Clean Air by Design: Rethinking Air Quality in Emerging Cities

India’s clean-air conversation has often focused on large metropolitan areas, but small and medium-sized cities face distinct air-quality challenges while also having opportunities to act earlier and differently. These cities can integrate clean-air action into transport, waste management, urban development, and public health systems while experimenting with locally relevant solutions. This 90-minute session will explore how smaller and emerging Indian cities can develop locally grounded clean-air programmes, combining better air-quality data with socio-technical solutions, innovative urban practices, and stronger public health responses. The discussion will examine how cities can identify key sources and vulnerable communities, test practical solutions, and build partnerships that enable these approaches to be implemented and scaled. The conversation will ask: What does a clean-air strategy look like for a small or medium-sized Indian city, and how can cities move beyond monitoring towards practical solutions and measurable improvements in health and quality of life?