<p>Brand Bengaluru’ has gone through the image-churner in recent months. We have had all-too-frequent incidents of road rage, fracas related to the language issue (often ending in nasty words on either side of the fence), flooding of low-lying areas and their arterial roads due to incessant rain, a constant crib on the issue of Bengaluru traffic being unbearable. </p><p>And most recently, on June 4, we had a fatal stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium that resulted in the death of 11 people, with many more being injured. </p>.<p>For a start, you cannot ignore Bengaluru when it comes to news and commentary. There is something happening all the time. Add to it the fact that we are a vibrant democracy of thought and action with people on two opposing sides of the fence all the time, and the action of words and images is ever so alive. What then has brought us to the centre of this attention, oftentimes negative?</p>.Sudden heavy rains lash Mangaluru, several areas waterlogged.<p>Many things really — firstly, we are a real big city today. Even as we wait for the Census of India 2027 to confirm this, we host a population of 1.6 million in the city on any given day. This includes those who live in the city, and those who come in to work and leave as well. That is a population burden just too large for the rather crunched old geography of the city. The ratio of vehicles to humans in the city is well-nigh a ratio of 1:1, if we consider only the adult population of the city. That is a bizarre fact to handle. Our road length has remained largely static in terms of both length and width. In fact, the real traffic-flow-usable width of the arterial roads that connect us all has actually decreased every passing year, thanks to the fact that we often allow parking on both sides of the road in the case of our broader roads. If you do that, a 100 feet road becomes a 50 feet road instantly. Abracadabra!</p>.<p>Add to all this the fact that the last really well-planned layout in the city was Jayanagar (circa 1948). Our newer areas really show little city planning. We have shown a yen to grow the city vertically over the years, as the potential for the horizontal expansion of the city dries up and gets to be more and more expensive. The one common trait I see in the expansion and planning of new Bengaluru is greed. Every bit of land is grabbed and built upon, with little care for city planning norms that devolve around items of importance such as roads, waterways, availability of groundwater and possibly 11 other parameters that I will not list here for want of space. The big mantra is development. And the basic ethos of development of the city has been this one word: Greed. Greed is good. Greed is bad. And at times, greed makes for an ugly city. An unplanned city is an ugly city for sure.</p>.<p>And this ‘ugly’ city aspect is really not about the cosmetics of planning, but the functionality of good city planning. Our new layouts are looking congested, with a complete lack of amenities such as a basic water connection. The summer months particularly make us a ‘tanker city’, a moniker none of us are happy about. </p>.<p>We have lost the plot somewhere, and therefore, we have our floods every monsoon. We equally have our dry spells. The congestion index of a vertical city has been a severe stress factor in the space of garbage management. The city produces 6,300 metric tonnes of garbage every day. And this is growing by the minute, with consumption on a rampant increase curve.</p>.<p>Let me stop the wailing. I do not have enough words left. Simply put, our civic problems grow by night.</p>.<p>In recent times, our ‘Brand Bengaluru’ image has been dented. One set of the city seems dissatisfied, and the other set seems happy. Add to it a superset of those who do not live in the city but love to comment about it nevertheless. Talking about Bengaluru and its problems is the latest fashion statement on social media.</p>.<p>I therefore ask, is ‘city jealousy’ a thing? If it is, we need to manage even that. The extrinsic image of Bengaluru is as important as the intrinsic image and truth of Bengaluru. The sad fact, however, is that everything in branding is perception-led. And sadly, perception is more important than the truth. The brand is maya (an illusion). The brand is not the physicality of a city. It is the metaphysicality that is defined by perception, rumour and hearsay even.</p>.<p>We need to seriously sit back and think about what can be done. Let me, therefore, not be the problem, and instead attempt to be the solution. Let me put forth a few thoughts that just might help solve the issue at hand.</p>.<p>I do believe Bengaluru is a rented city. Everyone rents it. No one owns it. In this harsh statement lies the truth. We make the best out of the city, but do not give back to it what it deserves. We treat it as a temporary resource of convenience. This, we need to change. We need a lot more citizen participation to sort out our issues. We need to belong and demand. We cannot outsource city governance to governments and their city management bodies. It is just too important for that.</p>.<p>Secondly, we need to redefine the very ethos of the city. We need to think about development, infrastructure and all the other good buzzwords of the day, but all of it needs to be leveraged with a people-first ethos. </p>.<p>We were a pensioner’s paradise, once upon a time. Not anymore. We need to get out of our ‘armchair criticism’ mode, and get into ‘participative, citizen-involved governance’ mode. The city offers as many as 21 prominent city-centric bodies, such as B.PAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee), Whitefield Rising and many more. Let us empower them more. The government of Karnataka needs to listen more to these bodies and what they suggest and bring to the table. We have the best mind power in this city. It needs to be converted into action power as well, with the help of the government.</p>.<p>The city needs solid, structural change, not a cosmetic brand change. It is not about advertising it right. It is about sorting out the city and its many issues. </p>.<p>At the end of it all, I love Bengaluru. And so do you. If not, we would not be here. I know ‘city-shaming’ is a thing. Some people do it. I do not know what joy it brings. But you and I love this city, don’t we? If we do, can we convert this love into action? Into belonging? Into “being with Bengaluru” as opposed to “being against Bengaluru”? That would be a really good start. </p>.<p>The key question then: Are you with Bengaluru? Or against? Our future as a robust and bright young city with promise lies in this answer.</p>.<p><span class="italic"><em>(Harish Bijoor is a business and brand strategy expert)</em></span></p>
<p>Brand Bengaluru’ has gone through the image-churner in recent months. We have had all-too-frequent incidents of road rage, fracas related to the language issue (often ending in nasty words on either side of the fence), flooding of low-lying areas and their arterial roads due to incessant rain, a constant crib on the issue of Bengaluru traffic being unbearable. </p><p>And most recently, on June 4, we had a fatal stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium that resulted in the death of 11 people, with many more being injured. </p>.<p>For a start, you cannot ignore Bengaluru when it comes to news and commentary. There is something happening all the time. Add to it the fact that we are a vibrant democracy of thought and action with people on two opposing sides of the fence all the time, and the action of words and images is ever so alive. What then has brought us to the centre of this attention, oftentimes negative?</p>.Sudden heavy rains lash Mangaluru, several areas waterlogged.<p>Many things really — firstly, we are a real big city today. Even as we wait for the Census of India 2027 to confirm this, we host a population of 1.6 million in the city on any given day. This includes those who live in the city, and those who come in to work and leave as well. That is a population burden just too large for the rather crunched old geography of the city. The ratio of vehicles to humans in the city is well-nigh a ratio of 1:1, if we consider only the adult population of the city. That is a bizarre fact to handle. Our road length has remained largely static in terms of both length and width. In fact, the real traffic-flow-usable width of the arterial roads that connect us all has actually decreased every passing year, thanks to the fact that we often allow parking on both sides of the road in the case of our broader roads. If you do that, a 100 feet road becomes a 50 feet road instantly. Abracadabra!</p>.<p>Add to all this the fact that the last really well-planned layout in the city was Jayanagar (circa 1948). Our newer areas really show little city planning. We have shown a yen to grow the city vertically over the years, as the potential for the horizontal expansion of the city dries up and gets to be more and more expensive. The one common trait I see in the expansion and planning of new Bengaluru is greed. Every bit of land is grabbed and built upon, with little care for city planning norms that devolve around items of importance such as roads, waterways, availability of groundwater and possibly 11 other parameters that I will not list here for want of space. The big mantra is development. And the basic ethos of development of the city has been this one word: Greed. Greed is good. Greed is bad. And at times, greed makes for an ugly city. An unplanned city is an ugly city for sure.</p>.<p>And this ‘ugly’ city aspect is really not about the cosmetics of planning, but the functionality of good city planning. Our new layouts are looking congested, with a complete lack of amenities such as a basic water connection. The summer months particularly make us a ‘tanker city’, a moniker none of us are happy about. </p>.<p>We have lost the plot somewhere, and therefore, we have our floods every monsoon. We equally have our dry spells. The congestion index of a vertical city has been a severe stress factor in the space of garbage management. The city produces 6,300 metric tonnes of garbage every day. And this is growing by the minute, with consumption on a rampant increase curve.</p>.<p>Let me stop the wailing. I do not have enough words left. Simply put, our civic problems grow by night.</p>.<p>In recent times, our ‘Brand Bengaluru’ image has been dented. One set of the city seems dissatisfied, and the other set seems happy. Add to it a superset of those who do not live in the city but love to comment about it nevertheless. Talking about Bengaluru and its problems is the latest fashion statement on social media.</p>.<p>I therefore ask, is ‘city jealousy’ a thing? If it is, we need to manage even that. The extrinsic image of Bengaluru is as important as the intrinsic image and truth of Bengaluru. The sad fact, however, is that everything in branding is perception-led. And sadly, perception is more important than the truth. The brand is maya (an illusion). The brand is not the physicality of a city. It is the metaphysicality that is defined by perception, rumour and hearsay even.</p>.<p>We need to seriously sit back and think about what can be done. Let me, therefore, not be the problem, and instead attempt to be the solution. Let me put forth a few thoughts that just might help solve the issue at hand.</p>.<p>I do believe Bengaluru is a rented city. Everyone rents it. No one owns it. In this harsh statement lies the truth. We make the best out of the city, but do not give back to it what it deserves. We treat it as a temporary resource of convenience. This, we need to change. We need a lot more citizen participation to sort out our issues. We need to belong and demand. We cannot outsource city governance to governments and their city management bodies. It is just too important for that.</p>.<p>Secondly, we need to redefine the very ethos of the city. We need to think about development, infrastructure and all the other good buzzwords of the day, but all of it needs to be leveraged with a people-first ethos. </p>.<p>We were a pensioner’s paradise, once upon a time. Not anymore. We need to get out of our ‘armchair criticism’ mode, and get into ‘participative, citizen-involved governance’ mode. The city offers as many as 21 prominent city-centric bodies, such as B.PAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee), Whitefield Rising and many more. Let us empower them more. The government of Karnataka needs to listen more to these bodies and what they suggest and bring to the table. We have the best mind power in this city. It needs to be converted into action power as well, with the help of the government.</p>.<p>The city needs solid, structural change, not a cosmetic brand change. It is not about advertising it right. It is about sorting out the city and its many issues. </p>.<p>At the end of it all, I love Bengaluru. And so do you. If not, we would not be here. I know ‘city-shaming’ is a thing. Some people do it. I do not know what joy it brings. But you and I love this city, don’t we? If we do, can we convert this love into action? Into belonging? Into “being with Bengaluru” as opposed to “being against Bengaluru”? That would be a really good start. </p>.<p>The key question then: Are you with Bengaluru? Or against? Our future as a robust and bright young city with promise lies in this answer.</p>.<p><span class="italic"><em>(Harish Bijoor is a business and brand strategy expert)</em></span></p>