Date
25-Oct-2021 to 25-Oct-2021 		Location
Virtual		 Format
Local

Building Resilience in Indian cities is imperative to safeguard millions of lives who are at risk due to climate change related hazards. Urban risk, however, needs to be understood in the context of all socio-economic, political, and environmental processes that manifest risks in urban areas, and not simply in the context of natural hazards. However, the capacities to formulate and implement Climate Adaptation and Mitigation strategies are rather low in India. As the world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in a few weeks, the Higher Education Institutions, (HEIs) particularly the institutes of Urban Planning, Design, Architecture and Urban Management have greater responsibility. However, Indian HEIs are not well equipped to meet these demands, since curricula in architecture and urban planning often predominantly focus on technical and design skills.

In recent months, Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and Building Resilience in Urban Communities (BREUCOM) initiative in collaboration with a few Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), co-organised a series of the webinars.

These webinars were attended by the expert practitioners, faculty members and student researchers. The discussions emphasised the need for a flexible structure, alternative pedagogy, out of the class learning opportunity, and learning with the communities in urban planning, design, and architecture education in the country.

In this backdrop, Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), Building Resilience in Urban Communities (BREUCOM) and School and Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi is organising a Virtual Round Table on “Enriching Urban Planning, Design and Architecture Education in India to Meet Urban Resilience Challenges” on 25 October from 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm.  The round table will be attended by selected Directors, Deans, and Professors of the urban planning institutes, education policy makers, and a few prominent urban practitioners.

The round table will explore the following key discussion questions:

  1. How equipped are the higher education curriculua in the schools of planning, design, and architecture to deal with India’s climate resilience challenges?
  2. What theoretical and practical components must be integrated in such higher education curricula?