In an amazingly insightful conversation, Vinayak Bharne dives deep into the complex structures that underpin the definition of a liveable city. From cultural, informal nature of the cities to the role real estate developers and structural policies at play, we wrangle with the line we need to draw between these two extremes. 

“The answer dear friend is blowing in the wind.” - Bob Dylan

Welcome to the OoruLabs podcast (https://podcast.oorulabs.com). Ever complained how bad our cities are? How bad your commute is? You’ll get to hear from people who are working to solve these problems. This is your weekly soapbox for Urban Sustainability with Sathya Sankaran with co-host Sonal Kulkarni

Stock video credits to respective contributors from Mixkit, Pixabay, Pexel and others.

Timecodes

00:00 - Introduction

01:52 - Defining liveable city

03:40 - Regional diversity

08:00 - Moving target?

10:33 - Tokyo & Netherlands

13:15 - City planning complexities

17:10 - Urbanism

20:33 - Policy & processes

30:37 - Engaging the informal

34:38 - Gentrified aspirations

42:13 - Water systems

45:03 - Dialogue with real estate

52:05 - Making informality work

01:00:20 - Homelessness in US

01:08:18 - Urbanists solution

01:15:53 - Selfish Sapiens

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Profile of Vinayak Bharne - https://arch.usc.edu/people/vinayak-bharne

Urbanism Beyond 2020 - https://amzn.eu/d/cN13RC6 

Conservation and the Indian city, bridging the gap - https://amzn.eu/d/41c6NUQ 

Streets for all : 50 Ideas For Shaping Resilient Cities - https://amzn.eu/d/2JOnchF 

Affordable Housing: Inclusive Cities - https://amzn.eu/d/hWW1XDA

Zen Spaces & Neon Places: Reflections on Japanese Architecture and Urbanism - https://amzn.eu/d/564IjHA 

The Emerging Asian City: Concomitant Urbanities & Urbanisms - https://amzn.eu/d/igx0N31 

Union Station Homeless Services - https://unionstationhs.org/

NIUA liveability standards - https://smartnet.niua.org/sites/default/files/resources/Liveability%20Standards.pdf

Global liveability index - https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/global-liveability-index-2023/ 

Edgar Ribeiro, Goa - https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/92yrold-hero-of-the-people’s-RP-Edgar-Ribeiro-is-back-to-give-his-one-last-shot-at-repairing-Goa’s-planning/194582 

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