How do cities change? Organisations like ours can make a difference to cities only because the citizens keep showing up. We need your help to make sure that we can make spaces for citizens to show up. Launching: Own Your City! A month-long campaign to highlight how citizens fix their neighbourhoods with facts, skills, and each other. Help us with the campaign by making a donation - oorvani.org/support-us

Ever thought, "I can do a better job managing Bengaluru's traffic?" @opencity_in has a CHALLENGE for you! The GBA is planning nine elevated corridors in Bengaluru to ease traffic. This is in addition to other planned infrastructure including tunnel roads, metro and an expanded bus service. Is this the best way? What can best serve Bengaluru’s mobility needs while ensuring sustainability, inclusion, and quality of life? Join the Elevated Corridors Design Challenge. Active citizens, students, urban designers, researchers and every Bengalurean who wants a better city! We are kicking off the challenge with an Elevated Corridors Design Jam this Sunday. 📷 Sunday, 1 November 2026 📷 9 am – 5 pm 📷 Samagata Space, Church Street, Bengaluru 📷 Lunch will be provided! About the Challenge Teams of up to 5 can evaluate an entire corridor or a subsection, explore its merits and drawbacks, and propose solutions that prioritise sustainable mobility, accessibility, and the needs of different communities. The designs will be evaluated by a jury of experts. About the Design Jam The Design Jam is an opportunity to meet and connect with other participants, form teams, access maps and reports, discuss ideas, and get guidance from mobility and environmental experts as you develop your proposals. You can bring ideas you have already started working on or begin from scratch. No prior experience in design or urban planning is required, just an interest in imagining a better Bengaluru! 📷 Sign up for the Challenge and the Jam: forms.gle/wYiPF7FDzheBkMB69

Karnataka Government has introduced the draft of Greater Bengaluru Authority (Parking) Rules, 2026. Read D S Rajakumar's analysis of the rules here: citizenmatters.in/big-promis… The rules are still in draft stage, and open to objections till September 10. To make your voice heard, submit your feedback through @Civis_Vote's WhatsApp chatbot: wa.link/v9r0hz! @meerak @bhuvanaraj @SahanaChar17724 @GBA_office

For this year's fifth session of Oorvani Change Network, we invite you to think with us: can public spaces be more than just passive recreational spaces? Can they be imagined as community "third places"? Join us to hear more from civic leaders and community practitioners across different cities! 🗓 September 5, 2026 🕕 11 AM 📍Zoom 🔗us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

As Bengaluru looks for solutions to growing traffic congestion, large infrastructure projects are increasingly being proposed as quick fixes. But what happens to the environment, public spaces, long-term mobility planning and citizen participation? Join us for a conversation on the Hebbal Short Tunnel Project and explore its proposed benefits, current status, environmental and legal concerns, mobility alternatives, and the role citizens can play in shaping Bengaluru’s infrastructure. 📅 August 26, 2026 ⏰ 6:30–8:00 PM With journalists, researchers, mobility experts, citizens and public officials. Join us on Zoom or catch a YouTube livestream. Register for the webinar here: lnkd.in/g8VDbejZ

The protest did not come out of nowhere. The ongoing student protest rests on the backs of several other protests that have been going on for years, as well as the recent protests against Bidadi AI Township, Mamallan Reservoir Project, Ken-Betwa River-Linking Project and many more. There is a common thread running through all these protests: a crisis of accountability at every level of governance. #CJP #Protest #Education #Accountability

Over 1,300 trees marked for removal! No public Environmental Impact Assessment. No documented consultation with citizens, researchers, or ecologists. The BDA's proposed short tunnel project through Bengaluru's Veterinary College Campus at Hebbal would cut through one of the last green-blue landscapes in North Bengaluru, home to 94 bird species, 414 plant species, and ecosystems that species across the region depend on for survival. A ₹1,385 crore project claims to have set aside ₹75 lakh for an EIA that no one has seen. A citizen petition is calling for a proper ecological assessment and public consultation before a single tree falls. Sign the petition: change.org/p/bengaluru-s-tun…

Does Bengaluru need more flyovers? 16 road projects are already under construction, some for a decade now. GBA's elevated corridors plan raises more than just eyebrows, it also raises questions: How many trees will be lost? How much money will be poured into this? What is the environmental cost, and can Bengaluru really handle it? And, will these flyovers really even solve the traffic problem? Check out our short video asking all these questions and more at youtube.com/shorts/hau94XhgV…!

Your ward. Your voice. Your manifesto. As Bengaluru awaits the upcoming city corporation elections, let’s come together to define the civic priorities of our wards and neighbourhoods. @oorvani @Janaagraha1 @GreatrBlrBalaga @BAFBLR and Million Voter Rising @WFRising invite you to the Citizens’ Manifesto Jam! Agenda? Identify key ward-level and corporation-level issues, discuss practical solutions, and co-create a citizens’ charter of demands to inform candidates and future elected representatives. 📍 the *spark | Pullur Centre, Whitefield 🗓 18th July 2026 🕘 9.30 AM @SarjapuraRWA @sarjapurblr @BECCUPDATES @RisingVarthur @i1sleague @bmkavalrwa @icindngr @WhitefieldAQI @MTH_Rising @Dnekundi_rising Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

A 15-min walk became a 2-hour commute — after the 2015 floods relocated her from Kotturpuram to Perumbakkam. 70,000 families pushed to Chennai's outskirts in 30 years. Jobs stayed in the city. Homes didn't. Can a city be inclusive if workers can't reach it? youtu.be/Nm3vdfk4cVI?si=WNG2… @ircduc @chennaicorp @MtcChennai

Karnataka voters: SIR isn't optional this time — everyone needs to re-verify by linking 2025 rolls to 2002 records. Confused about self-mapping, progeny mapping, or which form to fill? We've got you covered 👇 citizenmatters.in/sir-for-ka… @bicyclemayorblr @DataKindBLR @KHHSPRWA @i1sleague @HAL2S_RWA @hal3rdstagerwa @bengalurutrains @GBA_office @ECISVEEP @CMofKarnataka @meerak @gangadharanbv

Does your home feel like an oven? As temperatures climb, we are all looking for ways to keep our spaces cool. Some hacks work, some don't, and not all are affordable. We're bringing together experts to answer your questions on solutions for cooling your home and your neighbourhood. 🗓 26th June 🕘 6 PM 📍 YouTube Live 🔗lnkd.in/gMwYD2Fj

Flooding, shrinking wetlands, sewage pollution: South Chennai's Pallikaranai watershed faces multiple crises. To bring together the several civic groups, researchers, and community organisations working on these issues independently, @oorvani is collaborating with @CWAC_wetlands to conduct a half-day consultation and strategy session. 🗓 Saturday, 20th June 2026 🕘 9 am - 1 pm 📍 Alumni Industry Interaction Center, IIT-M Research Park 🔗 forms.gle/XzsSXE39U3pHQ8hc7

Want to beat congestion, be sustainable, and make mobility affordable for all? Public transport holds the key. We all dream of better buses, smoother metros, and reliable trains, but change starts with understanding. That’s why we’re launching the Citizens’ Commute Project. We’re mapping out how public transport really works in Chennai, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, and putting the power of information in your hands. But we can’t do it alone. We need to raise Rs 2.5 lakhs to make this happen. Every contribution brings us closer to a system that works for everyone. Ready to be part of the solution? Donate now and help us build the future of urban mobility together. 🚌

Chennai friends — elections are here! At Citizen Matters, we've put together a comprehensive Voter Guide for Chennai with everything you need: 📍 Find your constituency & polling booth 👥 Full candidate list 📄 Party manifestos (Tamil & English) 🏘️ Citizens' demands 📊 Report cards on the last 5 years — floods, waste, urban planning 👉 citizenmatters.in/chennai-vo…

🚨 Chennai Citizens — We Need Your Voice NOW! Ahead of the Tamil Nadu Elections 2026, Citizen Matters is finalizing the Top 3 civic demands that will be placed before MLA candidates. This is your chance to directly shape what issues get prioritized for our city. 🗳️ Takes just 2 minutes — make your voice count: 👉 forms.gle/kyAkvUA3azEbUzjt6

As the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections approach, citizens are making their demands heard in these citizen manifestos: data.opencity.in/dataset/cit… @BJP4TamilNadu @arivalayam @admkchn @TVKVijayHQ @NaamTamilarOrg @Neelakannan09 @GoChitlapakkam @tnaorwa @fomrra