The Genesis of the Organisation
A group of educators, social scientists, technologists and development professionals established a public charitable trust, The Right to the City Foundation (TRTCF) in January 2012. Its flagship programme, Hyderabad Urban Lab (HUL), has carried out a series of action research and community work in the city of Hyderabad, as a step in the direction of bridging the gap between academic urban research and life at ground zero.
The governing body of TRTCF comprised Dr. Biju Mathew, Mr. Ashhar Farhan, Mr. Bharat Bhushan, Dr. Vamsi Vakulabharanam, Dr. Vinay Gidwani and Dr. Anant Maringanti who also served as the Executive Director of HUL.
Dr. Anant Maringanti
Mr. Ashhar Farhan
Dr. Biju Mathew
Mr. Bharat Bhushan
Dr. Vamsi Vakulabharanam
Dr. Vinay Gidwani
Between 2012 and 2016 TRTCF, through its main programme HUL, explored the issues of water and waste, education, livelihoods and mobility in Hyderabad.
This was made possible through a grant from the Antipode Foundation, UK, which selected TRTCF’s Action Research Proposal from among worldwide submissions.
In January 2016, when the programme was sufficiently grounded and had acquired its own life, TRTCF was reincorporated as a non-profit company (section 8) under the name Hyderabad Urban Lab Foundation (HULF).
This reincorporation in June 2016 converted HUL from a programme into a stand-alone legal entity even as it continues to work towards the objectives that TRTCF gave itself in 2012.
Board Members
The board of HULFT comprises Bhashwati Sengupta, Anant Maringanti, Gautam Bhan and Prasad Shetty. The board is soon to be expanded.
DR. ANANT MARINGANTI
Director
BHASHWATI SENGUPTA
Director
DR. GAUTAM BHAN
Board Member
PRASAD SHETTY
Board Member
Friends and Advisors
DR. VINAY GIDWANI
Professor, Dept. of Geography, University of Minnesota
DR. PRITI RAMAMURTHY
Professor, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Washington
MAHNOOR YAR KHAN
Artist and Drama Therapist for young people in conflict zones
ASHHAR FARHAN
Technologist and Entrepreneur, Co-Founder of Lamakaan
DR. AMIRULLAH KHAN
Professor and Economist, Centre for Good Governance
DR. SARAH WAHEED
Professor, Department of History, Davidson College
Current Team
*Please hover over the images to see the work of each member*
Lakshmi Aunty (Since inception)
House-keeping, provisions and other purchases, coordinating with team for events and hospitality
House-keeping, provisions and other purchases, coordinating with team for events and hospitality
Vinay Abhishek (April 2018- Present)
Admin, Finance, Logistics, Editing texts and interviews.
Admin, Finance, Logistics, Editing texts and interviews.
Kabeer (July 2018- Present)
Studying the spatial transformations in and around financial district and their implications on livelihoods, housing and intersection of private and public spaces, as part of TURN team.
Studying the spatial transformations in and around financial district and their implications on livelihoods, housing and intersection of private and public spaces, as part of TURN team.
Ravi Kawre (Sept 2018- Present)
Understanding places through mapping, TURN team, assisted in pedagogy work
Understanding places through mapping, TURN team, assisted in pedagogy work
Bharat S (Sept 2018-Present)
In 2018, member of TURN team, excavating submerged histories of urban movements and civil society action in Calcutta through archiving
In 2018, member of TURN team, excavating submerged histories of urban movements and civil society action in Calcutta through archiving
Shriya (March 2019- Present)
Website- DD 2018, HUL
Website- DD 2018, HUL
Meenakshi Meera (October 2019- Present)
Meenakshi assists with the mapping and visualisation components of pedagogy. And she is working on conceptualising and designing multi-purpose public spaces
Meenakshi assists with the mapping and visualisation components of pedagogy. And she is working on conceptualising and designing multi-purpose public spaces
Siraj (March 2020-Present)
Sole coordinator for all relief work- identifying people in distress, procurement, packaging and distribution.
Sole coordinator for all relief work- identifying people in distress, procurement, packaging and distribution.
Aditya Singh(August 2020-Present)
Do Din Report, Audio-Video Outputs for Website
Do Din Report, Audio-Video Outputs for Website