ABSTRACT
Urbanization in India is not only a spatial phenomenon marked by the rapid growth of cities but also a wider cultural shift towards new ways of living. Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka and the fifth largest city in India, epitomizes the urban dynamics and the challenges they pose. Economic and population growth has placed unprecedented demands on Bangalore's infrastructure and generated growing urban inequalities. This chapter explores an experiment that has emerged as a response to both climate change and the urbanization of Bangalore: Towards Zero Carbon Development (T-Zed). T-Zed provides a means to render technical a range of housing technologies for low carbon development. When T-Zed was completed in 2007, it was recognized by several developers and architects as a landmark project that had demonstrated what green development could bring to Indian cities. The project was developed by the private company Biodiversity Conservation India Limited (BCIL) as a model that could compete with regular urban homes.
