Namrata Narendra
Architect and urban researcher
Work and Consultancy
WELL Labs | Bangalore, India
Research Associate | Jan 2024 – Aug 2024
↳ Research on peri-urban integrated urban water management for long term water security.
Bengaluru Sustainability Forum | Bangalore, India
Coordinator | Jul 2022 – Jan 2024
↳ Curating research, outreach and collaborations on climate change, urban water, waste management, biodiversity and air pollution.
The Quantum Hub | Delhi, India
Governance Consultant | Jun – Jul 2023
↳Research on governance landscape in the mobility and housing sector in Bangalore and understanding the relationality between various government agencies
Keystone Foundation | Kotagiri, India
Project Lead | Apr – Jul 2022
↳ Studying hill water & sanitation in the context of community-well being in the Kotagiri Town Panchayat through community engagement and GIS mapping.
Community Design Agency | Mumbai, India
Designer | Jan 2020 – Sept 2022
↳ Involved in conceptual design, participatory planning, research, report writing, presentation and visualization.
- E[co]work: On ground engagement, market analysis and design for a pilot co-working space for informal e-waste dismantlers in Delhi. GCRF grant awarded for human centred design proposal.
- Documentation and research through art and community engagement on improvement of street and social infrastructure at Natwar Parekh Colony
Independent Projects
Whose river is it anyway? | Bangalore, India
Researcher and Illustrator | Apr 2023 – present
↳ A research and media project in collaboration with Paani.Earth
Supported by Bengaluru Sustainability Forum.
Tale of two wheels | Bangalore, India
Researcher and Filmmaker | Aug 2022 – Aug 2023
↳ A ethnographic research project on emerging patterns in bicycling practices across the city by looking at three broad stakeholders: Livelihood, leisure and commute cyclists.
Supported by Bangalore International Centre (B.LORE) and Indian Institue for Human Settlements (IIHS)
Freelance photographer | Bangalore, India
Nov 2022 – Jan 2023
↳ Photography for reportage on Migration due to climate extremities and Waste to Energy plants
Supported by Thomas Reuters Foundation and Internews Earth Journalism Network.
(Re)thinking the Off-Grid City | Bangalore, India
Qualitative researcher | Jan – Apr 2023
↳In collaboration with IIHS and IDS, this project looked at the identification and recording of water infrastructure and relationalities, governance patterns, cultural and spatial aspects these assemblages that are in use and develop a framing and typology for them.
Selected Writing
↳ Discovering Amma, Bound Magazine, 2023 (essay)
↳ The ups and downs of the outer ring road, Citizen Matters, 2022 (op-ed)
↳ Conversations on a park bench, Decoding Everyday, 2022 (essay)
↳ Tactical Urbanism, YLAC, 2021
↳ The Woman Inc., 2021 (poetry)
↳The Alipore Post, 2021 (poetry)
↳The Indian Review, 2022 (poetry)
Fellowships and courses
Modernity, Science and Feminism
Sep – Dec 2023
Citizens for Public Leadership, Public Policy Fellow
Jan – Dec 2021
Young Leaders for Active Citizenship, Mobility Fellow
Jan – Apr 2021
Education
Indian Institute For Human Settlements, Bangalore, India
Post-Graduate Diploma Programme – Urban Studies | 2021 – 2022
R.V College Of Architecture, Bangalore, India
Bachelors in Architecture (4th Rank) | 2014 – 2019
Grants and Awards
Small Grants, Bengaluru Sustainability Forum | 2023
B.LORE Short Film Grant | 2023
Asia Young Designer Award – Jury Commendation | 2019
Proactis Award | 2018, 2015
Selected talks and presentations
Tale of two wheels short film screened at Bangalore International Centre, Bangalore, India | 12/2023
Springs and Streams project exhibited at NilgiriScapes conference, Ooty, India | 08/2023
Talk at REVA University: Communities, conservation and governance, Bangalore, India | 08/2023
Presentation at (re)searching urbanity symposium, Berlin, Germany | 08/2023
Curated a two-day Climate Resilience Retreat with over 30 participants across various urban disciplines, Bangalore, India | 01/2023
‘Whose river is it anyway?’ project exhibited at the Rivers of Life Exhibition, Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India | 11/2022
City Futures Event, IUDI: Urban design proposal presented under the theme City in History: Tracing Culture and Identity at Bangalore International Centre (BIC), Bangalore, India | 03/2021
On Empathy and Inclusivity: Helped organize a workshop on SDG’s, E-waste and the informal sector with E[co]work and Community Design Agency, Delhi India | 02/2020
Talk at ISOLA Thesis Open Day, Bangalore , India | 08/2018
namratanarendra.com 