Editorial

Hanging over COP27 was the spectre that despite decades of deliberations and landmark accords, including the Paris Agreement, the world was still not doing enough to slow the climate crisis. Policies currently in place point to a 2.8°C temperature rise by the end of the century, a number that could lead to catastrophic consequences for our planet as brought out by United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP’s) Emissions Gap Report 2022. Full implementation of the latest pledges to reduce greenhouse gases could slow this increase to 1.8˚C–2.1˚C. The key message of the climate COP27 reiterated ‘the urgent need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions’ to limit global warming to 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels. Yet there were concerns that no real progress was made on raising ambition or cutting fossil fuel emissions since COP26. The Emissions Gap Report 2022 painted a bleak picture, finding that without rapid societal transformation, there is no credible pathway to a 1.5°C future. For each fraction of a degree that temperatures rise, storms, droughts and other extreme weather events become more severe.

The articles in this volume of the journal document the impact of climate crisis on various aspects of sustainable urbanization. The first article of the issue, by Thao Tran et al., examines the relationship between growing urbanization, economic activity and environmental quality in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The article draws on data from the International Financial Statistics database and World Development Indicators for the period 1995 to 2020. Using different econometric tools, the article confirms a bidirectional linkage between renewable energy consumption and urbanization, urbanization and financial development, and urbanization and environmental degradation. Financial development and urbanization also have a bidirectional causality relationship with economic growth. Finally, the results confirm a unilateral causal relationship between environmental degradation, financial development and urbanization. The research recommends that ASEAN governments improve economic growth policies to include renewable energy use along with urbanization, to ensure environmental quality with sustainable development.

The article, by Faezeh Abadi and Negar Hosseinian, also focuses on improving urban environmental conditions, through various biophilic approaches in urban planning, in the Torghabeh city of Iran. Biophillic approach, as they mention, entails different mechanisms that help restore and enhance the city’s biodiversity and green spaces. On the basis of the findings from the quantitative and qualitative surveys, the article suggests the development of theme parks, ecological parks and community gardens with native plants, especially in city areas, which lackgreen spaces. The article mentions that smart city planning and development will prevent unregulated urban spatial growth. Also, such approaches will not only improve the environmental conditions but also the economic conditions through eco-tourism in the city.

The article by Nur Dalilah Dahlan et al. highlights that changing nature of technology has influenced the physical activity behaviour of working adults. The article draws from a review of literature under three interrelated analytical themes: social context, environmental conditions, and mechanisms to promote physical activity in built environment. The authors propose a multifaceted intervention model for positive physical activity behaviour change consisting of built environment variables, micro-climate conscious design, health awareness and self-efficacy factors.

Gitali Mandal and G. Subbaiyan’s article focuses on magnitude of anthropogenic heat in different land uses and areas with different built-up densities in the city of Bengaluru. The article takes into account three components of anthropogenic heat: metabolic heat, vehicular heat, and building heat. The analysis shows that all the three components of anthropogenic heat were high in commercial areas and in high-density residential areas, as the heat from buildings and vehicles constitute for major share of anthropometric heat. They also found metabolic heat from the growing population in the city as a significant contributor towards anthropogenic heat. The article provides useful insights for regional climate modelling, estimating future anthropogenic heat flux, formulating land use policies to better understand the issue of urban heat island.

Md. Zakir Hossain et al., in their study, explore the reasons behind the non-migration of fishing communities living adjacent to Sunderbans in Bangladesh. Using various qualitative and quantitative methods and triangulation schema, the article explores the current vulnerabilities and acquired resilience of the fishing communities. The vulnerabilities that the fishermen families’ face broadly are (a) physical vulnerabilities, pertaining to risks to physical infrastructure like housing, sanitation, water sources, and fishing tools from cyclones, tides and other natural disasters; (b) politico-legal vulnerabilities, comprising eviction, exclusion and displacement and (c) socio-economic vulnerabilities, including economic, social and food insecurity. However, the families show various resilience like physical adjustments in housing, income diversification, labour and asset pooling, informal lending and borrowing, using the social networks and help from the governmental and non-governmental organizations. This exemplifies a symbiotic relationship between risks, livelihood and natural resource management explaining the immobility of the community.

The article by Hong Kim Tran and Nigel K. Downes examines the women’s vulnerabilities and resilience in urban flooded areas, in Ho Chi Minh city of Vietnam. Using qualitative interviews with women in the areas, the article argues that although women play an important role in their family and community, they are generally ignored in climate change planning. Most of these women are engaged in informal jobs, economically deprived, and have poor housing conditions. Women are doubly burdened with the household-care responsibilities along with income generation, which gets exacerbated during floods. The article proposes various strategies like integration of livelihood support measures, building capacity of women to improve their resilience and coping strategies. It also suggested that women should be involved in the decision-making process to strengthen their resilience to climatic hazards.

The article in the issue by Piyush Tiwari et al. examines key challenges of post-disaster reconstruction practices in the coastal city of Chennai, India. The article argues that the rehabilitation efforts have so far not been satisfactory and lacks proper involvement of the affected communities in the disaster reconstruction plan. The article highlights one’s environment as a vital capability and suggests in-situ, inclusive and community-led housing redevelopment plans meeting cultural and social expectations. Financial security has to be ensured along with the social insurance policies to mitigate the losses of lives, income and property. Building of social capital, health infrastructure, transportation and connectivity can effectively recover the lost capabilities of the disaster-affected communities.

There are two articles in the ‘Perspectives’ section. The article authored by Amrit Abhijat and Anukriti Pathak provides a perspective on the design and evolution of India’s largest housing programme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana—Urban (PMAY-U), as shaped by the housing needs, demands and choices of the beneficiaries. The article with recognizes the static and kinetic traits of urban spaces which pertains to the physical infrastructure and aspirations of the city and the people. It discusses the socio- economic mobility of the households affected by the factors brought in by the PMAY-U with special focus on the design of the scheme. Using review of literature and official documents, the article further examines the evolution of India’s housing policies and the role of government in conceptualizing and implementation of PMAY-U. The article concludes by stating that the mission did help the beneficiaries move up the socio-economic ladder by enhancing their overall well-being along with the quality of life and providing them the ‘choice’ regarding the location they wanted to live in. The article draws important lessons for design and delivery of beneficiary-centric development policies and programmes.

The article, by Meghna Mohandas and Vivek PP, examines the effectiveness of a housing rehabilitation project for disaster-affected community using a qualitative and ethnographic analysis of ‘first-order’ evidences and insights into design principles and participatory planning processes adopted. The project as Kannankund ‘model village’ housing rehabilitation project was proposed in the aftermath of Kerala floods of 2018 for affected families who lost their homes in the Kannankund area of Malapurram. The article proposes re-examination of design and construction elements through discussions in neutral locations where the beneficiary community holds authority as an equal partner. The article is an elucidation of how pursuing community participatory processes appropriately with mitigation of power imbalances between stakeholders is essential for successful implementation of housing and urban planning projects.

The articles put together in this volume brought forth the multi-dimensional challenges the world is facing in recent times, many of which are exacerbated by the climate crisis. As the world looks to step up efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions—efforts are still not anywhere strong enough to adapt to climate change. It is high time that the communities at large, practitioners, planners and policy makers realize that we are in a climate emergency. Scientists tell us that the only way to protect people is to reduce the rate of warming now. We can achieve this by focusing our efforts on actions that reduce super climate pollutants and build resilience. It is critical that we build capacities, tap into solutions that we already have, and implement transformative mitigation actions. Through this journal, we would like to sensitize our readers and invite contributions on innovative ideas towards building a sustainable and resilient planet.