Rethinking Urban Futures in Delhi: Dialogues, Data and Campaign

Cities today face overlapping crises. In response, our new project ventures attempt to reimagine Delhi as a space for sustainability, justice, and community. Through grounded fieldwork, collaborative dialogues, and participatory methodologies, we explore how urban food systems, governance, water bodies, transportation, and green spaces intersect and shape each other.

From mapping disappearing rivers to putting a check on riverfront development projects, from amplifying the voices of cycle rickshaw pullers to co-creating games on city governance — each component of this project offers a unique lens into building more resilient, inclusive, and liveable urban futures. This project is divided into nine interlinked parts.

Get to know the team!

Rajendra Ravi
Urban Social Planner and Project Coordinator

Dr Rajendra Ravi has been actively involved with advocacy for the rights of cycle rickshaw drivers and the role of the cycle rickshaw as a sustainable mode of transport. He has published many books and articles on the theme of democracy, urban transport and urban agriculture and its role in sustainable development.

Research Consultants​

 

Krishanu

Krishanu looks at urban governance, mobility, and river ecologies. Previously she has worked on the politics of Marriage Equality in India with IIIT Delhi. She completed her M.A. in Sociology from Ambedkar University Delhi. Where she looks at “Launda Naach” which is a caste-based cultural performance embedded in the socio-political context of Bihar. She is interested in the sociology of health and the sociology of law and how these spaces are instrumental in producing a certain discourse around queerness and queer bodies. She has also worked in the SRH space, primarily engaging with access to safe abortions for the sex workers and Transgender community. She also engages in advocacy on queer-trans and disability issues. 

 

Sidhant Kumar

Sidhant is working on topics of urban governance and urban mobility. He graduated with a Masters in Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Before joining Parisar, he worked with the American University, Washington DC, U.S. and the Indian Political Action Committee. His writings have appeared in The Citizen, Tehelka, IMPRI and Karvaan India. He has published reports including Policy Outreach on Urban Agriculture in Delhi and Status of Urban Local Governance in India: with a Case Study of Delhi. His ongoing projects include a national dialogue on urban agriculture, cycle rickshaws in urban mobility and riverfronts development and fund-raising.

 

Aishani Puri

Aishani is working on themes of urban green spaces, urban agriculture and associated pedagogical initiatives. She is a postgraduate with a Master's in Global Studies from Ambedkar University, Delhi where she wrote her dissertation project on increasing hydrometeorological disasters as a signifier of climate change and its impacts on displacement, relocation & rehabilitation in Uttarakhand. She is inclined to pursue research in human ecology from a sociological lens. Her professional orientation has also been in the socio-ecological sphere of work, particularly with CACIM, the Nature Conservation Foundation and the Foundation of Ecological Security.

 

Harshit Verma

Harshit Verma is a consultant at Parisar with a keen interest in social policy and sustainable development. He holds a Master’s in Development Studies from Ambedkar University, Delhi. Harshit has always been passionate about working at the grassroots level, which led him to engage with organizations like Dastkar and the Right to Food Campaign. He has also been a part of the Yashwant Grameen Leadership Development Program (YGLDP) in Maharashtra with Centre for Education Governance and Policy, where he gained hands-on experience in policy research and community engagement. He enjoys exploring new ideas, working with teams, and contributing to meaningful change.

We invite you to dive into each of these sections to understand how small interventions can lead to systemic change — one conversation, one map, one garden, one workshop at a time!👇

Reimagining Indian Cities Through Equity, Ecology and Mobility Justice: Highlights from the Sustainable Cities Conference 2026

On 19 April 2026, Parisar, in collaboration with the People’s Resource Centre (PRC) and the Institute for Democracy and Sustainability (IDS), organised the Sustainable Cities Conference at the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. Bringing together researchers, activists, lawyers, students, community members and women from urban settlements, the conference explored a central question: What does it truly mean to live and work in a city today?

Positioned against the backdrop of climate crisis, deepening inequality and exclusionary urban development, the conference foregrounded lived experiences, ecological justice and mobility rights over technocratic approaches to city-making. The event opened with community women from PRC centres singing Hum Honge Kamiyab and Aa Chalke Tujhe, setting a tone of solidarity and collective hope.

Urban Agriculture Dialogues

This project is focused on building resilient local food systems in an urban context and spreading awareness regarding creating a food-secure city. We developed a draft report through a secondary literature review, aligning it with the National Food Security Act (2013), National Education Policy (2020) and Sustainable Development Goals (2016).

Productive Urbanism: Training school staff on Urban Agriculture

With the idea to bring an awareness of where our food comes from, and how we could promote some degree of sustainable agriculture within the educational framework, an Urban Agriculture Pedagogy Toolkit - ‘Growing in the City’ was developed.

Documentation of Maali Community & Nursery Association

This project delves into Delhi's Maali community, the caretakers of the city's greenery. It aims to understand their traditional knowledge and expertise in blending nature with infrastructure.

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