Nextbangalore: Building a Future Plan for Bangalore with Crowdsourced Ideas

Ever wondered what the Bangalore of the future might look like? That’s exactly what the community, Nextbangalore hopes to envision through a change map created using people’s ideas.

If you had the power to change one place in Bangalore, which area would you choose and what would you change there? Driven by these questions, Nextbangalore is all about looking ahead and envisioning a city based on the ideas and concepts given by citizens. Started in 2013 by MOD Institute {a collective of architects, designers, researchers, curators and practitioners, based in Berlin and Bangalore} and Nexthamburg from Germany {a citizen-based think tank}, the community follows the concept of crowdsourcing urban future and invites people to share their ideas and visions for different parts of Bangalore. The information will be used to ultimately create a change map, all to motivate citizen-driven action for development of the city.

Their last venture involved developing a vision for Shantinagar, over a period of four months. From a temporary studio and lab in the area that hosted regular events, workshops and exhibitions to a pushcart which went around in the neighbourhood to gather feedback and ideas, the project invited public participation in different ways. There were even billboards installed near abandoned spaces {or urban voids, as they call it}, asking people what they would like to see there. The responses received ranged from a public library to a parking zone! And, for the final plan {published as a booklet}, public transport, affordable housing and public spaces for recreation were just some of the aspects that were explored. The vision for Shantinagar may be completed, but the project sure doesn’t end there. So, if you have a grand plan for the future of your area, head to their website and be a part of the change!

Read People’s Vision on Future Shantinagar online here.

Find Nextbangalore on Facebook here.

Check out their website here.