Bangalore Urban Planning Crisis: Why Your City Feels Broken in 2026 | Srikanth Viswanathan | Podcast

About this episode

In this episode, Srikanth Viswanathan discusses the systemic issues in Bangalore's urban planning and governance, offering insights on how to address them.

What's really broken in Bangalore and how do we fix it? In this episode of Two Founders Walk Into, we sit down with Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO of Janaagraha, one of India's foremost urban governance experts. With 15+ years working with city governments, constitutional bodies, and citizen groups, Srikanth breaks down why Indian cities keep failing their residents and what a systems-level solution actually looks like. We cover: → Why traffic, pollution, and flooding are symptoms, not the real problem → The three city systems every urban leader must understand: planning & design, political ownership, and state capacity → Why Bangalore still doesn't have an elected mayor accountable to its citizens → How walkability could unlock clean air, public health, women's safety, and traffic relief, all at once → Tender SURE streets and what's already working in Bangalore → The citizenship ladder: how residents move from passive consumers to active contributors → The role of organisations like Janaagraha, U&I Trust as civic connective tissue → Srikanth's personal journey from Big Four consulting to systems-change nonprofit leadership → What genuine empathy looks like in leadership and…

People in this episode

Guest: Srikanth Viswanathan

Topics covered

• Bangalore urban planning
• city governance
• civic participation
• systems-level solutions
• traffic and pollution
• walkability
• public health
• citizen engagement

Keywords

• urban governance
• Indian cities
• systems change
• civic organizations
• empathy in leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Tender SURE streets

Books & works: Two Founders Walk Into, Top 25 India Leadership Podcasts

Places: Bangalore, India

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