Mysuru, March 15, 2026: Civil society groups, residents, parents, caregivers, students and Greenpeace India today came together today to reclaim Bogadi Road as a shared and inclusive public space, presenting the Samavesha participatory road design developed by the Mysuru School of Architecture (MSA). The design reflects months of citizen engagement through imaginariums, accessibility audits, community workshops, where community people, everyday commuters collectively reimagined how the junction can be more safer, more walkable and accessible for everyone.
As part of the collective action, community members also painted a zebra crossing and empathy line marking on the Bogadi road stretch, reflecting people’s design inputs that prioritise safety and dignity. This action reflects the importance of placemaking–where citizens collectively reclaimed the street as safer and more shared public space. The empathy line visually marks the space people with disabilities and pedestrians need to move safely and comfortably, reflecting the community’s call for streets designed with safety and dignity in mind.
At the press conference held today, the citizen groups collectively submitted the design recommendations to the concerned authorities as the city administration is preparing to begin white topping work on the Bogadi Road stretch.
“Bogadi Road is at a turning point. As the city prepares for white-topping, this is a critical and important opportunity to integrate people-led design ideas like safe crossings, accessible footpaths, and clear signage into the white topping plan. What people have designed here is practical, affordable, and rooted in lived realities,” said Selomi Garnaik, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace India.
“For this to translate on ground, it is essential that upcoming engineering plans engage with and reflect these public inputs. The authorities now have a chance to show that infrastructure can be people-led and inclusive,” she added.
The imaginariums are part of the Mysuru Rising campaign which brings local residents, caregivers, persons with disabilities, students, and experts together in the reimagining process, where they collectively envision a more accessible and inclusive city. The final design reflects communities’ lived experiences and captures how people actually want to move around their city in everyday life.
The zebra crossing activity was joined by the students and faculty members of MSA, AIISH, disability rights groups, community people, volunteers and citizen forums from Mysuru city. The participatory design recommendations underscores the urgent need for scientifically designed traffic calming measures, covering of the open drains alongside the footpath, installation of railings on footpaths, empathy line markings, shifting of barricades obstructing movements, visually enhanced zebra markings, continuous and obstruction-free footpaths, ramps, tactile paving, clear signage into the engineering plan of white topping work.
“This work on Bogadi Road demonstrates how architecture and planning can meaningfully respond to people’s everyday needs when communities are part of the design process. The participatory audits and imaginariums helped translate lived experiences into practical design solutions. Bogadi Road now stands as an important example of how people-centric street design can be developed, and it offers a model that other cities can learn from.,” said Dr Champa, Director and Dean, Mysuru School of Architecture (MSA).
“Mysuru has always taken pride in its heritage and civic values. A truly progressive city is one where streets are designed for seamless movement of wheelchairs, strollers and bicycles can move safely alongside everyone else. If our streets can provide support for the most vulnerable users, they will work for everyone.” said , B S Ramakrishna Mudre, Hon Director, Palliative Care, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement Mysore and Imaginarium Participant.
The community action on Bogadi Road shows how collective citizen participation can drive meaningful change in their streets, setting a powerful example for other cities to follow in designing people-centric urban spaces. The civil groups urge authorities to treat Bogadi Road as an opportunity to demonstrate how participatory design can shape infrastructure that truly reflects people’s needs and aspirations.
About Mysuru Rising:
Mysore Rising is a project led by Greenpeace India to reclaim our cities as spaces for people, not just for cars or capital. It begins with listening to what communities/ citizens truly aspire for, moves to prototyping those visions in the places where people live, and culminates in challenging destructive “stupid projects” through collective advocacy.
To learn more about the Mysuru Rising please click on the link below and join the growing call for safer, more inclusive streets and help shape a city that works for everyone.
https://gpin.greenpeace.org/cityrisingmysore
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