Project 02 / Research · Urban Ecology
Liquid Boundaries.
A research project examining Bengaluru's historic lake systems, ecological networks, urban growth, and the changing relationship between water and the city.
- Type
- Research · Urban Ecology
- Year
- 2021 — Ongoing
- Role
- Lead Researcher
- Location
- Bengaluru, IN
- Medium
- Maps · Essays · Diagrams · Fieldwork
Context
A city that forgot its water.
Bengaluru was built on an interconnected network of human-made tanks — keres — that for centuries fed agriculture, recharged groundwater, and structured social life. Today, fragments of that network survive as encroached, polluted, or paved-over remnants.
Research
Mapping what remains.
The project overlays colonial-era cadastral maps, satellite imagery, and present-day land titles to make visible the cumulative loss — and the lakes that can still be recovered.
Process
Field, archive, dialogue.
Work proceeds along three threads: field walks with lake stewards and resident groups; archival research across municipal records; and conversations with planners, ecologists, and activists.
Outcomes
Toward a usable record.
The project will publish a set of annotated lake maps, a long-form essay, and a public dataset intended for use by citizen groups, students, and planners.