A city starved of breathing room is being warned not to build over what little it has left. A group of 127 architects and planners is urging Mumbai authorities to protect parks, playgrounds, wetlands and mangroves, arguing that the city has just 1.58 square metres of public open space per person and that piecemeal development could worsen flooding, heat and air quality. They want future projects to be planned as a whole, with denser redevelopment matched by more green space, schools, healthcare, transport and water infrastructure. In a city that keeps building upward and outward, the rare empty patch of land may be more valuable left empty.