Shivani Goud
This blog challenges the superficiality of today’s “green” urbanism, exposing how sustainability frameworks often ignore the deep inequalities and extractive systems embedded in city-making. Drawing from lived experience in Indian cities, it advocates for circular urbanism- an approach that reimagines waste, land, and infrastructure through the lens of equity and regeneration. It proposes actionable tools like digital prototypes and a circular policy toolkit, while emphasizing the need to centre marginalized communities like slum dwellers, migrants, and displaced populations. By foregrounding youth participation and community-led solutions.
Urban Concrete Fabric maybe getting greener on the outside, but the system remains unjust and unsustainable at their core. Growing up in an Indian city shaped by constant construction, demolition, deforestation and reinvention. I have witnesses firsthand, the contradictions of urban life. On one side new glass towers, boasted solar panels, vertical gardens and energy efficient facades. On the other, entire communities were being displaced, public land was commodified and waste piled up in forgotten corners of the city. Even as the language of green development grew louder, so did inequality, congestion and ecological degradation.
I have often wondered: if cities are meant to be engines of progress, why do they leave so many behind? As climate anxiety surges and urban inequality grows, it is clear that solar panels, certifications and green facades won’t save or fix the cities which are built on systems that extract, exclude and discard. Real eco urbanism must start with rewriting the rules that shape who cities are planned, governed and who they truly serve for. With India’s urban population expected to exceed 600 million by 2036, we cannot afford surface level solutions anymore. We need approach to city making – one that’s not just eco- friendly but systematically circular and socially inclusive.
The problem with “Green” – Urban sustainability today is often reduced to a checklist to rainwater harvesting, LEED/GRIHA certification, etc. While these may improve environmental performance on the surface, they rarely challenge the underlying structure that make our urban spaces unequal and resource hungry. In many cases, they reinforce them which benefits the elite while sidelining the communities in need.
Circular Urbanism offers something different. Circular urbanism reframes waste- not as an afterthought, but as a design issue from the start. Circular urbanism isn’t just about recycling or composting. It is a shift on how we think about land, materials, policies and infrastructure. What if master plans included lifecycle assessments for buildings and infrastructure? What if zoning laws allowed for adaptive reuse instead of incentivising in demolition? What if public contracts mandated the use of recycled materials? What if waste was seen not as a problem to manage, but a resource to design for? They are actionable strategies that can be embedded into everyday governance. In practice, this could mean zoning regulations that allow for community repair hubs or building bye laws that mandate the use of demolition waste.
A New kind of Toolkit:
A digital prototype: unique modules/ tools that helps users visualize how urban policies impact material flows, equity and sustainability outcomes. Creating a modular urban solution, such as a community hub, public toilet, or micro-park, designed with circular economy principles in mind. This digital model will allow experts and policymakers to interact with and explore sustainable, scalable urban solutions.
A Circular Policy Toolkit – A guide for rethinking planning and procurement rules, tailored to Indian Urban Contexts – Flexible zoning for mixed use and reuse, regulations to mandate material audits and reuse, Municipal bylaws for community repair hubs and decentralised composting and procurement rules that regard lifecycle thinking and social equity.
Learning from the Margins:
One early insight from this work is the disconnect between high-level sustainability visions and ground-level policy mechanisms. While cities may commit to net-zero or circular targets, these goals often remain siloed and lack institutional clarity. Local bodies may not have the tools, budgets, or capacity to translate them into enforceable regulations.
In Delhi, a community initiative repurposed construction waste into building blocks for local schools. In Goa, decentralised waste management policies helped reduce landfill use while creating new green livelihoods. These examples remind us that policy doesn’t have to be top-down. When communities lead and governments include, change becomes tangible. At the same time, there is a persistent gap between visionary goals and practical governance. Cities may commit to circular or net zero target, but these often remain abstract promises. Local bodies frequently lack the tools, mandates or budgets to turn those visions into enforceable regulations.
Why Youth Matter
Urban planning is often a closed-door conversation. Blueprints are drawn, policies are passed, and decisions are made—usually without the voices of young people. Young people are often excluded from formal planning and policy spaces, even though they are the ones who will live with the consequences. This project aims to change that. Through participatory workshops, digital tools, and peer learning networks, I want to create spaces where youth can engage not just as stakeholders, but as co-designers of urban futures. Because ultimately, cities are not just physical spaces. They are made of decisions, laws, budgets, and values. If we want to build cities that are regenerative, inclusive, and circular, we must start by rewriting the rules that shape them.
This project advocates for a shift from extractive urbanism—which treats cities as machines for growth to regenerative urbanism, which sees cities as living systems rooted in justice, resilience, and care. It’s a vision where waste isn’t dumped but transformed, where policies empower instead of exclude, and where sustainability starts with equity not just efficiency. Urban transformation must start at the margins, where informal settlements, migrant communities, and displaced populations face the brunt of extractive city making. Slums are not urban failures but reflections of systemic neglect. Any vision for circular and resilient futures must centre these communities, not displace them. We must shift from top-down sustainability to inclusive regeneration-where waste is redesigned, equity is prioritized, and marginalized voices shape policy. Cities must move from exclusion to care, from demolition to reuse. Only then can we build urban systems that are not only green, but just where every resident, regardless of status, has a right to belong.
About the contributor: Shivani Goud is an architect based in Bangalore and a fellow of EPAYF 2.0 – Environment Policy and Action Youth Fellowship, Cohort 2.0.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
Read more at IMPRI:
Bridging Policy and Practice: A Youth Perspective on Environmental Governance in India
How Climate Change Is Redrawing the Map of Global Diplomacy
Acknowledgment: This article was posted by Riya Rawat, researcher at IMPRI.
