Mobility In Urban India: Event Highlights
An evening of short film screenings and dialogue.
Kalpa Impact, in partnership with the Charles Correa Foundation, and other partners—Raahgiri Foundation, the Sustainable Mobility Network, and Museo Camera, hosted Mobility in Urban India—an evening of short film screenings and fireside chats that spotlighted the infrastructure, design, and financing challenges shaping urban mobility in India.
Held at Museo Camera, Centre for the Photographic Arts, Gurugram, the event brought together experts, practitioners, funders, architects, and filmmakers to explore how Indian cities can build mobility systems that serve all, grounded in equity, inclusiveness, and sustainability.
Nine short films and two fireside chats anchored the evening. Together, they sparked critical questions. Sushant Kumar, Founder and CEO of Kalpa Impact said, “We need to bring popular culture, short films and conversations as tools for mobilising policy action. The urgent question of our time is: How can India unlock the capital needed to meet the mobility needs of its growing urban population—in an inclusive and climate resilient manner? It is important to make space for conversations.”
Nine Themes, Ten Cities, One Urgent Theme
The line-up included selections from Nagari 2024, the Charles Correa Foundation’s annual short film competition: Homes on the Line — by Amit Rathee, Nimit Phogat, and Mandeep Singh; The Night Fliers — by Sabika Syed and Nikhil Mehrotra; Cycle of Life — by Swanand Kottewar, Rahul Jambhulkar, Aniket Kolarkar, and Sanket Ray; Level Up! — by Bhargav Prasad, Archanaa Seker, and Pavithra Sriram; Sakhlya Ani Chaaka (Chains & Wheels) — by Jayshankar Ramu, Aryaki, and Sandeep Gaikwad; Dilli ki Akhri Local (The Last Local of Delhi) — by Arundhathi and Sarah Zia; Town on Water — by Nitesh Sharma, Muskan Bhatt, Avijit Newar, and Avinav Saha.
The lineup also included Ek Sadak Ki Kahaani – a short film by Raahgiri Foundation, produced by Indigo Creative and directed by Chandramouli Basu, and the premiere of Designing for Freedom: How the Fair Bus Scheme Is Transforming Women’s Lives – a short film by Bengawalk, supported by the Sustainable Mobility Network, on India’s evolving bus schemes
From stories of cycling through school zones to accounts of last-mile commutes, the films illuminated everyday mobility with depth and empathy.
“I think the question we are trying to answer, to start with, is: How do cities address infrastructure challenges? Some guidelines exist, but where are people participating and the voices being heard?” — Mallika Arya.
Fireside Chat 1: Bridging Infrastructure and Inclusion
The first panel explored the systemic gaps in India’s mobility infrastructure and how cities could better embed equity into design and delivery. Moderated by Mallika Arya, Associate Partner at Kalpa Impact, the panel featured Geetam Tiwari, Emeritus Professor, TRIP Centre, IIT Delhi, who reflected on participatory planning lessons from recent projects like Delhi’s Safe School Zones. Pravesh Biyani, Professor, IIIT Delhi, and Founder of Chartr, who unpacked how data can inform more inclusive infrastructure. Sabika Syed, journalist and filmmaker, who shared insights from the ground while co-directing The Night Fliers, a film featured during the event.
The discussion tackled challenges such as moving from paper plans to street-level execution, the role of user behaviour in shaping services, and how media narratives frame mobility for decision-makers.
“One of the goals I’m passionate about is simple: walkability. If a city is truly sustainable, people should be able to walk—with safety and dignity”—Pravesh Biyani, IIIT Delhi Professor and founder of Chartr
Fireside Chat 2: Financing India’s Urban Future
The second fireside chat shifted focus to the critical funding gap in Indian urban infrastructure. India needs an estimated USD 55 billion per year in urban investment—three times what local governments currently generate in revenue.
Moderated by Sushant Kumar, Founder and CEO of Kalpa Impact, the panel featured Jagan Shah, CEO of The Infravision Foundation, who discussed opportunities within the one lakh crore (INR) Urban Challenge Fund and the importance of mechanisms like municipal green bonds. The panel also featured Mitali Nikore, Founder and Chief Economist at Nikore Associates, who shared lessons from women’s bus travel schemes and explored how blended finance could support transitions to electric mobility.
The conversation highlighted promising models, including Pimpri-Chinchwad’s INR 200 crore green bond, and asked what actions funders, policymakers, civil society organisations, and think tanks must take to move the sector forward.
“The traditional approach to mobility is not participatory. On paper, it may seem inclusive. Mobility planning is still top-down, still technocratic. One of the biggest weaknesses of technocratic planning is that it is rarely inclusive. We have guidelines that claim to push for accessibility and inclusion, but they’re not backed by law. Do we even have forums that can hold the law accountable?”—Geetam Tiwari, Emeritus Professor, TRIP Centre, IIT Delhi.
Beyond Panels: Art, Improv, and Dialogue
The evening also featured an improv theatre performance by Nautankibaz Improv Collective led by Ankur Sardana, which brought a lighter, artistic touch to the complex themes of the evening.
Kalpa Impact, the convenor of the event, is a social impact consulting firm that partners with funders and changemakers to accelerate sustainable development. The organisation works across sectors including climate, AI, DPI, health, agriculture, gender, education, and livelihoods—using research, strategy, technology, and storytelling to drive systems change.
“Currently, the revenue received for urban local bodies is about one‑third of the projected requirements. We are facing a funding gap. Mobilising focus on funding urban solutions is critical.”—Sushant Kumar, Founder and CEO, Kalpa Impact.
What Comes Next
Mobility in Urban India offered no silver bullets, no quick fixes to deeply embedded challenges, but it brought together over 65 urbanists, and created space for cross-sectoral dialogue, honest reflection, and hopeful provocation. With 600 million Indians expected to live in cities by 2036, the challenge is technical, and is deeply social and political.
The message was clear: mobility is about access, safety, and dignity. Whether it’s through better policy design, participatory planning, or smarter financing, India must act now to make urban mobility work for all.
“Cities may not have unique problems, but they do have unique situations. An urban challenge fund should let them define these and seek solutions through government spending. The current model of allocating funds only for specific things—like just bus stops—needs to be challenged. It deprives cities of the sustenance needed for innovation and locally relevant projects”—Jagan Shah, CEO of The Infravision Foundation.