Completed Research
The development of the ashwath katte as a sustainable urban space: the role of social capital in minimising deterritorialisation
This research looked at the practice of tree worship which continues to be a part of the everyday life in the city of Bangalore. Specifically, it looked at how the Peepul tree (Ficus Religiosa) shrine and the raised platform around it, locally called the ashwath katte have developed into a sustainable urban space. We identified 20 ashwath kattes in different parts of the city to understand the conditions under which social capital increases in the neighbourhood through people interacting at the katte. The initial outcome from this project is the BOOK: The Sacred and the Public.
The project was awarded an APU Research Grant for 2018-19.
The logic of design: its role in understanding the antecedents of urban informality
August 2018 Journal of Urban design
The everyday life of a city can generate informality in urban space, particularly in emerging economies. Using the Grounded theory approach, this paper looks at how urban space in a market precinct is negotiated through tactics of street vendors and strategies of the government. It suggests a theoretical framework to understand the relation between the logic, decision and action of stakeholders, to resolve the conflict between urban planning criteria and ground reality. See Publication and
Territoriality in Urban space: The case of a Periodic marketplace in Bangalore, India
January 2015 Co-authored with Suresh Bhagavatula. In Informal Urban Street Markets: International Perspectives Eds. Clifton Evers & Kirsten Seale, Routledge ‘Studies in Development and Society’ Series
The objective of this chapter is to probe the intersection of the informal economy and urban space. The context is an annual peanut fair in Bangalore, India. The chapter specifically addresses the question: How do street vendors mark and defend their territory as they appropriate urban space?
The Practice of Tree worship and the Territorial Production of Urban space in an Indian neighbourhood
February 2017 Journal of Urban design
In urban India, there are religious practices intersecting with the process of urbanisation at various levels. This paper looks at the practice of tree worship which continues to be a part of the everyday lives of the people. Specifically, it looks at how the Peepul tree shrine contributes to the territorial production of urban space in the city of Bangalore. See Publication