<p>Bengaluru: In her special address that combined personal nostalgia with a futuristic roadmap, Amanda Joy Puravankara, Whole-Time Director of Puravankara Limited, cautioned that the evolution of Bengaluru into a 2040 mega-city must be guided by intentional design rather than mere consequence.</p><p>Speaking on Friday at the DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit, Puravankara shared her journey as a native Bengalurean. "My father has been building in this city for 50 years. I’ve seen it change from a quiet, green 'Garden City' with speed and ambition," she said. "The question isn’t if a mega-city is possible, but how wisely we will grow. Scale without sensibility imposes stress, and technology without humanity creates a wilderness."</p>.DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit Highlights| Time will tell everything: DKS on his next 1000 days.<p>Highlighting the city’s demographic shift, Puravankara noted that Bengaluru's median age is currently around 20 years, significantly younger than the national average. "A young city cannot thrive on yesterday’s infrastructure or assumptions. For a mother in this city, the future is about intelligent governance and an ecosystem where humans and technology collaborate," she said.</p><h3><strong>AI as a civic tool</strong></h3><p>Puravankara detailed how technology is already weaving into the city's civic fabric, moving from reactive fixes to predictive maintenance. She pointed to existing AI implementations:</p><p><strong>Traffic management:</strong> Adaptive signals that learn traffic patterns to reduce congestion.</p><p><strong>Enforcement:</strong> AI cameras detecting violations for more efficient law enforcement.</p><p><strong>Infrastructure:</strong> Robotics and AI identifying water leaks and underground network faults.</p><p><strong>Environment:</strong> Digital tools tracking air quality and flood zones to inform urban planning.</p><h3><strong>Developers as civic feeders</strong></h3><p>She proposed a shift in how developers view their role. Instead of isolated projects, residential developments should act as feeders to the larger city data system. By anonymising data on energy demand, waste collection, and traffic flow, private developments can help civic bodies allocate resources more efficiently.</p><p>"The role of developers is to strengthen civic systems consistently and quietly," she said, though she issued a warning on the ethics of such tech. "AI must remain a tool for public decision-making and must not operate beyond our accountability. If we don’t build systems that citizens can trust, we will never build a city that works for the people."</p><p>Closing her address, Puravankara called for a collaborative co-creation involving policymakers, technologists, and citizens. "We must design with heart. Innovation is no longer the challenge, the challenge is integration and scale," she concluded.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: In her special address that combined personal nostalgia with a futuristic roadmap, Amanda Joy Puravankara, Whole-Time Director of Puravankara Limited, cautioned that the evolution of Bengaluru into a 2040 mega-city must be guided by intentional design rather than mere consequence.</p><p>Speaking on Friday at the DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit, Puravankara shared her journey as a native Bengalurean. "My father has been building in this city for 50 years. I’ve seen it change from a quiet, green 'Garden City' with speed and ambition," she said. "The question isn’t if a mega-city is possible, but how wisely we will grow. Scale without sensibility imposes stress, and technology without humanity creates a wilderness."</p>.DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit Highlights| Time will tell everything: DKS on his next 1000 days.<p>Highlighting the city’s demographic shift, Puravankara noted that Bengaluru's median age is currently around 20 years, significantly younger than the national average. "A young city cannot thrive on yesterday’s infrastructure or assumptions. For a mother in this city, the future is about intelligent governance and an ecosystem where humans and technology collaborate," she said.</p><h3><strong>AI as a civic tool</strong></h3><p>Puravankara detailed how technology is already weaving into the city's civic fabric, moving from reactive fixes to predictive maintenance. She pointed to existing AI implementations:</p><p><strong>Traffic management:</strong> Adaptive signals that learn traffic patterns to reduce congestion.</p><p><strong>Enforcement:</strong> AI cameras detecting violations for more efficient law enforcement.</p><p><strong>Infrastructure:</strong> Robotics and AI identifying water leaks and underground network faults.</p><p><strong>Environment:</strong> Digital tools tracking air quality and flood zones to inform urban planning.</p><h3><strong>Developers as civic feeders</strong></h3><p>She proposed a shift in how developers view their role. Instead of isolated projects, residential developments should act as feeders to the larger city data system. By anonymising data on energy demand, waste collection, and traffic flow, private developments can help civic bodies allocate resources more efficiently.</p><p>"The role of developers is to strengthen civic systems consistently and quietly," she said, though she issued a warning on the ethics of such tech. "AI must remain a tool for public decision-making and must not operate beyond our accountability. If we don’t build systems that citizens can trust, we will never build a city that works for the people."</p><p>Closing her address, Puravankara called for a collaborative co-creation involving policymakers, technologists, and citizens. "We must design with heart. Innovation is no longer the challenge, the challenge is integration and scale," she concluded.</p>