Research
Thisai — where cities change direction
The elephant in the room: Addressing wildlife-inclusivity in the design of the urban environment
Animals reveal hidden urban ecologies, showing how cities function as shared habitats shaped by planning choices.
Mapping the challenges in Pallikaranai Marshland
Chennai’s last major wetland shows how labelling marshes as wastelands enables ecological loss and urban vulnerability.
Whose City Is It Anyway? The Battle for Belonging in Nochikuppam
Nochikuppam once ran on care, proximity, and everyday labour long before masterplans arrived. This article looks at how planning broke a working system and what the city still refuses to learn from it.
Cooum Conundrum
A once-living river reshaped into an urban drain, revealing how planning failures and social exclusion flow together.
Why does Velachery flood?
Encroachment and broken governance around Velachery Lake amplify flooding, exposing the cost of ignoring catchment-based planning.
Examining Otteri Nallah
A stormwater channel turned marginal space, where infrastructure decisions deepen ecological damage and social inequality.
Virugambakkam-Arumbakkam canal
Engineered drainage replaces living systems, questioning whether concrete solutions can ever restore urban water resilience.
Ennore: Ashes and Echoes
A non-fiction glimpse into Ennore’s intertwined landscapes and lives, revealing resilience amid exploitation and echoes.
Waste as Public Space?
Chennai’s garbage mountains hide injustice. Can reimagined public spaces transform waste into collective responsibility?
Knowledge emancipates urban poor: Case studies in the Indian context
When citizens understand urban systems, knowledge becomes power, enabling better decisions and stronger collective action.
Smart Cities in India: The case of commodification of ‘smart’
India’s Smart Cities promise progress, but commodify democracy, and inclusion










