Justice, Urban Systems and Technology

 

The constellation is an interdisciplinary research group who draw on urban studies, social psychology, science and technology studies (STS), and sociology to understand the complex interplay between technology, inequalities, and social justice within the ever-evolving landscape of urban spaces. Urbanization, while providing opportunities, has also seen rising concerns related to health, housing, education, and water, exacerbated by existing social relations of gender, caste, class, religion, and ability. The constellation aims to understand urban development through a critical lens, focusing on the processes of urbanization and globalization that shape the experiences of urban residents? Furthermore, it aims to explore questions such as understanding the challenges and possibilities of technology in enabling people’s access to health, and studying the role of public spaces in exacerbating or challenging social inequalities.

The overarching questions that guide our research are:

 

  • How do we understand urban development through a critical lens? How have processes of urbanisation and globalisation shaped the experiences of urban residents?
  • What role does the nexus between state, capital, and technology play in labour surveillance?
  • What are the challenges and possibilities of technology in enabling people’s access to health?
  • How does the design of public spaces in our cities exacerbate or challenge existing social inequalities?
  • How might we envision a city that cares, despite the atomisation and anonymity that is inherent to cities?

 

Constellation Leads

 
Dr. Manika Bora
Dr. Preethi Krishnan

Associate Professor, JGLS

preethi.krishnan@jgu.edu.in

Dr. Manika Bora
Dr. Vidya Subramanian

Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Planning and Strategy), JGLS

vidya.subramanian@jgu.edu.in

Constellation Fellows

 
Dr. Manika Bora
Dr. Namesh Killemsetty

Assistant Director, IDEAS
Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Academic Affairs & Programme Strateg

Dr. Devika Misra
Dr. Chetan Sinha

Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School

Dr. Devika Misra
Dr. Gayatri Balu

Assistant Professor, IDEAS

Dr. Devika Misra
Najam Us Saqib

Assistant Manager IDEAS

Projects

 

Invisible Margins: Socio-Economic Deprivation and the Politics of Slum Classification in Srinagar

This study examines how slums in Srinagar are simultaneously recognised and obscured within policy frameworks and urban governance. Using household-level deprivation indicators and the Slum Severity Index across 78 slums, the study aims to reveal widespread multidimensional poverty across the city, highlighting the politics of classification, visibility, and tenability in conflict-ridden urban geographies.

By Dr. Namesh and Saqib

Our Work will be Far, and the Roads are Unsafe: Housing Insecurity through an Intersectional Lens

This project examines how housing insecurity shapes the lives of Muslim migrant domestic workers in Gurugram. Through interviews and focus groups, it explores intersections of gender, class, migration, and religion. Emerging findings reveal housing as safety, rest, religious freedom, and community, while exposing systemic neglect and calling for inclusive urban policies.

By Dr. Namesh and Dr. Preethi Krishnan

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