Paper long abstract:

Cities have become emblematic of the challenges posed by rapid urbanization, industrial growth, and resultant pollution, which have triggered widespread public protests and advocacy for more robust environmental governance. With a bipartite focus, this paper aims to illustrate the influence of geographical factors on the mobilisation and intensity of anti-pollution protests in Indian capital city New Delhi and subsequently, examine how protest politics shapes, modifies and navigates legal frameworks and policy responses that address public concerns over environment degradation.

Adopting a mixed method approach, we critically evaluated quantitative data such as pollution metrics and geo-local data tied to respective protest sites in New Delhi in conjunction with associated qualitative data composed of protest narratives, in-depth interviews with different stakeholders, media representations, policy documents and legislative measures such as the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, the Environment Protection Act, and specific city-level regulations targeting pollution.

Our analysis revealed a strong correlation between the spatio-temporal contexts and the nature of anti-pollution protests and their outcomes. Therefore, we argue that civic activism and subsequent politico-legal interventions should be examined against this background and not in a vacuum. This research aims to contribute to the broader field of legal geography by addressing the complex dynamics between urban space, law, activism and environmental governance.

Keywords: Pollution, Protests, Legality, Geography, Urbanisation