Over the past few decades, Bengaluru has emerged as one of India's fastest-growing cities (Bose 2013). Bengaluru has earned the moniker of “Silicon Valley of India,” but this glosses over a reality that is defined by poor infrastructure, air and water pollution, and unmanaged waste. Residents have experienced the city's growing pains in the form of stretched urban coping capacities, from mobility congestion to constraints in infrastructure access and quality. Untarred, narrow roads; polluted air and water and mounds of garbage mar the advertised images of high-end luxury apartments and shiny glass offices that dot the landscape of new Bengaluru. One such example is the stretch along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between Marathahalli and Bellandur.
In this photo essay, researchers from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements present a series of photographs taken along this 6-km stretch in Bengaluru as part of their fieldwork under the PEAK Urban project. They illustrate the rapid, unplanned development that characterises most Indian metropolises. The growth along this particular corridor is striking because, despite drawing significant investment over the past two decades, it continues to be a space marked by stark inequities.
To continue reading this go to Photo Essay: A Study of Contrasts in Bengaluru’s ‘High-tech’ Zone which first appeared in Economic and Politcal Weekly on 1 May, 2020....
