- Establishing and anchoring the Odisha Urban Design Hub
Jana Urban Space has signed a partnership with Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha on the 4th of December 2025 to establish the Odisha Urban Design Hub (OUDH). OUDH is a state-level platform driving urban transformation through neighbourhood planning, design guidelines, city-specific reforms, and marquee public spaces.
Under this partnership, Jana will enable integrated climate, economic, and spatial planning and design reforms in 11 large cities (Berhampur, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Sambhalpur, Balasore, Baripada, Bhadrak, Koratpur – Jeypore, Kendujhar, Phulbani) as well as around the capital city region (Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Paradeep and growth areas towards Khorda).
Read More: Urban design hub plan to transform cities in Odisha
- Neighbourhood Improvement Guidelines for Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority
Jana Urban Space is partnering with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to develop Neighbourhood Planning Guidelines as an input to Chennai’s Third Master Plan 2046.
Under this engagement, Jana is anchoring the development of the guideline framework, methodology, and implementation approach, positioning neighbourhood planning as an operational layer within the Master Plan. Jana is supporting statutory integration within the existing planning framework, clarifying inter-agency roles, and defining realistic implementation pathways grounded in institutional and regulatory systems.
As part of this process, CMDA convened a multi-department stakeholder consultation on 16 December 2025 at Fortel to align the draft guidelines with existing planning, regulatory, and delivery mechanisms. Pravalika Sarvadevabhatla, Associate Manager – Urban Policy at Jana Urban Space, presented the draft framework, structure, and methodology, facilitating discussions on governance integration, cross-sectoral coordination, neighbourhood-level data requirements, and phased implementation.
- Launch of Jana Times | Planning & Design
Jana Urban Space has launched Jana Times | Planning & Design, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban policy, planning, and public space design.
The newsletter will bring together insights from Jana’s partnerships, projects, and research across India’s towns and cities, reflecting on how planning and design can strengthen quality of life, equitable access, safety, opportunity, and environmental resilience. It creates a shared platform to engage practitioners, governments, and civil society in shaping more coherent and citizen-centred urban futures.
Read the first edition: Jana Times
Through these partnerships and knowledge initiatives, Jana Urban Space remains committed to strengthening institutional planning systems and enabling structured, implementable urban transformation. We will continue to share updates with this group as the work progresses.