An important aspect of understanding and working with cities is data.
Towards this, UDC engages in mapping various aspects of cities as well as allied urban research that can facilitate better solutions for our cities.

Aside from traditional mapping techniques, we are also constantly innovating ways to involve a wide range of citizen groups to understand the city through maps.

Community engagement is at the heart of all of UDC’s activities and we are always looking for ways to engage a wide range of urban citizens in dialogues and activities on ‘what makes cities livable’.

UDC has collaborated with local and international organisations, anchoring workshops and public events to raise awareness on good urban design and participatory planning practices.

We love art! And we love using artistic platforms to communicate.
We also believe that public art enriches urban spaces and can be a powerful tool to provoke, engage, and collaborate.

The idea of placemaking still has a long way to go in Indian cities as is evident from the public realms of most cities. Formal architectural design education too has not been able to address this because it is still largely a habit if not the norm to be limited to the ‘red line’ boundary of a site.

UDC has attempted to bridge this gap with educational workshops and capacity building exercises for various ‘change agents’ starting from students of architecture to public works department engineers in city ULBs.

We believe that the best way to learn more about our cities is by exploring them – by walking, observing, recording, and sharing.
Since our inception, we have collaborated with local and international organisations that share this passion with us; creating public walks and field trips, colloquiums, and exhibitions, on topics ranging from civic infrastructure, housing, and ecology, to heritage.

At UDC, we strongly feel that communicating about cities is immensely important to the creation of livable cities.
From the very start, we have been using the various tools and platforms offered by the digital age to reach out to a diverse audience to both share our activities as well as to get across the idea that the only path to a livable city is through a sustainable city.