Why do we still see open garbage dumps in our neighbourhoods? Why are drains overflowing right next to newly built housing projects? Why do cities continue to struggle with managing solid, wet, grey, and black water waste, creating multiple layers of cascading problems, including environmental and health? Because cities are still being planned in silos, […]

As I deepen my understanding of spatial data and how it can illuminate service gaps, I’ve also strengthened my belief that data alone doesn’t build better cities. It needs something more, something human. Planning becomes truly powerful when we ask, Whose voices are missing from this map? My curiosity and work of interest including being […]

“We were given a toilet under the scheme, but the pit is broken, so we don’t use it.”  These were the words of a woman I met in rural and peri-urban neighbourhoods transitioning into urban spaces in a tier-2 city. For her, that broken toilet is the problem, one that affects her daily, privately, and […]

As I reflect on this journey, from witnessing urban failures to peeling back their layered causes, exploring the potential of data and the importance of community voice, one truth remains: cities are not built by plans alone. They are shaped by people, communities, governance and decisions that often unfold in silos. When these elements are […]

As urban dwellers, we don’t encounter our cities as abstract zones, we live them. Silently and constantly, we experience both the conveniences and the discomforts our surroundings offer. We navigate them as residents, workers, and commuters, and depending on who we are and where we live, the “problem” shows up differently. City in transition from […]