There is a growing crisis at the intersection of three inexorable processes – climate change, migration and urbanisation – challenging governance and sustainability at the local, regional and national levels. It underlines the urgency for an alliance between science, social science and people science to foster a real-world response that will enable a fundamental transformation at the level of households and communities. From a policy perspective it centres on a cross-cutting theme – demographics – the burgeoning young population that aspires to mobility. From a practice perspective, it is the potential tipping point – a manifestation of an important aspect of the Malthusian – Darwinian dynamic, as applicable to India (Gollerkeri and Chhabra, 2016).