VERTICALS

Work at HUL happens along the following verticals

Research

Engagement

Pedagogy

Collaborations

Outreach

Communication

Administration

*Please hover over the large rectangular images under the digits to see the titles of each section.

*The encircled numbers at the base of each theme are the images related to that theme.

1

HUL’s chief interest lies in understanding how the city functions, from the perspective of the people living and working in its neighbourhoods. It is they who best know the city’s infrastructure, and the gradual as well as drastic transformations that the city undergoes. Through our work we are hopeful of pushing towards an urban consciousness that will see greater inclusion and fair sharing of resources as a norm.

Our strength lies in being able to connect with the national and regional while remaining rooted in the local. The main stages of our research are:

1. A spatial understanding of a selected site through mapping
2. Literature review on the selected theme / issue
3. Multiple visits to the research site to become familiar and to build trust.
4. Sample surveys, where necessary.
5. Determining the most useful line(s) of enquiry
6. Focus group discussion, where relevant
7. In depth interviews
8. Sharing resources and material with the respondents
9. Transcribing recordings
10. Deciding on a powerful way(s) of presenting the findings
11. Presenting to the HUL team
12. Developing the final output

Although each of our projects are set within specific conceptual frameworks that are discussed in detail with those involved, the processes and outputs for each vary according to the skill, experience, perspectives and comfort levels of those working on it.

Details of HUL’s research on different themes and issues may be found in the “What we Do” section of the website.

Survey Form for Sanitation Truck Drivers

Harsha Devulapalli

2

HUL seldom has a fixed agenda or plan for engagement. We proactively seek and create occasions that facilitate a range of activities through which we identify issues to study, communicate what we have learnt and act on the basis of our fresh knowledge

We are one of the many elements of the city, an organisation among many others, a team of people that lives and works in the city like many others do. It is by knowing about these other lives that we can broaden and deepen our perspective on the challenges of the urban.

HUL’s engagement programme is mainly of three kinds.

1. Short term: where we meet and interact with a set of people to share some idea, to know about them and to share our work with them. We also invite people to attend talks by visiting resource persons and other guests. Some of our regular short term engagement programme are the annual event Do Din, Belly of the Beast talks, Chai ho jaai and other meetings.
2. Medium term: where the interaction is guided over a few weeks and has a specific goal or objective. This has so far only been attempted with women in the informal economy and with individual elderly women to document the story of their lives.
3. Longer term: the most successful long term engagement HUL has had is with the adolescent boys of First Lancer. Former HUL team member Namith Nayak has formed 3 remarkable football teams with them, under 9, under 13 and under 16

100 Years of Production and Design

Exhibition at Lamakaan

3

TISS Winter Institute, 2019

The HUL-TISS Winter Institute is an annual collaborative event between Hyderabad Urban Lab Foundation and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai as part of the Tacit Urban Research Network (TURN) programme. Students of First Semester Urban Policy and Governance come to Hyderabad for a 12 day intensive workshop that comprises, talks, discussions, team work, field visits and much else. TISS Faculty members and the HUL team guide the students. This year, the students from TISS explore incrementally as a strategy for negotiating life, livelihoods and space in cities. The workshop is being held at the American Corner, St. Francis College on weekdays and at HUL on weekends.

Urban 101 Workshop at St. Francis College

Visit to Nanakramguda

4

It is part of HUL’s mandate to create common resource pools of ideas and an effective way of doing it is through collaborations with individuals and organisations.

A few research collaborations have resulted in studies and reports (ADAPT, Shakti Foundation, Minority Commission).

HUL offers internships to post graduate scholars of associate organisations like AUD, IIHS and TISS

We also co host and co organise conferences and seminars with universities and other research organsiations (University of Washington, Seattle, Ambedkar University Delhi, Hyderabad Central University Rural urban entanglements)

At Do Din there are several planned and organic collaborations with visiting resource persons, other organisations and artists and performers.

HUL conducts multiple collaborative events with Lamakaan through the year.

One of the prominent current collaboration of HUL is a multi institution multi themed research project called Tacit Urban Research Network with TISS Mumbai, CPR Delhi and IIHS Bangalore

100 Years of Design and Production

 Exhibition at Lamakaan

• Please click on the Science and The City box below to get the details of the collaborations

TURN Workshop

5

Like other young organisations HUL takes pride in its accomplishments. However we remain aware that ideas, no matter how unique they are, mean little as long as they remain confined to an insular group of allies and associates. The real impact of good work can happen only when tested against criticism of strangers and when it can incorporate feedback and suggestions from diverse quarters.

HUL tries to do this by sharing its research outputs with academics and non academics alike, by exhibiting its work, by community walks and through formal and informal conversations, performances and participation in community activities in the city.

6

As stated already HUL’s work extends beyond mere production of knowledge related to the urban. Equally important are the means by which this knowledge is made applicable and usable.

All Verticals and all Themes generate outputs which HUL attempts to share through visual, textual and animated formats.

We communicate through maps, audio and video documentations, publications and films on an ongoing basis and occasionally during exhibitions, events and workshops.

We also use the prevailing social media platform to communicate our work and views.

7

All administrative work which includes accounts, management, supervision, maintenance of office and logistics for workshops and events are overseen by the directors with the assistance of external auditors, part time help and the HUL team.

If each individual can contribute to a system of checks and balances, there is less likelihood of lapses in general. For basic and for specific requirements alike, from hand wash in the bathroom to ink in the printer cartridge, to dead or dying plants or fish, whoever notices first reports to the closest authority so that action may be taken.

HUL Team at Administrative Work