Sai Varsha Akavarapu receives a grant from TUD Graduate Academy to conduct fieldwork in India

Akavarapu's fieldwork reveals systemic and experience-oriented challenges despite strong civic activism in Bangalore.

View from above on the integrated command an controll centre with screens and displays — Figure 1: The Integrated Command and Control Centre of Bengaluru Smart City collating and addressing citizen grievances. PC: Sai Varsha Akavarapu (August, 2024)

Between July and August 2024, Sai Varsha Akavarapu, PhD candidate from the Dresden-Leibniz Graduate School, conducted fieldwork in Bangalore as a part of her research on the deciphering the dynamics between urban governance capacities and participatory foresight practices. Supported by a €1,950 grant from the Graduate Academy at TU Dresden, this second phase of her research aimed to validate initial findings from 2023 on how local governance capacities influence participatory planning processes in the city.

The study explored Bangalore’s approach to participatory foresight within the context of its climate action plan under the global C40 initiative. Known for its strong civic activism, Bangalore has policies in place to encourage citizen participation in urban planning. However, despite a strong policy culture surrounding participation in the city, Akavarapu's fieldwork revealed systemic and experience-oriented challenges that hinder truly inclusive foresight practices.

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