the three cities. Housing insecurity—manifested in unstable contracts, rising rents and limited tenant rights—deeply shapes renters’ identities and emotional well-being, reinforcing a persistent sense of precarity. Cross-city comparisons highlight common vulnerabilities but also demonstrate how urban contexts influence strategies of adaptation and integration. By situating migrants’ lived experiences within broader debates on housing, urban precarity and identity, the study contributes to scholarship on the social meaning of home and underscores the need for more inclusive rental housing policies in Vietnam.
This study examines the educational Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, exploring the impact of tertiary education on environmental degradation, particularly the relationship between the gross enrolment ratio in tertiary education and CO 2 emissions per capita within the income–environment relationship framework across 13 Asian countries from 1990 to 2016. Using panel data analysis with fixed effects and random effects models, the findings support the standard EKC hypothesis, confirming an inverted-U-shaped relationship between GDP per capita and CO 2 emissions per capita with a turning point of $69,629.48. The study also finds a concave relationship between tertiary education and CO 2 emissions, with a turning point of 69.50, indicating that tertiary education can ultimately reduce CO 2 emissions, after reaching a certain threshold, by raising environmental awareness at both the individual and national levels and fostering the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies. Furthermore, cluster analysis reveals similar inverted-U-shaped relationships in countries with higher levels of tertiary education. Smaller turning point of both the standard and educational EKC are observed for this group, indicating that this threshold can be reached earlier in countries with higher levels of tertiary education. The study finds that a 1% increase in government spending on education (% of GDP) reduces CO 2 emissions per capita by 0.06%, with no significant link to trade openness. The effect of government expenditure on education is also found to be stronger in the high tertiary education cluster, particularly at 0.202%, highlighting greater policy effectiveness in countries with higher levels of tertiary education.
Urban ventilation corridors (UVCs) are essential in urban planning as they enhance air movement and help disperse heat, thereby improving air quality and contributing to a more liveable urban environment. Despite their importance, the impact of UVCs on land surface temperature (LST) within local climate zones has been under-explored. This research seeks to fill this gap by investigating the relationship between UVCs and LST, particularly in the context of temporal changes in the built environment. To achieve this, this study employed a multidisciplinary approach, combining spatial data—such as building footprint and height—meteorological information and satellite imagery. These data were used to identify UVCs, delineate local climate zones and assess LST levels in the case of Colombo, Sri Lanka. By employing cost-distance–based least-cost path calculations, the study effectively mapped potential UVCs. The findings revealed that the shift from open mid- and high-rise buildings to more compact structures significantly hinders natural airflow into urban cores. Furthermore, areas within UVCs were found to have lower temperatures compared to surrounding regions. The study also highlights the importance of maintaining compensatory spaces, such as water bodies and green spaces, and regulating building façades to enhance air circulation. Urban planners and designers should prioritize land-use management policies and strategies to improve urban liveability.
The ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) concept signifies a substantial endeavour to establish a global community founded on common interests. Many OBOR member nations are especially susceptible to the effects of climate change. This has elicited apprehensions, particularly among Western nations, that OBOR-related infrastructure initiatives may heighten these countries’ susceptibility to climate hazards. This study examines the impact of Chinese foreign direct investment (CFDI) on climate change risks in nations participating in the OBOR initiative, emphasizing the underlying mechanisms. The research analyses panel data from 65 partner countries between 2004 and 2020 to investigate the impact of CFDI on the ability of host nations to address climate concerns, focusing on their respective vulnerabilities. Principal discoveries encompass CFDI in OBOR regions, which seems to enhance the climate resilience of partner nations by diminishing their susceptibility to climate change. The advantages of Chinese investments are especially apparent in nations with low to medium incomes, those geographically proximate to China, and those possessing free trade agreements (FTAs) with China. Consistent with OBOR’s guiding idea of collective development and global governance, these beneficial effects can be partially ascribed to income augmentation and enhanced political stability. This research indicates that despite concerns regarding ‘carbon emissions transfer’ associated with OBOR investments, such investments have generally mitigated climate vulnerability without a significant widespread rise in local carbon emissions, although project-specific variations may occur. The report concludes with policy proposals aimed at improving the long-term sustainability and efficacy of OBOR investments in fostering climate resilience.
The deterioration of freshwater resources is a major global risk, highlighting the need for a comprehensive water body sustainability framework as a decision-support tool for managing water bodies, particularly in urban areas. This study introduces the Water Body Sustainability Index (WBSI) to measure the sustainability of inland surface water bodies. The WBSI uses relevant indicators identified through both top-down and bottom-up approaches, assigns weights to these indicators and aggregates them into a composite index. It rates the sustainability of water bodies on a scale of 1–100, with 0 indicating very low and 100 indicating very high sustainability. The WBSI was applied to Najafgarh Lake in northern India in the Delhi and Gurugram regions, resulting in a score of 40.42, indicating very low sustainability. The assessment involved screening and consulting experts and stakeholders to prioritize 15 significant indicators, gathering data and organizing it into a sustainability matrix. Government policies, regulations and court orders were also examined to understand their impact on the WBSI. Recalculation of the WBSI, accounting for the positive impact of court orders and regulations on five indicators, increased the score to 52.08, placing it in the low sustainability range. Further improvements in the WBSI are expected as more data become available to quantify the positive impact on the remaining indicators post-interventions. The WBSI enables policymakers to assess sustainability, prioritize interventions and monitor the effectiveness of their actions over time, leading to the sustainable management of water bodies.
Urban green spaces (UGS) are essential for improving urban life and supporting sustainable development goals (SDGs 3, 11, 15). This study introduces Urban Green Spaces Assessment Index (UGSAI)—a novel, replicable framework—to evaluate UGS distribution across five Delhi municipalities using six attributes: Green Coverage (GC), Green Index (GI), Impermeable Surface Area (ISA), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Population Density (PD) and Buffer Index (BI). These attributes were weighted via Analytical Hierarchical Process, sensitivity-tested with Monte Carlo, and classified into five categories using k-means clustering. UGSAI reveals stark inequities. East (27.15 ± 16.35) and North Delhi (36.95 ± 16.93) showed lower mean UGSAI scores. New Delhi (68.21 ± 6.97), Cantonment area (64.22 ± 11.45) and South Delhi (46.16 ± 20.29) exhibited higher values. UGSAI showed a strong positive correlation with BI (0.98), GC (0.96) and NDVI (0.91), and a negative correlation with ISA (−0.77). Sensitivity analysis identified BI and NDVI as key UGSAI influencers. Despite a reported increase in Delhi’s green areas, UGS disparities persist, with improvements concentrated in affluent areas. Urban greening initiatives such as Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Nagar Van Yojana (NVY), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Green India Mission and Heat Action Plans should focus on underrepresented areas by converting vacant plots into easily accessible parks, enhancing existing UGS quality with denser and healthier vegetation. High-UGSAI areas like New Delhi can serve as models for better management of UGS.
Thick haze, black smog, cold sun, choked lungs—winter of 2024 in the Indian capital of Delhi was no exception over recent earlier years—severe urban air pollution undermining agendas of multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), including Resilient Cities and Communities (UN SDG 11), Life on Land (UN SDG 15) and Good Health and Well-being (UN SDG 3). In this narrative, we track down six criteria—air pollutants, particulate matter (PM 2.5 , PM 10 ), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 )—during the period 20 October to 18 November 2024, as measured at 39 monitoring stations, at 8:00 pm (IST). Results indicate that the daily median concentrations ( N = 39 monitoring stations) for PM 2.5 and PM 10 were around 203 µg.m −3 and 351 µg.m −3 , respectively, while they were 1.97 mg.m −3 , 55.12 µg.m −3 , 29.80 µg.m −3 , 13.04 µg.m −3 , for CO, NO 2 , O 3 and SO 2 . We found a ‘differential’ pollutant behaviour. For example, while both the PMs, CO and NO 2 , frequently exceeded environmental safety thresholds, O 3 and SO 2 always remained below these. For the PMs, CO and NO 2 , we observed three distinct time horizons: (a) pre-Diwali and Diwali (PD&D; 20 October-2 November) with the lowest daily median concentrations ( N = 39 stations); (b) post-Diwali phase I (PDP-I; 2–11 November) with intermediate daily medians and linearly declining over the days and (c) post-Diwali phase II (PDP-II; 12–18 November) recording the highest daily median levels with a polynomial rising trend. Significant (.05 < p <.01) positive associations were found between the daily median PMs, CO and NO 2 concentrations, indicating similar sources. Computations of relative health risks due to excess PM 2.5 levels revealed heightened threats of cardiopulmonary and cancer mortality at all locations. As we reflect on crop stubble burning and the Diwali festival (anthropogenic factor), we observe that winter meteorology (e.g. low wind speed and low solar radiation) plays a decisive role. We point to the current policy shortcomings, especially the graded response action plan, and emphasize the need for socio-technical innovations (crop residue management), institutional reforms, a multistakeholder, participatory action plan and intensifying the existing air quality monitoring programmes.
