In the shadow of Bengaluru’s World Trade Center, local residents line up for their water

Our fieldwork tracked the impact of “slum” demolitions in a core city area of Bengaluru. Pictured here, an informal settlement in a high value real estate area.

Our fieldwork tracked the impact of “slum” demolitions in a core city area of Bengaluru. Pictured here, the informal settlement in a high value real estate area after being razed by government bodies.

Farmers are forced into temporary shelters as their homes and livelihood make way for an international airport in Bengaluru.

An amphitheater, artificial lake, mall, gated community, hospital and hotel: an example of the mixed uses of land in Bengaluru today.

Around Bengaluru, billboards promise the lifestyles of the future

Building a “world city” is a material and speculative process; here farmland is prepared to be used as part of the new international airport in Bengaluru.

As a major city lake is filled with waste and construction debris, local livelihoods continue. Here, a man gathering lavender.

Our research studied the intersections of caste, politics, and livelihoods in peri-urban Bengaluru.

Landowners in Bengaluru’s peri–urban spaces often sell at low prices and are forced to find alternate livelihoods and housing for themselves.

Shepherds in Bengaluru witness the transformation of land from use value to exchange value.

Children at our field sites often played with, and posed for, our photographer Pierre Hauser who accompanied us on our fieldwork.

Views of the real estate on the horizons of Varthur Lake in Bengaluru.

Migrant construction workers set up informal huts near their worksites in Bengaluru.

New constructions in the formerly farming villages on Bengaluru’s outskirts.

Residents sometimes turn real estate brokers and immerse themselves in the unfamiliar worlds of government bureaucracy as land markets develop.

Women pass time and build sociality at a dense informal settlement in the core city area of Bengaluru.

A quick snapshot of the changing uses of land on Bengaluru’s periphery.

A man and his cow amidst the transforming farmland of peri-urban Bengaluru.

New constructions in central Bengaluru adopt unconventional architectural styles.

Real estate hoardings promise the world in peri-urban Bengaluru.

As the uses of land changed, people often held on to their last cattle as long as they could.

Our photographer, Pierre Hauser, struck up informal connections with children at our field sites.

The frothing and polluted waters of Varthur Lake, Bengaluru.

In the shadow of the World Trade Center, Bengaluru, one room huts share space with the newer constructions as residents build up to court rental income.

In this informal settlement, small huts and multi–storied homes share the narrow lanes.

A clogged Varthur Lake, Bengaluru.

Young children learn how to skate in a ground developed by a real estate company, Bengaluru

Young men sharing rooms near a rapidly developing area, Bengaluru.

Shepherds in Bengaluru’s peri-urban areas witness the transformation of farmlands to concrete infrastructure, corporate, and residential projects.

New spaces for leisure and fitness in central Bengaluru.

A dead fish in Varthur Lake, Bengaluru