Blogs by Our Fellows

What has Citizen Participation led to? Impact and Outcomes

Open Space Development in an informal settlement in Odisha under Jaga Mission Over the past several months, my journey through … Citizen participationHousing Aanchal AggarwalDecember 3, 2025

What the City Taught Me

Showcasing SVHPS project to the community, government stakeholders and urban experts in Yuvascape held in October 2025 Looking Back to … Community Aashima AroraDecember 3, 2025

“Urban Experiments, Everyday Experts: Lessons from Pelathope”

It was a muggy June afternoon when we found ourselves staring at stagnant water collecting near the entrance of Pelathope … Water security Shreya KrishnanDecember 3, 2025

Methods and Approaches for sustained Participation

Capacity Building Workshop,Ward Committee, Mangaluru In the previous blog, I discussed how meetings keep dialogue continuous and decisions transparent. But … Citizen participation Aanchal AggarwalDecember 2, 2025

Pilots as Proof of Possibility

Source: Coimbatore Creates Case for Tactical Urbanism Why Pilots Matter Ideas can be powerful, but unless they are tested on … Urban practice Shreya KrishnanDecember 2, 2025

Unpacking the “why” of PULL: my personal journey to social…

Our doors opened at 9 a.m. on a balmy Saturday morning in March — and one and a half hours … Urban practice Shreya KrishnanDecember 2, 2025

Field notes in building a community around a shared neighbourhood…

From March 21st to 23rd, the historic neighborhood of Mylapore came alive with stories, photographs, and community spirit at the … Public spaceCommunity Shreya KrishnanDecember 2, 2025

Pitching Possibility: Turning Youth Designs into City Conversations

Source: Putting quality of life at the heart of planning From Groundwork to Possibility Over the past several months, adolescents … YouthPlanning Aashima AroraDecember 1, 2025

Introducing the Pelathope urban living lab

Mylapore is one of Chennai’s oldest and most storied neighborhoods, renowned for its rich cultural, religious, and architectural heritage. Many … Public space Shreya KrishnanDecember 1, 2025

Design of Platform: Meeting Conduct and Quality

A Ward Committee Meeting at a Municipal Park in Bhuj, Gujarat In the previous blog, I explored how the composition … GovernancePublic space Aanchal AggarwalNovember 30, 2025

Reclaiming the Past: How Heritage Precincts Can Power the Future…

I visited the historic precincts of Shahjahanabad (Delhi), Chowk (Lucknow), Mylapore (Chennai) and Panchvati in Nashik recently on work expeditions. … Public space Shreya KrishnanNovember 30, 2025

Cohesion and culture: what’s urban development got to do with…

I remember the first community engagement workshop I helped organise as an urban designer twelve years ago for a street … Citizen participationPublic space Shreya KrishnanNovember 29, 2025

Design of Platform — Composition, Representation and Depth of Participation

A Ward Committee Meeting in Hoodi Ward, Bengaluru In the previous blogs, I explored how laws, institutions, and collaborations create … Citizen participationGovernance Aanchal AggarwalNovember 28, 2025

Drawing Together: Co-Designing Public Spaces with Jaipur’s Adolescents

Source: Research on exploring the role of (co)design by Penny Hagen Designing with, not for, that’s the shift we set … Public spaceYouth Aashima AroraNovember 28, 2025

Neighbourhoods as social glue: neglected and overlooked, but essential for…

In my previous reflections, I explored how planning systems often exclude communities from shaping urban futures. Here, I focus on … Public spaceCommunity Shreya KrishnanNovember 28, 2025

Collaborative Governance: Partnerships Behind Effective Participation

A Slum Dwellers Association Meeting As a U-CAN fellow with Janaagraha, my study on Participatory Governance has shown that Governance … Citizen participationGovernance Aanchal AggarwalNovember 27, 2025

Building Trust, One Conversation at a Time

Source: UNICEF’s Social and Community listening framework As we move from understanding public space challenges to shaping their solutions, a … Public spaceCommunity Aashima AroraNovember 27, 2025

How can planners empower communities to create more inclusive cities?

When I was in architecture school at the University of Texas at Austin 20 years ago, I was struck by … CommunityPlanning Shreya KrishnanNovember 27, 2025

Water Security and the Role of a Rainwater Harvesting Calculator

Over the past few months, I have been focusing on water governance—not just as an enabler of growth but as … Water securityGovernance Shubhi KesarwaniNovember 9, 2025

Smart Cities, Women, and Safety: When Technology Empowers or Excludes

“Smart cities promise efficiency, but can they also promise safety? For women, technology could be both a shield and a … Gender & safety Anwesha BhattacharyaNovember 9, 2025

Harnessing Rainwater to Secure India’s Urban Future: Industry’s Role and…

Harnessing Rainwater to Secure India’s Urban Future: Industry’s Role and a Calculator’s Impact As I stand on my balcony in … Water securityData & evidence Shubhi KesarwaniNovember 5, 2025

Built by Her: Stories of Women Transforming Indian Cities

Urban planning shapes how people live, yet those who design our cities rarely reflect their full diversity. While women now … Gender & safetyCommunity Anwesha BhattacharyaNovember 5, 2025

Beyond Burden: Margins as Makers

What happens when participation isn’t symbolic, but structural? In the climate conversation, we often hear who suffers first or suffers … Climate actionCitizen participation Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanOctober 15, 2025

The Other Side of Climate Action: Where Plans Meet People

The signs of climate disruption in cities are no longer abstract. We have seen how Bengaluru experiences this crisis; unevenly, … Climate actionCommunity Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanOctober 15, 2025

From Vision to Will: Leadership and the Long Arc of…

Climate action often begins with urgency. Plans are announced, budgets committed, and pilots launched. But somewhere between the drawing board … Climate actionGovernance Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanOctober 15, 2025

Quantifying the Invisible: How a Simple Tool is Changing Rainwater…

Quantifying the Invisible: How a Simple Tool is Changing Rainwater Harvesting in Cities Over the last year, I’ve been closely … Water securityData & evidence Shubhi KesarwaniOctober 9, 2025

Rebuilding the City: How Infrastructure Shapes Safety and Access in…

In earlier blogs, we explored safety through complaints and planning through data. This time, we shift to the roads we … Gender & safetyData & evidence Anwesha BhattacharyaOctober 9, 2025

Reflections from the Field: Reimagining Urban Water Security in Gurugram

This past month, I’ve found myself revisiting the foundational principles we established back in 2019, when our team at GuruJal … Water security Shubhi KesarwaniSeptember 9, 2025

Beyond the Numbers: The Power of Gender-Disaggregated Data

Urban planning is often seen as a technical field, filled with maps, blueprints, and models. But behind every design decision … Gender & safetyData & evidence Anwesha BhattacharyaSeptember 9, 2025

Reimagining Air Quality Interventions through Clean Air Zones

Nationally, it is seen that the non-attainment cities are working towards improving air quality through various measures targeting several sectors. … Air qualityData & evidence Ramya M AJuly 25, 2025

Patterns in Participation – Tracing What Works

Source:https://citizenmatters.in/dehradun-citizens-forum-mayoral-dialogue-local-governance/, 2025 After spending the first few weeks of the fellowship immersed in legal frameworks and state-level policies, I found … Citizen participationGovernance Aanchal AggarwalJuly 5, 2025

Between Policy and Practice/ The Gap Between Intention and Implementation

The decentralisation of urban governance was envisioned in the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) of 1993, marking a significant step … Governance Aanchal AggarwalJuly 5, 2025

Enabling Ecosystem for Citizen Participation

Area Sabha meeting at Ward 183 in Palavakkam, Chennai Source:https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/area-sabhas-the-ground-that-remains-to-be-covered/article69443930.ece As my study on Participatory Governance progressed, one thing became … Citizen participationGovernance Aanchal AggarwalJuly 5, 2025

The Missing Link: Why Jaipur’s Public Spaces Fail Adolescents

In my pursuit of understanding the complexities of public spaces in urban settings, the U-CAN Fellowship gave me the opportunity … Public spaceYouth Aashima AroraJuly 5, 2025

This City Isn’t for You – Women, Safety, and Jaipur

Listening to Lived Realities Through my fieldwork in Jaipur’s neighbourhoods, I’ve spent time speaking with adolescent girls about their experiences … Gender & safetyPublic space Aashima AroraJuly 5, 2025

Cities that get it right and what Jaipur can learn

As Jaipur grapples with creating safe, vibrant public spaces for its youth, looking outward at global and national examples can … Gender & safetyPublic space Aashima AroraJuly 5, 2025

From the Margins to the Map: Women’s Participation in Urban…

Urban planning in cities like Gurgaon has long been shaped by the priorities of a narrow group, often overlooking the … Gender & safetyCitizen participation Anwesha BhattacharyaJuly 5, 2025

Designing for Dignity: Gender, Urban Planning, and the Shape of…

In earlier articles, we examined the range of complaints received by the Gurugram Police—from domestic disputes to street harassment—and how … Gender & safetyPublic space Anwesha BhattacharyaJuly 5, 2025

Understanding Women’s Safety in Gurgaon: A Collaborative Approach

In the last piece, I shared how my journey through India’s evolving cities:, especially Gurgaon, has revealed the deep-rooted cultural … Gender & safety Anwesha BhattacharyaJuly 5, 2025

A marathon against air pollution

Exploring a little deeper into haze and air pollution, I came across a few articles on people’s day-to-day experiences. There … Air qualityCommunity Ramya M AJuly 5, 2025

Global Stance on Air Quality

Having understood the main reasons for the Haze in Mumbai as Air Pollution (while its humid weather and the coastline … Air quality Ramya M AJuly 5, 2025

Where does India stand on Air Quality?

In addition to the global frameworks, efforts at the national level play a substantial role in managing air quality/ pollution. … Air quality Ramya M AJuly 5, 2025

From Paper to Pause: Why Climate Projects Stall?

Climate efforts don’t lack vision or direction. But in between the budgets and broken pavements, execution slips. In Bengaluru, as … Climate action Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanJuly 5, 2025

Well-Meant Plans, Unkept Promises: When Climate Plans Stall

Bengaluru’s climate realities are no longer future tense. They show up in shrinking green cover, overheated summers, erratic water access, … Water securityClimate action Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanJuly 5, 2025

Living the Heat: Some Feel It First, Some Feel It…

The signs of Bengaluru’s changing climate are no longer subtle. Milder mornings have given way to harsh heat, cool breezes … Climate action Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanJuly 5, 2025

Planning what matters : Data-Driven

Why do we still see open garbage dumps in our neighbourhoods? Why are drains overflowing right next to newly built … Public spaceData & evidence Manisha BishtJuly 5, 2025

Centering People in the Planning Process: Mapping What Matters

As I deepen my understanding of spatial data and how it can illuminate service gaps, I’ve also strengthened my belief … Data & evidenceCommunity Manisha BishtJuly 5, 2025

What is the Problem? Peeling the Onion!

“We were given a toilet under the scheme, but the pit is broken, so we don’t use it.” These were … Urban practice Manisha BishtJuly 5, 2025

Urban Development: Place-based, people-powered, and future-ready

As I reflect on this journey, from witnessing urban failures to peeling back their layered causes, exploring the potential of … Community Manisha BishtJuly 5, 2025

Dilemma of an Urban Dweller : When problem becomes Daily…

As urban dwellers, we don’t encounter our cities as abstract zones, we live them. Silently and constantly, we experience both … Urban practice Manisha BishtJuly 5, 2025

An approach to addressing Air Quality: How and Why?

Aiming towards accelerating efforts by cities, the central government in September 2022, raised the NCAP goal from aiming for a … Air quality Ramya M AJune 24, 2025

A City I Knew, A Crisis I See

Bengaluru means different things to different people. For me, it’s February mornings in the early 2000s—fog clinging to the window … Community Sharathppriyaa VenkatesanMay 7, 2025

Towards a more democratic city: Reflections on participation

I grew up in Jammu, a small city nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. Like many others, I left … Citizen participation Aanchal AggarwalMay 7, 2025

Between Heritage and Hangouts: Youth and the Changing Public Life…

Ajmeri Gate- Gateway to Jaipur’s Heritage. Photo credit: Author The beautiful city of Jaipur has always been a major pin … Public spaceYouth Aashima AroraMay 7, 2025

Addressing Women’s Safety Challenges in Gurugram

Since childhood, I’ve been drawn to exploration, not just of places but of the stories and cultures within them. Inspired … Gender & safety Anwesha BhattacharyaMay 7, 2025

The Urban Haze

As I moved into the city of Mumbai, I started exploring the neighbourhood of my new workplace. I was delighted … Air qualityPublic space Ramya M AApril 23, 2025

India’s Water Crisis: A Looming Disaster

I grew up in the city of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (formerly known as Allahabad), popularly known for hosting the Kumbh … Water security Shubhi KesarwaniApril 22, 2025

The daily dilemma: Walking Mumbai’s ever-changing streets

While walking home from my office in Mumbai, I am often struck by the diversity of experiences along the way. … Public space Ramya M AJanuary 13, 2025