Category: Stories
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Nature-Based Solutions: An Introduction
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are gaining global recognition for their ability to tackle environmental, social, and economic challenges by working with nature. These solutions are diverse and widespread, with applications in urban planning, agriculture, coastal protection, flood management, and climate change adaptation. Overview of NBS approaches NBS Label Origin Place Origin Year Countries/Continents Prevalent Brief Description… Continue Reading
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Road Safety: Traffic Violations and Fines in Bengaluru
Bengaluru has the highest number of private vehicles in India, having crossed the 1 Crore mark in 2023. The high number of vehicles, combined with the relentless congestion in the city, has meant that there is also a high number of violations that are observed on the street like wrong-side driving, reckless driving, using mobile… Continue Reading
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Childcare and Domestic Work – Time Use Survey
In the first part of our analysis of the National Time Use Survey 2024, we looked at how men and women in the large cities are spending time on employment, commute, rest and recreation. We noted how there is a large gap between men and women in most activities except sleep and entertainment. The question… Continue Reading
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How People Spend Their Time in Indian Cities – Analysis of National Time Use Survey 2024
The National Time Use Survey (TUS) is a periodic survey conducted across the country by the National Statistics and Surveys Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India. The most recent survey was conducted in 2024 and its results are available here. The main goal of the survey is to measure… Continue Reading
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Design Jam on Chennai Water – April 2025
Chennai is a city that is often in the news for water related issues. While periodic cyclones cause flooding and water-logging in winter, these events are followed in summer by water shortages and droughts. Many reports put Chennai along with Bengaluru among major cities likely to run out of water in the near future, a… Continue Reading
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State of Data Governance in India
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, publishes important annual statistical reports. “Crime in India” details annual crime statistics – different types of crimes at district level, “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India” provides statistics on accidental deaths – road as well as otherwise like wildlife conflicts,… Continue Reading
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Brand Bengaluru in the BBMP Budget
[In the first part of our analysis we looked at the trends in outlay over the years, and why the 2025-26 budget was unprecedented. We analysed the allocation under different heads, and the changes from the last year, and how much was spent from the last year’s outlay.] In June 2023, the Bengaluru Development Minister… Continue Reading
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BBMP’s Budget 2025-26 Analysis
BBMP’s budget for 2025-26 was presented on the 29th March 2025. BBMP’s budgets have tended to be around the Rs. 10,000 Crore mark with election years showing some loosening of purse strings. By those standards, the budget of 2024-25 was considered big with an outlay of Rs. 12,000 Crore for the first time since 2019-20.… Continue Reading
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Bengaluru Air Quality Datajam – March 2025
While cities in the North like Delhi, Agra, Varanasi make the news regularly over dangerous air quality, those in the South like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad get a relatively easy pass as their air quality looks better in comparison. However, with more vehicles plying the roads than Delhi, with regular power cuts needing operation of… Continue Reading
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State of Under Construction Road Works in Bengaluru – 2025
A week back, OpenCity conducted a survey to crowd-source all the under construction road projects in Bengaluru. The goal was to first see how many such projects are lying around in the city and then situate them against the current frenzy for tunnel roads and elevated corridors across the city. A body with a poor… Continue Reading
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Mapping the Under Construction Flyovers and Underpasses in Bengaluru
The Government of Karnataka recently proposed building 150 km of flyovers, underpasses and elevated corridors across Bengaluru. Plans to build flyovers and underpasses to decongest the city have been ongoing for more than a decade without yielding long term or significant results. Apart from having limited success in addressing traffic congestion, many of these underpasses… Continue Reading
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Meet The Trees of Bengaluru: BBMP Tree Census Data Analysis
Bengaluru loves its trees! India hasn’t had its human population census in 14 years now, but here’s our city, doing a tree census. The priorities are clear. I was born and (mostly) live here, and needless to say, these trees are a huge part of my life. Obviously, I wanted to get my hands on… Continue Reading