This muggy city keeps cool with minimal AC. Here’s how

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🗞️ Driving the news: Palava City, a 5,000-acre experimental smart city near Mumbai, is pioneering sustainable urban living with minimal air conditioning, smart design, and renewable energy use
• Built by real estate giant Lodha Group, the city is designed to stay 2–3°C cooler than surrounding areas
• It aims to serve as a blueprint for climate-resilient urban development in the Global South

🔭 The context: India, with its growing population and rising emissions, is key to global decarbonisation efforts
• Palava was designed from scratch using urban planning principles like wind-channelled ventilation, walkability, and solar power
• It also operates independently of traditional government structures through the Palava City Management Association

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Palava demonstrates how cities can adapt to a warming climate while reducing emissions through smart architecture, efficient transit, and renewable energy
• It proves that cooling and comfort can be achieved with minimal AC reliance
• If scaled, such models could significantly contribute to emission cuts in fast-growing economies

⏭️ What's next: The city plans to grow to house 2 million people and expand its self-sufficiency in power and transit
• Challenges remain in affordability and integration with external infrastructure
• Developers hope to inspire replication of Palava’s best practices in other urban developments globally

💬 One quote: “Suppose you’re doing a hundred things here, definitely 50 of them can be applied in any existing city depending on the context.” — Aun Abdullah, Head of Sustainability, Lodha Group

📈 One stat: Palava is consistently 2–3°C cooler than neighbouring cities, reducing reliance on air conditioning

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