U-CAN Newsletter

April is upon us. The temperatures have soared across the country, and so has the action at U- CAN. We recently awarded the inaugural Request for Collaboration (RFC) grant and hosted City Mixers in Bangalore and Mumbai with our member organizations.

Through these initiatives, we’re deepening collaboration — one through a formal, funded partnership between the winning organizations of the RFC grant, and the other through an evening of conversation about issues that matter to us, away from the pressures of work, deadlines, and the constructs of impact and scale. One effort aims to leverage each other’s organizational strengths; the other helps us understand each other’s motivation and alignment with the urban cause as individuals. Both show great promise — we’ll have to wait and see how they unfold.

A little more on the RFC: it was designed to help members address shared challenges in their work. Leading up to the deadline, we engaged closely with several member organizations. Many expressed strong interest and contributed thoughtful collaboration ideas. While the final proposals were few, each reflected care, creativity, and a spirit of openness. That members took the time to engage — through conversations, writing, and sharing — signals a collective desire to work more ambitiously and in concert.

One project team has now been selected for a nine-month pilot. U-CAN will support and document their journey, learning from every twist and turn.

Our City Mixers, hosted by WRI India in Bangalore and Artha Global in Mumbai, brought U-CAN members together in person for the very first time. The conversations were lively, thought- provoking, and full of potential — thanks in no small part to the champions who helped shape the discussions. In Bangalore, Dr. Siji Chacko (Jan Sahas) spotlighted migrant workers’ role in climate resilience. In Mumbai, Dr. Anita Patil-Deshmukh (PUKAR) led a rich dialogue on participatory research, with reflections from colleagues at Praja Foundation, Shelter Associates, and more.

There’s palpable energy for deeper, more honest learning across this collective. These mixers are now a monthly space, and we’re excited to see where they lead. As always, we’d love to hear from you — what resonated, what you’d like to see more of, and how we can make these gatherings even more meaningful.

And yes — please stay hydrated, and keep your pets hydrated too!

Masterclass Recap:

On April 25, fellows participated in a session titled "Urban Planning in India" led by Dr. Champaka Rajagopal from CPR. The session offered valuable insights into the evolving landscape of urban planning in India and its future challenges.

Fellows’ Blogs

Our fellows have been sharing their insights through their blogs! In this edition, we’re featuring two of them:

Click on the images above to read each blog, and stay tuned for more insights from our fellows in upcoming editions!

With over 1.1 billion people living in

informal settlements globally, it’s clear

that addressing informality requires those

most affected to be at the heart of the →

solution. A new collection of 14 case →

studies, published by GIZ in collaboration with Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), showcases just that—powerful, community-led approaches to urban innovation.

One standout case comes from India: The ROOH campaign supports low-income communities in Indian cities by providing resilient, low-carbon, and affordable housing. Through 17 Learning Labs across nine cities, women’s collectives have documented building materials, assessed vulnerabilities, and co-created climate-responsive housing solutions. For example, in Pimpri, Mahila Milan led efforts to retrofit roofs ahead of the monsoon, showcasing how local knowledge drives resilience, thus proving that informal settlements are not just vulnerable; they are hubs of innovation and action.

That’s the number of complaints Delhi citizens filed each year with the Municipal Corporation from 2017 to 2023 — more than 1,000 every single day. This figure comes from Praja Foundation’s latest Report on the Status of Wards Committees, which sheds light on functionality, citizen engagement, and accountability across the city’s 12 municipal zones.

So, what are the biggest concerns?

• 42% Water supply
• 27% sewerage

• 26% Other issues
• 5% Solid waste management The scale of complaints points to persistent service delivery gaps, and the urgent need for more responsive, ward-level governance.

Read the full report here →