Prajna Ravindra Beleyur

Prajna Ravindra Beleyur has a master’s in urban policy and governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her research interests are in the intersection of water, industrial and urban policy. She worked the PEAK Urban project, funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund, under the infrastructure and economy themes, studying Bengaluru’s industrial infrastructure. Using archival research, she studied the city’s colonial urban water governance using the case study of textile mills and their interaction with the city’s water tanks. Part of this work on colonial Mysuru state industrial history was presented at a conference organised by the Urban History Group. Her PEAK research also included studying emerging mega infrastructure projects in the Bengaluru region and the governance mechanisms around them. Research from this project has contributed to her teaching as co-faculty in the ‘Governing Mega Infrastructure Projects’ elective for the IIHS Urban Fellows Programme (UFP). Prajna has also worked on projects for the Chief Minister’s Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council and the NITI Aayog, focusing on enabling better urban governance transitions and environmental governance strategies. She currently works on the Global Commission for the Economics of Water project, studying global urban water governance strategies. Her other research interests include understanding urban cultural industries, particularly the single screen theatres of Bengaluru and studying how these spaces have evolved and adapted over the last century. Work from this has been presented at international conferences such as RC21 conference.