The workshop opened with introductory remarks, followed by a presentation on “The Politics of Knowledge: Examples from the Mumbai Climate Action Plan” by Ike Uri, Lubaina Rangwala, and Avni Agarwal. The presenters (Lubaina and Ike) examined how locally led adaptation in urban climate planning often remains rhetorical, highlighting the political nature of local knowledge and the dominance of technocratic expertise in Mumbai’s adaptation planning.

Next, Mrinalini Penumaka presented “Climate Migrants and Urban Precarity”, which explored how climate migrants in Delhi’s informal settlements navigate water and sanitation infrastructure. The study underscored migrant women’s engagement in fragile infrastructure resilience” collective action despite severe urban precarity and discrimination.

The afternoon session featured Nityanand Jayaraman with “Sea Change, not Climate Change”, which drew on years of fisher observations to challenge global narratives of climate change. They proposed engaging with fisher knowledge on its own terms rather than through modern scientific frameworks, emphasizing “doing difference together.”

The day concluded with a keynote address by Ashish Kothari. He offered a sweeping call to rethink how we imagine, design and govern urban spaces in the face of multiple ecological and social crises. He highlighted how dominant models of “development” often perpetuate violence against both people and the non-human world, urging instead the creation of grounded, community-led alternatives. Kothari emphasised the importance of learning from grassroots initiatives, questioning colonial legacies in planning, and recognising the deep interdependence between cities and villages. He discussed the need for regenerative urbanism — rooted in respect for nature, democratic participation, and cultural diversity—and shared examples ranging from urban farming and participatory budgeting to pedestrianisation and youth-led environmental campaigns.

Framing his vision through the “flower of transformation,” he invited participants to imagine cities guided by radical ecological democracy, cooperative forms of local economy, and a renewed ethic of swaraj — understood as collective responsibility for human and non-human wellbeing. The keynote closed with a reflection on building “pluriversal” futures: networks of diverse, locally rooted practices that can inspire more just, sustainable and life-affirming urban worlds.

On the second day, Deepak Malghan discussed “Gendered Exposure to Heat Waves in South Asia”, revealing how women’s heat exposure, largely stemming from unpaid labour, is often overlooked in adaptation planning. Globally, women are primarily responsible for social reproduction activities, including childcare and elderly care, as well as domestic duties that include providing fuel and water for the household. While we know that women spend a disproportionate amount of time on such activities, there is little knowledge about their exposure to climate stress during the process. Their team investigates the association between gender and climate inequality by studying exposure during the 2017-2021 heat waves.

The final paper, “Rule by Format: Maps, Accessibility, and Spatial Politics in Mumbai” by Chitra V, traced how bureaucratic control over mapping formats shapes access to environmental and urban rights. The discussion exposed how paper-based bureaucratic structures persist beneath digital openness, influencing state-society relations.

The workshop concluded with a roundtable discussion over lunch, synthesizing insights on gender, knowledge, and justice in urban climate adaptation. Participants reflected on the need for plural epistemologies, grounded local perspectives, and inclusive policy frameworks to address climate challenges in South Asian cities.