bengawalk

Hello LinkedIn! We are bengawalk. We are a multi-media research and creative agency that tells stories across mediums about urbanization, mobility and climate change in India to drive informed public discourse and social action towards sustainable cities of the future. 📽 We make #films that spread joy, simplify facts and spark conversation. 🔬 We take #science and #policy from the desks of academia, think tanks and bureaucrats to the hands of citizens and communities through simple fun multimedia #explainers 📉 We’re experts at building and navigating #urban #datasets 🗺 We conduct #workshops, take #photos and love #maps All in all, we tell stories across mediums about life in cities. We’re really good with a variety of tools, and even better with people. So hire us! Reach out to collaborate! Or, come work with us! And of course, follow this page for more updates. Check out our work at the links below: YouTube: https://shorturl.at/gF078 Instagram: https://shorturl.at/pAJN7 #bengawalk

Imagine stepping out of your front door into a city designed with accessible infrastructure and public transportation built to be more people-friendly. That's the reality Pravar Chaudhary from bengawalk wishes all cities had. In our latest session of The Boring Conference, he sparked a fascinating conversation on transforming urban environments into spaces that genuinely understand and cater to the needs of their inhabitants. He talked about building cities that really 'get' us - ones that adapt to our needs and rhythms instead of the other way around. Our cities deserve roads, parks, and buildings designed not just for efficiency but to make our daily lives smoother and more enjoyable. Bengawalk’s mission, as the name suggests, is to make Bengaluru more walkable. This initiative focuses on understanding how people move within their cities - where they go, what they do, and how they feel about it.  With these insights, bengawalk proposes changes to the city’s infrastructure by working with relevant government bodies. Their work reminds us that innovation isn't just about the technology we create but about understanding the people who will use it. Similarly, at Ather, we believe our products are more than modes of transport; they contribute to reimagining mobility by creating a more connected, enjoyable, and efficient experience. At Ather, learning is continuous and the ironically-titled "The Boring Conference" is our platform for enthusiasts/experts from any field to take us through their area of interest and personal journey. #TheBoringConference #AtherEnergy #Bengaluru #Bengawalk

This month marks my two years with C40 Cities as Bangalore's Inclusive Climate Action City Advisor, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate this milestone 🌏 . Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and C40 Cities recently co-hosted a two-day workshop to explore participatory practices for inclusive climate action. Over the past few months, we curated this workshop to engage with Indian cities to build collective learning through knowledge sharing, tools, resources, and evidence-based practices with the fantastic team at Sensing Local and unequivocal support from Saahas. The opening event at Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru demonstrated that participatory approaches can deliver strengthened, inclusive, and sustainable practices to address climate action needs in the city 🍀 . Speakers Rajeev Gowda Preeti Gehlot Basavaraj Kabade Sunil Jain Tomas Stenstrom Chandru Iyer and Jazmin Burgess discussed powering inclusive climate action for a just transition, Divya Tiwari RAMAMANI shared what inclusive climate action in practice meant in Bangalore and Meera Sundararajan Bijal Brahmbhatt Dr. Anjali Karol Mohan Santosh Nargund Ravichandar V and Silvia Marcon highlighted the importance of integrating people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of local climate action efforts. Mr Tushar Giri Nath, Chief Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), graciously addressed over 100 participants (officials from 15 cities across India, city practitioners, and interested citizens). While acknowledging the complexities and impacts of climate change in the city, he shared the critical role of municipal corporations' role in anchoring inclusive climate action for cities.  The opening event was followed by a peer-to-peer workshop and site visits with city officials from municipal corporations working in diverse departments: ranging from the sustainability and resilient unit to health; pollution and climate finance; and solid waste management to communications. Together, we explored what inclusive climate action can mean for different vulnerable groups across our cities. The path to advancing equity and climate resilience is ongoing and requires continuous effort, innovation, and collaboration. When I started this role, I didn’t know what to expect, or what inclusive climate action meant. I did know I wanted to be meaningful and intentional about what I was going to do. #justtransition #inclusiveclimateaction #bengaluru #inclusion photographs by bengawalk Shruti Narayan Sobia Rafiq Ankit Bhargava Naveen Kumar G T Angel Vinod

From 85 km/h to 50 km/h in 90 seconds. "Motorists constantly speed here. Some say it's a lack of enforcement - we say it's bad design." - Krista Nightengale. Watch this powerful experiment by Better Block Foundation, improving the safety and livability of a street in Detroit. The speed limit is 55 km/h (35 mi/h). Often drivers speed up to 85 km/h. 🛢️ 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞: Placing barrels to create a bit of friction. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭: 20% reduction, from 85 km/h to 67 km/h. 🌳 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨: Reducing the road from six to four lanes. Repurposing the space to create areas for people to sit, meet, relax, and enjoy eachother. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭: 43% reduction, from 85 km/h to 35 km/h, below the speed limit. --- This experiment shows that speed signs are just not enough. It's street design that dictates speed. If you design it as a highway, then drivers will speed up. But if you design it as a place for people, then people will come.

🎙️ About a month ago, I had the opportunity to lend my voice to a thought-provoking bengawalk 🎥 video discussing the future of Bengaluru's NGEF land behind Byappanahalli Metro Station. The fate of this expansive 120-acre plot is hanging in the balance, with two divergent visions vying for supremacy. In one corner of the ring is option 1 - to transform the area into a publicly accessible urban 🌳 like Lal Bagh, preserving its natural allure while repurposing old factory buildings into public amenities like museums and libraries. 🏛️ Opposing this is option 2 - the construction of an 800-foot high "Skydeck," accompanied by commercial establishments including shopping areas, hotels, and restaurants. 🏙️ What do you think? What should Bengaluru build on NGEF land? 🗣️ Read the full story at the link below. #bengaluru #NGEF #urbandevelopment #publicspace #pedestrianconnectivity #bengawalk

We were delighted to collaborate with WRI India on the Role of on-street parking management in sustainable mobility and pedestrian safety in Bengaluru on 13 May. Our participants included street design, civil society and resident associations in the city. We started with bu(r)sting the myths related to on-street parking in Indian cities, the methodology of the Parking Management Area Plan in Delhi, and how we have engaged with multiple stakeholders towards implementation. We also increased awareness on Bengaluru's Parking Policy 2.0 and the Area Parking Plans. We broke out in different groups to brainstorm how local communities could come together to support on-street parking management in this context and the #Personal2Public campaign by WRI India in Bengaluru. We are very grateful to Pawan Mulukutla, Srinivas Alavilli and Chetan Sodaye for the collaborative convening and look forward to next steps. A big shout to our team: Adithya D and Shraddha Banthia from Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) for making this happen. All the resources can be found here: www.c-sec.org B.PAC - Bangalore Political Action Committee | Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF) | Citizens for Citizens | MayaPRAXIS - India | Jhatkaa.org | Oorvani Foundation | The Mobility Agenda | Purpose | Sensing Local | bengawalk

As a child, I used to be obsessed with trains (I still consider myself a rail nerd). My father used to occasionally take me to the Vadodara train station just to watch trains! The Indian Railways holds a special place in my heart and I’m so excited to see it modernizing and helping drive #India’s economic engine. What I wish is for it to succeed and what the case of the first centrally air conditioned “airport terminal like” station (SMVT) in #Bangalore tells us is that we need to quickly course correct and spend some time on better designs else money will be wasted on sub-par over engineered #infrastructure. Thanks for the video bengawalk (Ojas S)!

One of the greatest achievements of the car industry is convincing business owners that parking spaces lead to more revenue. Visual by Urbis

#Latepost - Couple of weeks ago we dropped a video review of Seegehalli Lake on our YouTube channel - https://lnkd.in/grEtYdPR Located in the heart of Seegehalli, near KR Puram in north-eastern Bangalore, this sprawling 31-acre lake has been making headlines over the past few years. But not all attention has been positive... Surrounded by dense low-income housing settlements and flanked in the north by Old Madras Road leading to the Bengaluru-Tirupati Highway, Seegehalli Lake holds immense promise as a vital connector for pedestrians and cyclists in the area. However, the fencing along the boundaries, the lake’s timings, and limited entry and exit points – even though there is potential for many more – hinder its accessibility and utilization. 🚶♂️🚴♀️ Let's unlock the full potential of Seegehalli Lake together! Watch our video to learn more and join the conversation on sustainable urban development. Featuring Ojas and Pravar. Edited by Puneet Sachdev. #SeegehalliLake #UrbanDevelopment #Bangalore #bengawalk #CommunityEngagement #Sustainability #YouTubeReview #UnlockPotential

Mobility solutions for every city junction, neighbourhood, and street Moving around our cities has become exhausting. Every morning and evening, a ceaseless procession of vehicles inch along roads, two-wheelers spill over to the footpaths, while pedestrians, push cart vendors (and animals) rub shoulders with cars, autos, and buses. Every street and intersection tells a tale of utter chaos — autos stop haphazardly, people scurry across the junction in absence of pedestrian crossings, illegal structures encroach over footpaths, unclear signages, and so on. The problems at each junction, street, and area are so unique that the solutions also have to be specifically designed. With a clear understanding of design and scale of the solutions, Sustainable Mobility Network partners employed creative ways to improve mobility for all across cities Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eFbJwSJk Harpreet Bagga Malvika M Rhea Karan Preksha Sharma Saudamini Zutshi Ankit Bhargava Sobia Rafiq Nishita Parmar Aparajita Bharti Sanjiv Gopal Sarika Panda Bhatt She/Her Amit Bhatt Purpose WRI India Raahgiri Foundation Sensing Local bengawalk