Indian cities are witnessing an unprecedented expansion in mobility focused infrastructure—metros, suburban trains, flyovers, tunnels, and white-topping projects—shaping the way people and goods move. Inevitably these also shape how the city is experienced and understood.  

As streets increasingly serve as mere conduits for movement, they are losing their essence as spaces for collective experience. The result is the gradual displacement of a once-vibrant culture of public life—where streets were not just thoroughfares but social arenas, fostering interactions, commerce, and a shared urban identity. To design infrastructure is to design a built form that can be generative and directive: it has the potential to create place and suggest future growth. Yet the current infrastructure is only seen as “isolated, mono-functioning works of engineering often leaves areas of adjacent land as vacant and unviable public space discouraging to other patterns and modes of movement.” (Meyboom, 2009)

In Bengaluru, much of this development seems to be driven by need to mitigate traffic congestion —a phenomenon that has increasingly become synonymous with present urban Bengaluru. Since the late 1990s, city’s rise as India’s Information Technology capital has shifted infrastructure priorities toward facilitating the movement of commodities, people, and information for private industry. The city is increasingly being shaped as a space to move through rather than a place to be in. (Nair, 2005) The focus of infrastructure largely becoming airport-centric, prioritizing global connectivity over the everyday needs of those who live and work in the city. 

Streets are not merely corridors for traffic—they are public spaces in their own right, hosting commerce, social interaction, protest, and culture. From Bengaluru’s Ashwath Kattes to its bustling street markets, these spaces have long served functions far beyond mobility.  

However, this rich social character is rapidly disappearing. Widened roads, shrinking footpaths, and car-centric design have erased the human scale of Bangalore’s streets. The informal street economy, once a defining feature, is being pushed out by regulations and commercial redevelopment. Streets that once encouraged lingering and connection are now conduits for hurried movement. As infrastructure expands, public space shrinks—making the city more efficient but less liveable.  

The overwhelming response to the Church Street redevelopment underscores the scarcity of accessible public spaces. Where even a single pedestrian-friendly street transforms into a stage for surveys, influencers, and photographers—exposing a deeper urban void and the city’s craving for shared, people-centric environments.  

Yet, as infrastructure projects increasingly prioritize efficiency over experience, these once-social spaces are shrinking into narrow corridors of mobility, leaving behind a fragmented urban life. 

IS SPEED AND EFFICIENCY JUSTIFICATION ENOUGH FOR RS. 19,000 CRORE MOBILITY PROJECTS? 

The extensive funding allocated to mobility infrastructure projects, in Bengaluru, overwhelmingly prioritize movement over liveability, overlooking the fundamental need to improve quality of life for those living around or traveling within the city. Flyovers, metro lines, and high-speed corridors may promise faster commutes, but without integrating the social layers of urban life, they risk becoming little more than monumental, disconnected transport structures, plagued with congestion and devoid of human experience. Unless mobility projects actively consider urban experience and inclusivity, they will fail to foster meaningful, people-centric cities. Infrastructure should be more than just a conduit for vehicles—it must serve as a catalyst for holistic urban well-being, creating spaces that are safe, accessible, and engaging for all. 

To build truly inclusive cities, we must move beyond catering primarily to the 10% of the population that relies on private vehicles. Instead, infrastructure investments should prioritize strengthening pedestrian networks, enhancing public transport, and creating mixed-use, walkable neighbourhoods. This shift ensures that streets and transport systems serve the broader urban community, supporting daily life, social interactions, and local economies—not just the efficiency of vehicular movement. 

NEED FOR A HOLISTIC APPROACH RATHER THAN BAND-AID SOLUTIONS 

This thematic under Infra–culture critically examines the dominance of mobility-centric planning in Bengaluru, questioning whose interests infrastructure truly serves. It advocates for a shift from viewing streets as mere transport corridors to streets as dynamic, multifunctional urban social spaces, ensuring that future developments prioritize people, public life, and urban legibility over pure efficiency – reclaiming streets as vital arenas for social and cultural exchange. We advocate that streets should be part of an integrated public realm, linking parks, markets, and transit hubs to encourage social flow. By embedding infra-culture into design, Bangalore can transform its streets into inclusive, people-centric spaces.