IIHS is an Indian knowledge institution of global stature dedicated to transforming India’s cities, towns, and villages.

 

IIHS emphasises interdisciplinary knowledge and practice and brings together five largely independent areas of knowing and doing – academics, practice, research, capacity development, and digital blended learning – into a unique institutional design to shape global discourse, inform domestic policy, and deliver exemplar initiatives on ground.

Latest updates on IIHS’ work and events

Library

High-performance buildings maximise efficiency and quality across energy, water, and indoor environments.

Knowledge Gateway

Kerala’s diverse water resources are crucial for sustainable water management and aquatic conservation.

Publics@IIHS

Panel on the book ‘Apartheid Remains.’ 29 January 2025 | 6:00 pm IST | IIHS Annexe II and Zoom

Explore courses from IIHS’ Digital Blended and Capacity Development Programmes
5 September 2024

Course on

Reimagining Education for Equity: Interrogating Policy and Practice

This 5-week online course explores the role of education in achieving sustainable development goals and societal change. It focusses on creating inclusive, equitable learning environments that empower individuals and communities to address real-world challenges and drive transformative impact.

13 May 2024

Course on

Net-Zero Building Fundamentals

Developed by IIHS and AEEE, this 12-week online course equips building professionals and students with key insights into energy performance, passive design, thermal comfort, financial feasibility, and water sufficiency. Gain the skills to design low-carbon, high-performance, and net-zero buildings.

5 September 2022

Course on

Shaping Urban Futures

Launched on Coursera, this new online course is a collaborative effort of five global institutions including IIHS. Designed as a self-paced, 6-week course, it addresses the most pressing challenges faced by humanity in the 21st century by considering how cities can become sustainable.

19 July 2022

Course on

The Art and Science of Economic Policy

IIHS, in collaboration with Coursera, has launched its latest digital blended learning programme. The 5-week self-paced course helps learners understand the why, when, what and how of economic policymaking through a combination of concepts and ideas, cases and examples and thought-provoking discussion questions.

20 July 2021

Course on

Housing Justice: A view from Indian Cities

This course offers a diagnosis of what housing justice looks like as well as the modes and practices that can move us towards it ranging from activism and direct action to public policy and participatory governance.

18 May 2021

Course on

Writing and Dissemination – Grey Literature

If you are a researcher, academic, student, development sector professional or a practitioner who is keen to reach the research-based knowledge you have created to a wider audience, this course is for you.

15 Nov 2016

Course on

Sustainable Cities

The course will be of value to anyone who is interested in learning about how cities function, the modern urban challenges that are emerging in the context of recent history and how these challenges can be addressed through a multidisciplinary approach.

Stay updated with the latest news from, and events at IIHS

LATEST TWEETS

iihsin Indian Institute for Human Settlements @iihsin ·
11 Feb

Gully Gully by Aditya Iyer takes us through the cricket frenzy across Indian cities during the 2023 World Cup—exploring its impact on fans, urban spaces, and the game itself.

Which of these quotes resonates with you the most? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

🔗Watch the full…

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iihsin Indian Institute for Human Settlements @iihsin ·
7 Feb

The recently announced budget continues to miss the point about MSMEs and their challenges. Revisit Kinjal’s article from 2024 to see how the problems persist.

Read here: https://bit.ly/40VhCBQ

To read her post on the topic on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3WSAsrP

#IIHS…

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iihsin Indian Institute for Human Settlements @iihsin ·
5 Feb

Aruna will be giving a guest lecture at the Institute of Public Health's Insight Thursdays Seminar Series, where she will explore how the design and evolution of urban spaces shape health outcomes, bridging history, public health, and city planning for a sustainable future.…

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LATEST YOUTUBE VIDEOS

NZBF Webinar | Calibrated Model of an Experimental Building to Test Passive Thermal Comfort SolutionsThe webinar explored insights from a calibrated energy model of an experimental passive building in India, showcasing how detailed modeling can drive better design decisions.
Net-Zero Building Fundamentals Webinar
Through the prism of cricket, Gully Gully unfolds as both a travelogue and a meditation on India's relationship with its beloved sport. At its heart, the book celebrates the spectators who breathe life into cricket, with each city orchestrating its own unique symphony during match days. While the sport remains unchanged, its cultural avatars multiply across geographies.The discussion explored how the author's journey from national dailies to smaller publications enriched his storytelling. Stepping away from cushioned press boxes led him to unearth compelling narratives that rarely make it to prime time—tales of ordinary fans who move mountains to witness their cricketing gods.The conversation also reflected on how the book serves as a portrait of cricket's storytellers: the writers, journalists, and personalities who live and breathe the sport. This led to broader reflections on sports writing as a craft that must balance the visceral thrill of the game with its deeper cultural impact.
City Scripts | Author in Conversation | Gully Gully by Aditya Iyer
IIHS was happy to host Sharad Chari, Associate Professor of Geography and Co-Director of the Program in Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley on 29 January 2025. He participated in a discussion with Gautam Bhan, Associate Dean of the IIHS School of Human Development, about his recent book, Apartheid Remains. In this talk, Sharad Chari presented the main arguments of the book, which examines 'Indian' and 'Coloured' neighborhoods in an industrial-residential landscape in the Indian Ocean city of Durban, South Africa, to reconsider the remains of South Africa's twentieth century in the early twenty-first. Through long-term historical and ethnographic research, the book interprets the city as a racial palimpsest that preserves the remnants of multiple pasts, including the racial state's attempts to reshape territory and personhood—also through biopolitical means—while instead deepening spatial contradictions and struggles before, during, and after apartheid.
Publics@IIHS | Apartheid Remains
CDF Webinar | The Role of Multilateral Funding in Strengthening Capacities for Urban Development: Current and Future PerspectivesThe webinar discussed the most effective strategies and approaches for leveraging multilateral funding to strengthen local and regional capacities in urban planning, governance, and infrastructure development. It explored how multilateral organizations, governments, and local stakeholders can collaborate to maximize the impact of funding for urban development.
CDF Webinar | The Role of Multilateral Funding in Strengthening Capacities for Urban Development
The Eleventh Annual PhD Workshop at IIHS was conducted in hybrid mode from 13 to 15 January 2025. The Workshop included a plenary with PhD Workshop alumni - Anuj Ghanekar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai; Jayati Narain, Rutgers University; Sumedha Priyadarshini, University of Delhi; and Ooha Uppalapati, UC Berkeley. The speakers reflected on various facets of their PhD journey such as navigating changes to their PhD topic, writing field notes, and managing administrative aspects of the PhD process while also giving their mental health the attention that it requires. Information about the IIHS PhD Workshop is available here: https://iihs.co.in/research/phd-workshop-2025/
Reflections on the Doctoral Process: 2025 | A session with the IIHS PhD Workshop alumni
In this webinar, three of the four authors of the book, Cities Rethought: A New Urban Disposition – Dr. Gautam Bhan, Prof. Michael Keith, and Prof. Susan Parnell – introduce the book and locate it in a wider academic, social, and practice context. They explore how the book addresses the challenges of fragmented urban studies and propose a transformative urban disposition.
Cities Rethought: A New Urban Disposition
Is there a disconnect between what we learn about and what we experience in cities? The IIHS Urban Fellows Programme's Practica module challenges Fellows to bridge that gap. Watch this video to see how their perspectives on the Urban are being transformed, shaping their research and future practice.#IIHS #IndiaUrbanFellows #IIHS_Academics #IIHS_UFP
UFP 2024-25 | Practica Visits
Aromar Revi, Director, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, invites you to join us at IIHS Urban ARC 2025 from 16 to 18 January 2025, online or in-person at the IIHS, Bengaluru City Campus.Over the last eight years, IIHS Urban ARC has held diverse and engaging conversations on urban issues in the Global South - this year promises the same!To register for the event: https://bit.ly/41YUvIC
IIHS Urban ARC 2025 | 16-18 January 2025 | IIHS' Annual Research Conference