74th Constitutional Amendment and Democratic Decentralization
The 74th Constitutional Amendment gave constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), thereby institutionalising urban democracy in India. It aimed to facilitate functional devolution, fiscal empowerment, and greater autonomy and accountability in urban governance. This session will briefly review the progress made since the amendment and explore what further steps can be taken to strengthen […]
Provision for Urban Sector in Gujarat Budget (2025–26) and the State’s Urban Challenges

Habitat Forum (INHAF) invites you for a webinar on Provision for the Urban Sector in Gujarat Budget (2025-26) and the State’s Urban Challenge. Join us on 10th May 2025 (Saturday) at 6 PM IST. Gujarat, one of India’s most urbanized states, is home to an urban population of over 34 million—nearly 50% of its total […]
Environmental Challenges and Opportunities of Vadodara Urban Region (Part I)

Habitat Forum (INHAF) and SOCLEEN invite you for a webinar on Environmental Challenges and Opportunities of Vadodara Urban Region (Part I). Join us on 9th May 2025 (Friday) at 6 PM IST. Vadodara, the cultural and education capital of Gujarat is facing number of environmental issues such as fluvial floods, water logging, air pollution, extreme […]
Fulfilling the Promise of India’s First Heritage City: Challenges of Making Ahmedabad Vibrant (Part II)

The Walled City of Ahmedabad was designated a UNESCO World Heritage City on July 8, 2017, making it the first city in India to receive this prestigious recognition. While this designation brought immense pride, it also came with the responsibility of preserving and enhancing the city’s heritage and livability. Now, in 2025, eight years have […]
Fulfilling the Promise of India’s First Heritage City: An Action Agenda (Part I)

The Walled City of Ahmedabad was designated a UNESCO World Heritage City on July 8, 2017, making it the first city in India to receive this prestigious recognition. While this designation brought immense pride, it also came with the responsibility of preserving and enhancing the city’s heritage and livability. Now, in 2025, eight years have […]
Cities of Gujarat – Saving Water: What is at stake and how could it be done for everybody’s benefit?

This webinar will be on responsible use and conservation of water, sharing ideas, perspectives, issues and solutions on the water matter. The key presentation of the webinar is a case study of a residential society in Ahmedabad, called Sumeya Apartments, where a group of members decided to take action. Water use in the society was […]
PMAY-U: Insights and Reflections

Building on its first phase, PMAY-U 2.0 aims to facilitate the construction of 1 crore houses across India cities. PMAY-U’s first phase had sanctioned 1.19 crore houses, some of which are completed and others under various stages of construction. At this juncture, while reflecting on its first phase, this webinar seeks to explore what aspects […]
Child and City: Are, Cities as they Grow and Develop, Fair to Children?

INHAF’s webinar series explores cities from various perspectives like low-cost housing, water supply, and energy. The upcoming webinar will focus on evaluating cities through the lens of children’s rights. Beginning with Eglantyne Jebb’s activism in 1919, the child rights movement culminated in the UNCRC in 1989. India ratified the convention in 1992 and parallelly formulated […]
Improving Access to Land in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas_Episode 2

Geoffrey Payne is hosting and moderating the webinars and has invited an outstanding group of specialists from different age groups with both academic and practical experience on urban land management covering all regions and key aspects of land management. It is anticipated that the presentations will provide examples of innovative and pragmatic approaches to improving […]
Architecture in Transition: Toward a New Urban Agenda

In the last few years, major new international agreements have challenged environmental designers to place a greater focus on human health, ecology and well-being, particularly in urban contexts. The New Urban Agenda, adopted by acclamation by all 193 member states of the United Nations, is also closely related to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Leading researchers and authors will discuss what […]