The Government of India (GoI) initiated the ‘100 Smart Cities Mission’ in 2014. This has triggered deliberations across the country on the concept of smart cities, the need and the orientation of the Mission in the context of India’s present urbanisation scenario. The concept of a ‘Smart City’ is a relatively new phenomenon in India.

The Safe Cities Index 2015 is an Economist Intelligence Unit report, sponsored by NEC. The report points out how the frequency of terrorism and natural disasters has changed the nature of urban safety: power, communications and transport systems must be robust and able to withstand new external shocks. Meanwhile, new risks emerge.

Part of a series of four entitled Urban Patterns for a Green Economy, this guide explores the compact city and its benefits within the developed and developing world’s contexts.

A National Urban Policy is a coherent set of decisions derived through a deliberate government-led process of coordinating and rallying various actors for a common vision and goal that will promote more trans-formative, productive, inclusive and resilient urban development for the long term.

This discussion paper reviews literature on the political economy of four key urban services: solid waste management, water supply, transport, and urban health services.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has prepared a draft guidelines for conservation, development and management of urban greens. Cities and towns are emerging as centres of domestic and international investments where most of the commercial activities take place.

ICLEI Canada and the Toronto and Region Conservation launch their latest resource on biodiversity, biodiverCities: A Primer on Nature in Cities. With the majority of the world's population living in urban areas, its time to ask how they can become more livable, sustainable and resilient.

In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure.

This e-book produced by Earth Day Network-India compiles accounts of ways that twenty four organisations around India have helped to green their cities. It documents what was done, the problems faced in implementing the novel strategies and the achievements.

This brief reviews and connects SEI’s recent work at the city scale on water resources, sanitation, climate, and sustainable lifestyles. Given the pace of urbanization, the development paths that cities take and how they use esources are critical issues for sustainability.