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In today's scenario of India most of the youth is preparing for some competitive exam. If we think behind 15–20 years the number of candidates appearing for competitive exams were in thousands but as the population is increasing exponentially in India day by day the number of candidates is increasing in lacks. We can observe by daily newspapers that most of the competitive exams are facing paper leak problems. Although online examination systems are more effective and secure as compared to offline examination systems because it's not easy to open the question paper before the time starts. On the other hand there are also various consequences where the examination process can be hacked online. But the main issue with online examination process is to lack of resources to conduct parallel examination of millions of candidates, lack of techno enabled exam centers in small cities etc. Our focus is to propose a system in which offline examination can be conducted at most of the govt. and private centers in metro cities as well as small techno backward cities with reduced possibility to leak the paper before commencement of examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical research is challenging when studying informal spaces like urban slums, where extant scholarship is limited, government data are sparse or absent, and populations change rapidly due to eviction, environmental shocks, and the everyday churn of migration. Moreover, written materials and political ephemera generated within slums are rarely preserved in accessible state archives, limiting the usefulness of conventional archival research. In such contexts, the discovery of informal archives—unmapped, non-systematized collections of materials kept by individuals and groups in the spaces under study—can contribute to the reconstruction of local histories. This article draws on 20 months of fieldwork in India’s urban slums to offer insights on the collection and use of informal archival materials. These materials afford an intimate look at how the urban poor organize and make claims on the state. Their analysis, however, involves inferential challenges. Researchers must consider how processes of production, preservation, and provision shape the content of gathered historical materials and thus the inferences that can be drawn from them. Beyond urban slums, informal archives are likely to be useful sources of historical data for a range of studies in comparative politics, especially those that focus on informal institutions and local quotidian politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial describes the aims of the conferences reuniting the papers presented in "Urbanism Architecture Constructions" for several successive editions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at contestations over space in peri-urban India. It studies the acrimonious responses in defense of a local marketplace that occupied public land against the sovereign project of highway expansion in peri-urban West Bengal. It posits an opposition between two aspects of state governance-rational-legal and magical-that shape the contentions. In the rational-legal mode, the expansion of the highways represents the official development goals of progress. The magical aspects of the state engender the circulation of officially approved illegal chits that give occupying migrant villagers' claim to the space around the highway. The ethnography looks at the affective economy of illegal chits that political parties and local bureaucracies use to bring migrating villagers within their ambit. It explores how illegal chits embody the state's legible presence in the villagers' everyday lives, their kinnetworks, communities and transform individual affective orientations toward space. In these new modes of simultaneous 'space' and 'place' making, public land is understood less as commons, but more as a stretch that could be divided among individuals and households aspiring to be 'developed' or upwardly mobile by excluding others. The essay contends that emergence of the 'right to the city' as a collective right requires a double-edged critique. A simple celebration of the subversive potential of the magical aspect of the state vis-à-vis its rational-legal mode may not be helpful for a politics of value that seeks to challenge the idea of value (or what makes life worth living) embedded in the wider neoliberal development discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vernacular urbanism, which encompasses traditional architectural and planning practices rooted in local culture and environmental conditions, presents valuable insights for modern urban design. As modern cities face increasing challenges such as environmental sustainability, cultural homogenization and climate change, the significance of these traditional practices becomes more apparent. In this context, it is argued that understanding and integrating vernacular practices can enhance contemporary urban design by merging historical knowledge with modern needs. This paper examines the integration of vernacular urbanism--traditional architectural and urban planning practices--into contemporary city design by employing a qualitative approach through case studies across various Indian cities such as Mumbai, Kochi, Jaipur and Jaisalmer, drawing on various data sources including historical texts, architectural treatises. By examining these, the study uncovers the evolution of vernacular urban practices and their applicability to contemporary urban design challenges. The paper concludes that integrating vernacular principles into the design of contemporary cities creates a harmonious balance between heritage preservation and advancing modern developments. This approach effectively bridges the gap between historical knowledge and contemporary urban planning, resulting in more livable, sustainable urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scholarship and discussion on urbanization and urbanism are restricted to the exploration of a few metropolitans and global cities. In this way, especially in India, several cities and towns do not fit into the understanding of knowledge produced from metropolitan or large cities. Taking the case of Dharamshala a small town in the Western Himalayas, this paper discusses how debate and conceptualization of urban processes, level of urbanization and scale of economies bypass thousands of small towns not only in India but across the global South. The paper draws attention to the categorization of the urban into small and big, metropolitan and non-metropolitan, unable to provide a comprehensive theory or concept to conceptualize activities and processes that coexist in binaries. Employing an ethnographic approach it discusses the ambiguous statistical criteria, infrastructural facilities, social and cultural dynamics, informality and illegality of Dharamshala. Building on this, the paper asserts that small towns and big cities have a lot of similarities in processes and activities, they may be different from each other at the level of size and scale. Drawing any kind of hierarchy among cities and towns that have the foundation in size (population and geographical) and scale (economies) and positioning them in 'subaltern' positions does not produce a comprehensive framework nor contribute to Southern urban theory but position small towns in between position of metropolitan's cities and urban theories. Noting such debates and discussions, the contribution opens a fresh perspective to study small towns beyond their size and scale and focuses on the processes and activities that contribute to an understanding of Indian urban transition, thereby expanding Southern urban theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial surrogacy industry in India administers in a way where the women working as surrogate mothers live in surrogate houses. It is a space deliberately designed and run by either the fertility clinics or a third-party agency, where the surrogate mothers are required to stay for the entire gestation period. The surrogacy industry in India utilizes the vulnerability of couples who do not or cannot have children, in order to prepare valuable and docile bodies which can serve as a platform for accumulation of wealth. This paper draws from an ethnographic inquiry of the surrogate housing facilities functioning in two cities in India: Anand and Bengaluru. The paper will argue that the surrogacy industry in India produces geographies of carceral domesticity by deploying disciplining apparatuses governing the day-to-day mundane activities of the reproductive laborers. The medical experts often resort to the narrative that these women cannot be trusted with the safety of the babies they carry, hence, justifying their confinement in the surrogate house. Further, the possibility that the surrogate mothers may develop emotional attachments to the babies they carry, which in turn, will endanger the surrogacy arrangements, also runs through such narratives of regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cities worldwide are at the frontline of environmental challenges during their future planning. Navi Mumbai presents many opportunities to move a city toward sustainability. The land is scarce for development purposes in Mumbai, which has resulted in the creation of the suburban area of Navi Mumbai. As the latter has numerous water bodies and drainage channels, which lie in the ecosensitive zone, to stop organic development, the environmental suitability index along with the accessibility index needs to be assessed to promote future organized growth. The present study investigated the planning of the new areas and assessed environmental suitability and accessibility for various zones seeking future development. The analytical derivation of the environmental suitability index was based on the parameters, subindex, and attributes of environmental issues in that area. The parameters included (1) soil permeability, (2) water-holding capacity, (3) porosity, (4) properties of groundwater and marine water, (5) properties of air, and (6) noise. The entire area was divided into five zones for the current work. The analytical framework was a developed methodology of indices calculated from five monitoring stations obtained from the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited, India (CIDCO). The accessibility parameters of the transportation network were measured using alpha indices (α). Finally, a nondominated sorting algorithm was used to obtain final suitability based on the Pareto optimality condition. The development suitability of an area was obtained by computing the environmental suitability index and accessibility index. This computation decides which of the five stations is best for which type of planning. The study developed a dimension-wise suitability index for Navi Mumbai, aiming to streamline the planning process and integrate policies essential for planning to attain sustainable development for Navi Mumbai. During future planning, policymakers and planners have often ignored environmental aspects in ecofragile areas. Hence, planning for new development in ecofragile areas has often been haphazard, piecemeal, and organic. The framework adopted in this paper, combining the environmental suitability index and the accessibility index, intended to assess the area's health and prescribe future actions to reduce the negative environmental impacts of development and regulate the same. The paper showed how data on soil, water, groundwater, air, and noise can be used in a simple mathematical model to compute the environmental suitability index of an area. Similarly, graph-theoretic measures of the whole transportation network can measure the accessibility index of the area. Finally, the development suitability of the area can be calculated by combining the environmental suitability index and the accessibility index. The level of domination result signifies the most suitable station/node for different types of development. Based on the results, policymakers and planners can determine an ecofragile area's future land use development as required. This model can further be adopted by local governing authorities to plan for zoning, zoning regulations, and approval of a proposed development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste is the visible outcome of socioeconomic processes such as urbanisation and industrialisation. Yet the negative impacts of waste mismanagement are often externalised and invisibilised in the metabolism of cities, in which informal waste labourers often assume the heaviest burden. In this paper, we approach cities as sociocultural arenas in which agents work within and around structural constraints to allow transformation to take place. Our paper analyses how grassroots activism, NGO-municipality collaboration, and women's empowerment led to realising transformative potential for both solid waste management and social inclusion in the Indian city of Pune. We analyse the case of SWaCH Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha (SWaCH), a predominantly-female social cooperative of waste pickers, to show how supporting and enhancing informal labour can produce multiple positive outcomes. Our analysis also examines the role that the women waste pickers themselves played in bringing about change. We consider the structural constraints for achieving deeper and broader impact and assess what these indicate for the long-term success of this initiative. We also illustrate how power structures tend to constrain bottom-up transformation approaches, regardless of their transformative potential. Above all, SWaCH's story shows how working with informality rather than seeking to eradicate it can result favourably in moving towards the legitimisation and gradual institutionalisation of a pro-poor urban solid waste management system in which women's empowerment is expressed not only for their benefit but also for the states, the citizens and the environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper examines the transnational and translocal experiences of the Rohingya in India, a stateless, refugee community forcibly displaced from Myanmar, onward migrants from Bangladesh, who currently occupy a legally precarious space in India. Drawing on approximately 90 interviews conducted with refugees, community leaders and NGOs across three Indian cities, along with informal group discussions and field notes, this paper makes two arguments that shed light on the complex, multi‐factorial ways in which networks are rebuilt in displacement as well as the emerging characteristics of Rohingya onward migration in Asia. First, that early generations of Rohingya in India leveraged translocal network building spaces and encounters to rebuild their networks with others in the community and create translocal networks of care and support with local civil society actors, cementing the notion of a ‘Rohingya refugee community’ in India. Second, that the gradual internationalisation of the Rohingya crisis as well as the transnationalisation of the Rohingya diaspora in the last decade through multiple waves of displacement, onward migration and resettlement schemes has prompted a shift towards multi‐sited transnationalism, particularly reflected in the emergence of multi‐sited transnational families, digital transnational spaces among younger refugees and extended diasporic networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the spatial distribution and dependence of employment of workers and geographical concentration of 71 manufacturing industries by capturing the neighborhood effects across 637 districts in India, covering 10.54 million establishments using Economic Census (2013) data. Empirical results validate the spatial dependence of employment in rural and urban areas. However, results indicate substantial evidence of rural–urban employment disparity, especially in the northern states of India. Further, empirical results show that the effect of geographical concentration on highly localized industries seems to diverge in rural and urban areas. Besides, results exhibit that the higher employment industry has a low employment-to-establishment ratio (EER) at the establishment level in rural and urban areas. Nevertheless, using cartograms, we find that the spatial concentration of highly employable industries and the EER is highly skewed and asymmetrically concentrated in a few districts of only four to five states in India. Therefore, the results suggest that policymakers could focus mainly on industries with massive potential for employment opportunities at the regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India's recent increase in urbanization alongside with feminization of rural agriculture could increase the existing gender disparities in dietary diversity. With many rural men migrating to urban areas, women have increased domestic burdens as well as productive burdens such as making informed crop production decisions so household members consume a diverse diet. Given the rapid and recent onset of this phenomenon, there is a need to explore gender differentials in diet diversity across urban and rural areas to assess if certain populations are being disproportionately impacted by this trend. There are limited established quantitative studies discussing this gender disparity with respect to urbanization. Therefore, this paper compares dietary diversity among adult men, adult women, adolescent males, and adolescent females in urban and peri-urban locations. The authors also assess if various sociodemographic factors correlate with dietary diversity. Methods: Analyses were conducted on dietary diversity data collected by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) from selected urban (1108 individuals) and peri-urban (808 individuals) locations of Hyderabad, India. The total sample size of the population is n = 1816: 660 adult males, 662 adult females, 205 adolescent males, and 289 adolescent females. Results: Adult women and adolescent females have a higher diet disparity between peri-urban and urban areas when compared to adult males and adolescent males. Multivariate analyses followed by post hoc multiple comparisons testing further support that peri-urban adult women consume a less diverse diet compared to their urban counterparts and less than other peri-urban adult men and adolescent women. It was also found that marital status, type of household card owned, and the highest degree of education are statistically significant correlators of an individual's dietary diversity. Conclusions: Given that urbanization could negatively impact already vulnerable populations such as peri-urban adult women, who play a key role in children's nutrition, it is important to provide support to these populations. This paper suggests it is possible to do so through government subsidization of peri-urban farmers to grow more diverse crops, fortifying easily accessible foods with commonly lacking micronutrients, including Vitamin A, folic acid, and iron, market access, and affordable prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Utilization of maternal healthcare services has a direct bearing on maternal mortality but is contingent on a wide range of socioeconomic factors, including the sex of the household head. This paper studies the role of the sex of the household head in the utilization of maternal healthcare services in India using data from the National Family Health Survey-V (2019–2021). Methods: The outcome variable of this study is maternal healthcare service utilization. To that end, we consider three types of maternal healthcare services: antenatal care, skilled birth assistance, and postnatal care to measure the utilization of maternal healthcare service utilization. The explanatory variable is the sex of the household head and we control for specific characteristics at the individual level, household-head level, household level and spouse level. We then incorporate a bivariate logistic regression on the variables of interest. Results: 24.25% of women from male-headed households have complete utilization of maternal healthcare services while this proportion for women from female-headed households stands at 22.39%. The results from the bivariate logistic regression confirm the significant impact that the sex of the household head has on the utilization of maternal healthcare services in India. It is observed that women from female-headed households in India are 19% (AOR, 0.81; 95% CI: 0.63,1.03) less likely to utilize these services than those from male-headed households. Moreover with higher levels of education, there is a 25% (AOR, 1.25; 95% CI: 1.08,1.44) greater likelihood of utilizing maternal healthcare services. Residence in urban areas, improved wealth quintiles and access to healthcare facilities significantly increases the chances of maternal healthcare utilization. The interaction term between the sex of the household head and the wealth quintile the household belongs to, (AOR, 1.39; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.89) shows that the utilization of maternal healthcare services improves when the wealth quintile of the household improves. Conclusion: The results throw light on the fact that the added expenditure on maternal healthcare services exacerbates the existing financial burden for the economically vulnerable female-headed households. This necessitates the concentration of research and policy attention to alleviate these households from the sexual and reproductive health distresses. Trial Registration: Not Applicable. JEL Classification: D10, I12, J16. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal erosion is a growing problem worldwide and seriously threatens coastal infrastructure ecosystems and communities, particularly in areas where urban development has encroached on natural shorelines. Salty urbanism, an approach to urban design that incorporates natural features and works in harmony with coastal environments, offers a promising solution to this problem. This review explores strategies for coastal erosion reduction, particularly emphasizing community participation within the context of salty urbanism. By investigating the advantages of incorporating salty urbanism and community engagement in coastal management through a literature study, this paper explores a case study-Paradeep, a coastal city in India. The aim is to comprehend how salty urbanism principles have been assimilated into coastal erosion initiatives in Paradeep and to identify potential opportunities for further integration to maximize benefits. The results emphasize the importance of integrating salty urbanism and community participation into coastal erosion management strategies, especially in coastal areas where these principles are either lacking or only minimally incorporated, often without a clear recognition of the term "salty urbanism" itself. Utilizing a mixed-methods research approach, the study integrates primary data from case studies and interviews, along with inferences from literature studies to gain valuable insights from coastal community residents and stakeholders. The findings will provide a significant contribution to advancing strategies and initiatives that advocate for sustainable coastal development and management by suggesting ways to incorporate a community participation-based salty urbanism approach in similar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of air quality monitoring for analyzing impact on public health is growing worldwide. A crucial part of smart city development includes deployment of suitable air pollution sensors at critical locations. Note that there are various air quality measurement instruments, ranging from expensive reference stations that provide accurate data to low-cost sensors that provide less accurate air quality measurements. In this research, we use a combination of sensors and monitors, which we call hybrid instruments, and focus on optimal placement of such instruments across a region. The objective of the problem is to maximize a satisfaction function that quantifies the weighted closeness of different regions to the places where such hybrid instruments are placed (here weights for different regions are quantified in terms of the relative population density and relative PM 2.5 concentration). Note that there can be several constraints such as those on budget, the minimum number of reference stations to be placed, or the set of important regions where at least one sensor should be placed. We develop two algorithms to solve this problem. The first one is a genetic algorithm that is a metaheuristic and that works on the principles of evolution. The second one is a greedy algorithm that selects the locally best choice in each iteration. We test these algorithms on different regions from India with varying sizes and other characteristics such as population distribution, PM 2.5 emissions, or available budget. The insights obtained from this paper can be used to quantitatively place reference stations and sensors in large cities rather than using ad hoc procedures or rules of thumb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how uncertainty has become a central constitutive feature under the ongoing attempts at rapid extension of highway corridors across India. Contrary to the terra nullius assumption that India's highway programmes operate under, the pathways to accumulation they seek to open present a palimpsest of pre‐existing claims, occupancies and forms of dwelling that come into conflict with the attempts to extend urban space. The paper specifically follows the prolonged uncertainty surrounding a regional highway corridor between the cities of Delhi and Gurgaon, the Dwarka Expressway, which underwent multiple legal contestations over evictions and land disputes. In doing so, it analyses how managing uncertainty in the production of highway corridors becomes profitable for the state, powerful corporate actors and middle‐class homebuyer‐investors, presenting a form of value that can be commodified and exchanged. However, on the other hand, owing to its double‐edged nature, uncertainty also becomes productive for the urban majority in laying claims to urban space. As rapid extended urbanisation increasingly disrupts the lifeworlds of marginal communities, this paper calls for embracing the politics and practices of uncertainty in the continued efforts to push ex‐centric urban analysis beyond the narrow focus on state processes and commodification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large number of people from villages in the India–Bangladesh borderlands are migrants to Indian cities, particularly to the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. Migration from Cooch Behar, an industrially backward district in the northern part of the state of West Bengal in India sharing border with Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam, has been a regular practice as subsistence agriculture fail to provide the landless agricultural labourers continuous employment and competitive wages. This paper is based on ethnographic study in Delhi NCR and the former 'Chhit Mahals' (as the former border enclaves of Bangladesh and India were called in Bengali) in Cooch Behar district, in the period immediately following their exchange, of historically marginal migrant households whose members work in the construction industry. With the implementation of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh and the finalisation of the India-Bangladesh land boundary, the former Chhit Mahals, that is border enclaves of Bangladesh and India, were exchanged between the two states in August 2015. The former Bangladeshi Chhit Mahals in Cooch Behar are now Indian villages, whose residents had opted for Indian citizenship. This paper explores migration from these former Chhit Mahals with a relational political economy perspective. It analyses both broader socio-cultural, economic, and political processes and interests and the migrants' own feelings which interact with migration to demonstrate how the migrant's labour value is determined at the intersection of identity, affect and the international border, with marginalisation of the migrants from the India–Bangladesh borderlands emerging as a product of layered struggles and a dynamic of continuous cultural reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heritage is the bedrock of our culture, with a significant impact on politics, society, trade and many other facets of life. It directly and indirectly informs, influences and inspires public debate and policy. With 40 properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, of which two are World Heritage Cities, India still has many aspects of its legacy that have yet to be studied and appreciated. Heritage cities have superior employment opportunities and a higher population density than non-heritage cities. This paper describes the aspects and approaches of India's heritage-based city development. The study principally focuses on heritage in the context of India using global principles. It suggests future directions that could be taken to promulgate heritage-based city development in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As it is known that "reconnecting to nature" is essential for sustainability, there are few studies on why reconnecting humans to nature is essential and how it can be accomplished. This study is aimed at finding innovative, yet sustainable ways to reconnect people with nature. The objective of the paper is to enhance the biodiversity knowledge of local residents through conservation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). In the study, urban respondents' knowledge about biodiversity with particular reference to non-timber forest products (NTFPs) was analysed for the first time. To achieve the objective of this study, participatory appraisal, one-on-one interviews, dual moderator focus groups, ethnographic field research, and semi-structured questionnaire were used. Plant name boards with local names and their NTFP values for the selected species were also installed. Results suggest that NTFP-producing species played a vital role in making people interested in biodiversity. It can be considered as one of the innovative ways to improve surrounding biodiversity, for further enhancing biodiversity knowledge, based on archival study and local community's knowledge about NTFP producing species, NTFPs plantation also done across the study area like parks, roadside, open space. This paper also explored how this study could contribute to the formulation of policies in terms of creating various urban green covers in Indian cities, following the strategies of joint forest management, social forestry, and agroforestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been quite a debate to understand the scope and opportunities related to the fringe areas of urban cores and their associated areas. Indeed, planners envision fringe areas as 'great alternatives' to ease out housing pressure in cities. As many of the fast growing Asian cities, Bengaluru shows quite a rapid and haphazard development in terms of urban processes. The city has expanded rather comfortably since 1990s in a concentric pattern, but presently it is facing immense challenges in terms of land availability. City planners have struggled to find solutions, while taking measures for the decentralization of city functions in the case of fringe areas. This research highlights the physical set up and the existing land use components to understand the extension and development possibilities of the fringe region of Channapatna lying adjacent to the Bengaluru city. The study area is Channapatna, which is famous for its handmade wooden toy and doll making industries. The region is a fringe area that promises to be a great setting for residential and industrial activities. Nonetheless, the paper focuses on the current villages in the region, which are generally agriculture-oriented and thus the preservation of the land use and related conservation measures are needed in a single planning platform. The study describes the demographic parameters and discusses the current land use and future planning measures. Therefore, the focus is not on Bengaluru as the Indian software capital, but on Channapatna in Bengaluru fringe area, which has tremendously benefited from the city development efforts. As such, this development includes economic growth and sustainable planning measures that would promote the co-existence of the rural and urban land uses, safeguarding the interests of the local artisans and farmers while paving the way for urbanization. This paper highlights the demographic aspects of the villages considered for a comprehensive and cluster level planning of Channapatna with changing land uses showing its prospects in toy making industries and its nearness to the main city as a promising future of sustainable urban planning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2030, six out of ten people will live in urban areas. City dwellers must contend with increased congestion, waste and water management issues, and overcrowded, polluting transportation systems, all of which pose direct negative effects for citizens' physical health and wellbeing (State of Green website). Accommodation of the growing urban population in a sustainable manner is a humongous task in front of every country specially emerging economies like India. Very recently government of India has come out with the proposal of smart cities mission all over the country. This paper is an attempt to look into the concept and definition of 'smart city' and delve whether the 'technology' and 'ecology' would go hand in hand to meet the challenges and opportunities for sustainable urbanization. There is no universally accepted definition of smart cities yet and a smart city may have a different subtext in developing countries like India than any other developed country like United States. Even in India, the definition may vary for different states. The paper through an extensive study of literature around the world and examples of sample smart cities in India has tried to draw some significant insight about the concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, mental health rehabilitation centers run income generation programs (IGP) for therapeutic engagement, skills training, and income generation of clients. The centers have evolved IGP models relevant to their settings. There is a paucity of published literature on practices employed by the centers. Methods: This paper compiles data gathered from visits to 13 centers between November 2018 and April 2019. Information was collected through observation and interviews with staff involved in IGP, using a semi-structured pro forma designed for study. Results: Most centers were based in south India (n = 11) and urban areas (n = 12). Each center ran two to seven IGP. Each center involved 20–50 clients in IGP. Clients involved in IGP were aged 20–60 years. The centers ran a range of IGP, including the manufacturing of household consumables, paper products, textile products, handicraft products, food products, and jute products; animal husbandry and horticulture initiatives; and running cafeterias and petty shops. IGP were mostly selected based on market demand and sales value of products (n = 11); ease of doing (n = 5); interests, abilities, exposure, and experience of clients (n = 5); and availability of resources (n = 3). Products were priced primarily to cover input and labor costs (n = 8), and many centers sold products below the market rates (n = 5). Running stalls during public events was a common strategy for the sale of products (n = 9). Personal contacts and "word of mouth" publicity were used for advertisement (n = 6). Four centers involved family members in IGP. Conclusion: The nature of IGP varied in terms of setting, available resources, and profile of clients availing the services. Marketing and sales were a challenge. A supportive framework of policies and schemes is essential to promote IGP at mental health rehabilitation centers. This report may be helpful for professionals and centers planning to set up an IGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public markets have had a socio-cultural significance in addition to serving the day-to-day shopping needs of the urban population. Most often their number and expanse increase whenever cities expand in terms of population or territory, but their growth rarely follows an organized pattern. This results in a lack of appropriate linkages between different public markets and erodes spatial qualities. The unplanned market expansion also leads to inadequate infrastructure and dents the image of the city. An appropriate public market hierarchy that responds to contextual needs and offers adequate infrastructure and amenities is necessary for every city's sustenance. This paper discusses various aspects of urban public markets. Next, it suggests interventions for establishing an efficient linkage between major public markets located in Silchar, a town in the state of Assam in the Eastern part of India followed by a proposal for the redevelopment of the existing market area of Fatak Bazaar, Silchar. This paper uses both primary and secondary data for achieving the outlined aim and adopts a mixed methodology of data analysis. The design proposals recommended here will find wide-scale applicability in the case of towns with similar contextual realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using World Bank (2020), this paper estimates microeconomic utility-based elasticity measure of poverty-loss and provides better understanding of the distress of poverty and possible policy directions in rural and urban areas for India and the People's Republic of China (PRC). This paper deviates from the conventional use of overly simple head counting. Utility-based welfare point elasticity estimates show substantial welfare gains for both countries, dominated by growth contributing 90%, relative to inequality reductions contributing 10%. Rural India deviates, showing a welfare gain with balanced growth-inequality promotion. Subsequent poverty-loss estimates show potentially declining disutility of poverty in both countries and sectors, with reducing inequality contributing 70%, relative to growth's 30%. The elasticity estimates presented here show that reducing rural and urban inequality can best reduce the distress of the poor. By realigning priorities from promoting future urban growth to reducing urban and rural inequality can lead to substantial reductions in poverty-induced disutility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Almost 70% of women residing in urban areas and 48% of women in rural areas use sanitary napkins in India. According to menstrual health alliance India (MHAI), single sanitary pad will take about 500-800 years to decompose as the plastic used in manufacturing is nonbiodegradable and causes severe noxious effects contributing to global warming through the production of planet warming fuels which eventually have severe impact on environment sustainability. Hence, the study was undertaken to contribute the evidence for the "Clean and Green India". Aim: To know the perception and practice of disposal of sanitary napkins among young college-going females in India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted throughout the country employing a self-administered questionnaire using a survey link sent through social media. Data collected were analyzed and interpreted using SPSS version 20.0. Result: The study population comprised 484 young college girls with a mean age of 20.92 ± 1.86 years and 96.9% of them are using sanitary napkins as menstrual absorbent aids. The most common method employed for the disposal of sanitary napkins was dumping them in the bin (87.4%). About 63.2% of them had no knowledge about sanitary napkin-burning machines. Around 92% think that improper disposal of sanitary napkins can cause health problems. Conclusion: The findings from the study revealed that a significant number of women were practicing noneco-friendly disposal methods and menstrual hygiene aids which are a bane to the ecosystem. Study warrants the education and training of females to achieve a green and clean sustainable India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores the significance of historic urban landscapes (HUL) in the context of Indian heritage management policies. It investigates the challenges faced in preserving and managing historic urban areas and provides recommendations to enhance the integration of HUL approaches within the existing policy framework. The study draws upon a comprehensive review of scholarly articles, reports, and policy documents related to heritage management in India. The findings emphasise the need for a holistic and inclusive approach that recognises the multifaceted nature of urban heritage and fosters sustainable development while preserving historical significance. The paper offers practical recommendations for policymakers and urban planners to incorporate HUL principles into Indian heritage management policies effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onus of re-constructing a diverse socio-spatial and economically-prepared urban framework in the design of greenfield cities rests on the foresight of a Master Plan document. The conceptualisations in the making of a 'brand-new city' are challenged with its subsequent realisation. Often, urbanisation doesn't tread its planned course, and contentious dualities of planned vs unplanned persists. In Navi Mumbai, five decades later, small-scale slum-settlements emerge as landscapes of dispossession and inevitable gentrification creating urban ruptures within the city morphology. Navi Mumbai was an expression of India's euphoria as a newly independent nation, exemplified by pragmatic city planning. However, five decades later, the emergence of planning disruptions continues to indicate inadequacies. The paper examines the spatial logics of habitation under changing economic conditions and built-in spatial inequalities. It initiates a discourse on the type of environments planned cities foster towards residents from lower economic and social backgrounds. The key research questions addressed are: How do master plans further socio-economic segregations? What was the impact of neoliberal changes on affordable housing? Points of critique: Navi Mumbai's reliance on 'Euro-American' visions and Fordist planning present several delinkages with adjacent industrial districts, indigenous farming settlements and sensitive ecological edges. The analysis conferred that affordable housing schemes became an unequal instrument of social cohesion, in light of built-in inequities. The Development Plan of Navi Mumbai excluded its original inhabitations-agricultural and fishing villages, a characteristic adopted by several development plans in contemporary Indian cities. Close examination of mechanisms of 'incrementality', as a hall-mark of affordable housing projects, suggests disconnections between designer's vision and dweller's aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study evaluates the accident-adjusted dynamic efficiency of public bus operators providing bus transportation services in eight major metropolitan cities of India. Design/methodology/approach: The slack-based measure (SBM)–undesirable window analysis approach is used to gauge the dynamic efficiency levels and identify the sources of inefficiency in bus transportation services. This innovative approach integrates the SBM model developed by Tone (2001, 2004) and the window analysis approach of Charnes et al. (1985). The main advantage of this approach is that one can explicitly incorporate the number of accidents in the production technology specification as an undesirable (bad) output and potently handle the issue of the "curse of dimensionality" in a small sample like ours. Findings: The key empirical findings suggest wide variations in average efficiency levels across sample bus operators in metropolitan cities. The Chennai Transport Corporation is observed as the most efficient and consistent bus operator due to its most stable efficiency performance. The results additionally unveil that the role of managerial inefficiency was diminutive, and the scale-related issues were the real cause of sub-optimal or supra-optimal behaviour of sample bus operators in the resource-utilisation process. Practical implications: There is an urgent requirement for effective policy intercessions to mitigate the sizeable observed inefficiency in the production process and resolve scale-related issues of public bus operators offering transit services in major metropolitan cities of India. Originality/value: This paper is maybe the first to assess the dynamic efficiency of public bus transit systems in India's major metropolitan cities after treating accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper attempts to measure the state-wise impact of Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 30 states and 6 union territories of India for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018; and tries to develop a state-wise plan for geographical expansion of outlets optimizing the overall impact of the scheme. Design/methodology/approach: The state-wise impact factor is calculated using demographic penetration of the scheme in rural areas, demographic penetration of the scheme in urban areas, percentage of accounts with Rupay cards and average balance in these accounts. The impact factor is postulated to be a linear function of literacy, per capita GDP, demographic and geographic penetration of banks and the number of poor people. The weights for the sub-parameters are derived through principal component analysis. A generalized linear model with heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistency method for estimation of the equation with robust standard errors is used. Findings: It is found that the scheme has been more effective in the states with higher levels of illiteracy which is contrary to the findings of existing studies where illiteracy is identified as a barrier to financial inclusion. A state-wise plan for geographical expansion of outlets is proposed with a view to optimizing the overall impact of the scheme, along with suggestions for improvement. Research limitations/implications: The data for ATMs and bank mitras are available for some of the years, for some states and hence missing data were estimated using extrapolation or on an average basis. Furthermore, the panel data are available for three years making the period of panel small. These aspects might have affected the efficacy of our estimates. Originality/value: The paper evaluates the newly launched ambitious program PMJDY by the Government of India (GoI), it will have far reaching impact on financial inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A diet high in sodium contributes to a significant proportion of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) due to cardiovascular diseases. This paper describes the awareness, behaviour and determinants related to dietary salt intake in an adult population of 18–69 years that were assessed as part of the National NCD Monitoring Survey (NNMS) in India. A sub-sample of 3000 adults selected through simple random sampling from 150 nationally representative Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) was included. Data regarding awareness and behaviour related to dietary salt intake were collected. Urinary sodium excretion in spot urine samples was estimated and used to calculate dietary salt intake. The dietary salt intake's sociodemographic, behavioural and metabolic determinants were also analysed. Less than one-third of the adults of both genders in all age groups in rural and urban areas were aware that daily high salt intake could affect health. The estimated mean daily salt intake was 8.0 g (8.9 g/day for men and 7.1 g/day for women). The salt intake was significantly higher in men [Adjusted OR = 17.66 (5.24–59.46)], rural areas [Adjusted OR = 6.14 (1.83–20.60)], overweight and obese respondents [Adjusted OR = 17.62 (3.17–98.07)]. The perception of the harmful effects of high salt intake and practices to limit salt intake was low in the study population. The mean daily salt intake was higher than the WHO recommendation of up to 5 g daily. The mean dietary salt intake is high in the Indian population, which calls for planning and implementing control of dietary salt consumption measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walking is proven to be one of the most sustainable transport modes with significant health and environmental advantages, thus improving people's quality of life (QoL) and the city's liveability. Moreover, pedestrianization is emphasized to have substantial economic benefits in reducing congestion, accident, and health costs. It is important to study what motivates a visitor to visit pedestrianized urban streets, which can help extend such initiatives for an improved QoL. Motivation is considered a key driving force to interpret an individual's behavior. This paper tries to identify the motivational factors of visitors of a pedestrianized urban street in India, measure their satisfaction level, and revisit and advocacy intention. A questionnaire survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 518 respondents. The latent constructs were identified using structural equation modeling to investigate empirically the causal relationships among the factors considered. The study's findings can help understand the push and pull components that motivate citizens to visit the pedestrianized street. This gives a valuable insight to the city planners that the QoL can be improved by providing such vibrant pedestrianized streets in a city where citizens can walk freely. It also helps build community feelings, and citizens take pride in living in such cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands have historically been considered hindrances to development, with 'reclamation' considered the appropriate management practice. This is no different in India, where most cities are built on wetlands. This study examines the case of fast urbanising Kozhikode City on the south‐west coast of India by overlaying political and developmental interventions of the city with its ecological realities. While pre‐colonial settlements in the region were predominantly along the coast leaving the marshy inland areas, the need for resource mobilisation by colonial forces led to the development of Conolly Canal through the wetlands. The spoil bank of the canal spawned the development of roads cutting across the wetlands, a process continuing to this day, with consequent ribbon development. Wetland loss due to reduction in depth, core area loss, fragmentation and salinity intrusion have gone hand in hand with the city's rapid urbanisation. While the looming threat of climate change is forcing Kozhikode's planners to revive the canal, wetlands that sustain the canal (and the city) are buried too far beneath the piecemeal undertakings that have shaped the city. This paper reconstructs the environmental history of the city, the canal and the wetlands from the establishment of the city to the present, spanning a period of 500 years. Determinants of urban growth including canal construction, transport network development in line with the spoil banks and rapid urbanisation processes are chronicled to understand the interconnectedness between ecology, urban sprawl and the rationality of disaster preparedness. In this context, the future development proposals for the region are examined especially with the wetlands as the backdrop. We employ mixed methodologies to track this history including satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), archives and interviews with senior citizens. This framework can be applied to other cities to understand the metabolic relationship of urban growth with ecology and its changing history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale private real estate projects in the past few decades in vast areas of increasingly varied scales have been created that were once sparsely inhabited agricultural land and wetlands in the remote locations of these urban areas. This paper examines the reasons for India's peripheralization of real estate megaprojects. Such projects are typically constructed on agricultural land, notably paddy fields and wetlands. Developers' site selections are mostly influenced by the low cost of land and future development potential. In contrast to the disarray of existing urban spaces, "bypass urbanism" creates restricted and unique city spaces that allow more contented or high-status lifestyles. They avoid large parts of the city area as part of their daily lives, reinforcing socio-economic isolation, peripheralization, and uneven urban development. With the help of two case studies, this paper explores how peripheralization has created a restricted and exclusive space that facilitates middle-class life while bypassing and neglecting existing urban areas. This massive bypass urbanism constitutes a new quality of urban growth with far-reaching and uncountable repercussions, resulting in the creation of islands and the reshuffling of the entire metropolitan region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic functions of towns have traditionally attracted the attention of geographers, economists, and urban development experts. Though several studies highlight the functions of towns in India, Asok Mitra's functional classification of Indian towns of Census 1961 is a pioneering one. Since the 2011 data on census industrial categories of towns is released recently, it will be interesting to explore the occupational characteristics of Indian towns and changes therein over time. In this background, the present paper based on the census of India 2011 data of workers engaged in different census industrial categories, attempts to classify cities on the basis of occupational specialisation, compare the city type with the previous classifications, and prepare a list of specialised cities along with their functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper provides an overview of India's urbanisation, regional variations, and association with demographic dynamics. The study explores the contributions of the census and statutory towns to urban growth and components of urban growth. The paper examines the impacts of urbanisation on fertility and mortality in India by data collected from the Census of India and the Sample Registration System. The specific purpose of this paper is investigating the impacts of demographic changes and urbanisation in India during the period 1991–2011. The research paper has employed quantitative technical analysis with the help of ordinary least square regression for establishing the relationship of association between urbanisation and socio-demographic variables. The study has endeavored a theoretical model associating the process of urbanisation with the demographic transition. It finds that the process of urbanisation has lead to the reduction of both fertility and mortality rates in India. The smooth decline in fertility and mortality rates in urban areas of India during the 2 decades of 1991–2011 implies the positive contribution of urbanisation. Similarly, the paper argues that to a large extent, various demographic indicators have influenced the process of urbanisation. The study successfully pinpoints that the urbanisation is positively related to the demographic variables of population growth, density, and migration. It also finds positive and significant effects of per capita income and female work participation rate on urbanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Global South, disability is often lived as a family experience. The spatiotemporal context in neoliberal India, characterized by rapid social and cultural change disrupting traditional family structures and creating the possibility for the emergence of new and alternative kinship imaginaries. This paper positions disability within families, to explore intrahousehold dynamics around care work and caring. Using a contextual approach to disability and care, it is the purpose of this paper to capture these micro- and macro-level dynamics in the context of urban families in contemporary India through ethnographically informed fieldwork. The discussion is positioned on the cusp of disability and feminist scholarship and activism. Care is considered as a multidimensional polysemous concept that is both universal and specific in definition and scope; labor, affect, and justice are its predominant components as it intersects with disability. Historically, the biological family is most germane to care. It is families that continue to matter as a critical source of survival for disabled people particularly in low-income countries; and in many instances, they also play the dual role of being oppressive toward the disabled family member(s) to whom they provide support. Gender is a critical structuring principle in the organization of care throughout the life cycle, given women's centrality in procreation, childcare, and the larger domestic sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities represent intense battlefields where patriarchal norms are simultaneously defied and reinforced. In India, as elsewhere, the presence of strees [women] in the streets persists as a ulturally contested phenomenon. Movies shape our perception and experience of the city, even outside the cinema hall. This paper explores how contemporary Hindi cinema portrays men's and women's engagement with the urban space. Borrowing analytical tools from urban geography, it uses movies as a medium to map and quantify the extent to which activities, attitudes and experiences in urban spaces are gendered. The sample consists of 10 movies released between 2010 and 2020, set in cities of different types, and comprising at least one pivotal female character. Leveraging more than 3,000 minutes of footage, it identifies statistical trends in the way female and male characters navigate the city. This study introduces original methodological tools to carry spatial analysis in movies. It also sheds light on recent transformations in Hindi cinema vis-à-vis the place of women in the public space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential changes in hydro-meteorological events have been causing mass damage to the economy and lives. Among several other factors, the progression of climate change over a long time is expected to cause non-stationarity in annual maximum rainfall. Understanding the characteristics of annual maximum rainfall series is crucial for coastal cities as they are highly vulnerable due to the greatly varying weather patterns. In this paper, we propose stationary and non-stationary methods to model the effect of non-stationarity on the differing duration of annual maximum rainfall and demonstrate the impacts on nine coastal cities spread across the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal stretch of India. The Bayesian inference parameter estimation technique was used. It was found that while stationary models often fit well for longer-duration rainfall, non-stationary models often best fit the short duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the spatial concentration of 120 service industries in India's rural and urban areas, covering 33.60 million establishments using Economic census (2013) data at the district level. Besides, this study uses a cartogram map to examine knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries' spatial concentration patterns and geographical concentration of employment of workers in rural and urban areas in India. Empirical results show that the magnitude of the spatial concentration effect varies in rural and urban areas. Further, empirical results reveal that KIBS industries are localized in rural and urban areas but have a skewed distribution toward urban areas. Moreover, results show that hotspots in rural areas seem higher than urban hotspots, although rural hotspots employ fewer employees than urban hotspots. The empirical results suggest that urban planners and district municipal authorities can give more emphasis and implement suitable KIBS industry-specific policies to boost regional economic growth and employment in rural and urban India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core city areas have a distinct character and are culturally vibrant. The impact of rapid urbanisation on the core area has resulted in its decay. It is easily visible in the quality of life of people residing in these areas. Henceforth, there is a need to overcome this imbalance generated over time. This study aims to identify and analyse the various urban intervention processes implemented in core areas. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section broadly discusses the theoretical understanding of various urban intervention processes and their major governing factors. The second section gives a brief view of urban intervention policies introduced in India, and the last section is an overview of various urban intervention projects studied as case examples for formulating the future parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we shall examine some major religious roles for women in West Bengal, India, and the challenges they must face. Among the Santals, an Adivasi group, religious women must avoid being called witches, for women's power is seen as dangerous and religious social roles are traditionally forbidden to them. Some women have been called by deities to become trance mediums, colloquially known as 'bhar ladies', and this role is generally not accepted by family members. Girls have had to undergo exorcisms by male healers to get them to renounce the gods that have called them to this role, while married women must deal with husbands who do not want their wives going into public trances. Many such women have learned tantric practices to control the trance possession. In rural areas, the combination of ascetic practices and stories known as bratas (vratas) are taught to young girls by female leaders called ayes. However, in more urban areas, this role has been taken over by male brahmin priests. We also see women in the bhakti tradition, who run ashrams and lead worship and who must deal with male devotees who question a woman's leadership abilities. All of these involve challenges, and many of these women have developed strategies to deal with the difficulties of being a religious influencer in their societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the concentration of urban poverty has considered two kinds of locations as the pockets of poverty: slums (vs. non-slums) and towns (vs. cities). Moving beyond these binaries in discussing spatial concentration of urban poverty, we have made an intersection of these two kinds of residential locations in the post-reform India using four rounds of data from the National Sample Survey. The proportion of relatively poor households was lower in city slum areas than in towns (both slum and non-slum households). Next, this paper tries to find out the level of basic services availability across these intersectional spatial categories and how public policies respond to existing poverty. Availability of basic services was higher in city slums than in town non-slum households. Across all these urban areas, the poor had a lower access to services than the non-poor, and the gap between them had increased over time. These findings also pose serious concerns on the geographical targeting of poverty alleviation programmes in India and on iniquitous resources allocations for providing basic amenities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to explore the dynamic factors of the work–family interface (WFI) of construction professionals in South India. It also aims to develop a model of the factors that influence the WFI. This study identified seven factors from the literature: work environment, family, stress, personal satisfaction, work culture, top-level acceptance, and work–family balance. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed among the construction professionals in South India. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. The mean standard deviation and shape measures (skewness and kurtosis) revealed that personal satisfaction (3.55) was rated the top factor for WFI, followed by work–family balance (3.15), stress (2.91), and work culture (2.83). The study found that the work culture was not significantly correlated with work environment, family, stress, personal satisfaction, or top-level acceptance. The developed SEM model emphasises the need to pay keen attention to the work environment and the work–family balance among the construction professionals in India. Management should consider these factors to design standard policies to improve the WFI and design work–life balance strategies to create stability in the lives of construction professionals. The current research is limited to only two cities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India. More studies must be carried out for more states in India to better understand the current situation of WFI as there is limited evidence of studies on the WFI of construction professionals in India. Therefore, the findings of this study fill the existing knowledge gap and provide a clear insight into improving the mental and social well-being of construction professionals in the Indian construction industry and construction professionals in other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainwater harvesting is the method of collection, store and use of rainwater where ever it falls. Tropical climatic conditions will receive extreme precipitation, i.e. in form of rain. Water stress and scarcity is happening around the world especially in urban areas as the demand is more because of density of population. As the infrastructure of basic needs at urban areas are almost up to the level, the paved areas will be present in most of the areas. The gap between supply and demand is varying much essentially in urban areas. Thus, the rainwater harvesting at plot level as well as at community level is becoming very much essential so as to minimize the gap between demand and supply. The harvested water lead to supplement the main supply of water and lessens the pressure on main source of water for the existing urban settlement. The present paper deals with the frame work for sustainable rainwater harvesting at a town level. The paper deals with correlating the selected eight study pockets in Guntur town, Andhra Pradesh, India by making the grouping of plots based on the area of the plots with regard to dwelling units related to occupants. The correlation analysis directed to establish strong relation between different study pockets with respect to LPCDs to workout settlement level Sustainable harvestable rainwater frame work with due consideration to density of population, slope, topography and meteorological parameters etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban homeless peoples are always invisible and neglected in public policy, and they are treated as non-citizens in our cities. The paper investigated the living experiences of urban homelessness in the rapidly expanding city of Siliguri- 'the gateway of north-east India'. A case study method using qualitative in-depth interviews and observation techniques has been applied to understand their significant problems and issues. The findings suggest that they have been forced to live in deplorable conditions since they are marginalized and ignored in every fundamental aspect of life. Basic human rights and access to basic amenities are forbidden to them, even they are not permitted and struggle to survive in the vacant space of the city. Surviving on the streets generally entails surviving in a physically and mentally challenging environment, with denial of fundamental human rights, lack of employment, and even no guaranteed nutritious food; they are turning themselves into drug addicts, criminals, and lawbreakers. The study also reveals that some specific homeless groups, including women, children, and elders, are the most vulnerable, and their threats to various menaces are even cumulated during the night. Even though they have equal opportunity and "right to the city," these marginalized individuals have no place to assert their fundamental rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]