Delhi has positioned its public parks at the centre of a broader sustainability push with the launch of the DDA Green Expo at Baansera, a reclaimed riverfront site that has itself undergone ecological restoration. The two-day forum marks the capital’s first dedicated platform focused exclusively on green urban transformation, signalling a policy shift towards climate-responsive planning and community-driven environmental stewardship.Â
The event, convened by the Delhi Development Authority, brings together policymakers, climate scientists, planners and private sector representatives to examine how public spaces can address extreme heat, flooding and biodiversity loss. For a city grappling with rising temperatures and recurring air quality stress, the emphasis on nature-based infrastructure carries both environmental and economic implications. Senior officials at the inauguration highlighted that DDA’s mandate extends beyond land development into long-term environmental custodianship. Alongside the expo, the authority unveiled a dedicated identity for its green initiatives and released a yearbook outlining recent park and landscape projects.
More significantly, the DDA Green Expo saw the signing of multiple institutional partnerships aimed at redefining how parks function within the urban fabric. Agreements with academic institutions are expected to facilitate ecological research, student-led fieldwork and technology-led sustainability pilots within park precincts. A collaboration with a national theatre institution will activate open spaces as cultural learning zones, embedding arts programming into neighbourhood environments. Environmental partnerships are also central to the strategy. Plans are underway to establish herbal gardens and medicinal nurseries in selected parks, while citizen-focused nature hubs are expected to promote biodiversity awareness and volunteer engagement. Urban planners note that such interventions can enhance carbon sequestration, mitigate urban heat island effects and strengthen community ownership of public assets.
Panel discussions at the DDA Green Expo are addressing themes such as climate-adaptive design, circular food systems and financing models for green infrastructure. Experts argue that without innovative funding structures including corporate social responsibility and public-private partnerships  large-scale ecological upgrades may struggle to scale. The choice of Baansera as the venue is symbolically significant. Once a degraded landscape along the Yamuna floodplain, it has been restored into a bamboo-themed biodiversity park, demonstrating how neglected land parcels can be reintegrated into the city’s ecological network.
For Delhi’s real estate and infrastructure sectors, the expo underscores a growing expectation that development must incorporate environmental performance benchmarks. As the capital continues to expand, integrating green corridors, research partnerships and cultural programming into public spaces may determine how resilient the city becomes in the face of climate volatility. The DDA Green Expo signals an attempt to move beyond ornamental landscaping towards multifunctional urban ecosystems  spaces that support learning, leisure and long-term environmental stability. The effectiveness of this model will depend on sustained institutional collaboration and measurable ecological outcomes in the years ahead.
Delhi Unveils DDA Green Expo InitiativeÂ
