For India the rebuilding of its mega cities is a must to reap the dividends of its much trumpeted demographic dividend which will bring in its wake a move to these urban centres. India has the option now of rebuilding its cities against a bedrock of sustainability. And there are models for the creative destruction this calls for.

Devastated by a massive tornado in May 2007 which destroyed 95% of the town, leaders of Greensburg in Kansas decided to rebuild it sustainably, in a way that would save materials and energy, promote conservation and improve safety. With financial help from the government and technical support of the national Renewable Energy Laboratory, the town built homes that are 40% more energy-efficient than the ones they replaced. Read More

Jyothi Shankaran

    Jyothi’s last role was as Senior Editor with the business news channel Bloomberg TV India. He also worked as News Editor at business-standard.com, the online version of the business newspaper Business Standard. Jyothi is a chemical engineer from the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar.