The Prediction, Emergence, Adoption and Knowledge (PEAK) Urban project aimed to inform urban decision-making by conducting research grounded in urban complexity, empowering urban populations to plan for clean energy futures, and nurturing a new generation of urban leaders. Working within the assumption that cities are complex and innovative systems, the programme utilised big data, mathematical models, and insights from the social sciences and humanities to analyse various metropolitan areas. In India, IIHS led six streams focusing on Bengaluru, covering topics like metropolitan development, industrial infrastructure, energy transitions, spatial inequalities and urban health.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)–Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).


Bhor, N., Nadh, P. O. (2024). Interfaces of ‘being healthy and being Ill’: how is health being perceived by individuals with non-communicable chronic conditions?. Int J Equity Health 23, 108.

Bhatikar, T. & Beleyur, P. (2024). Can Industrial Corridors Balance Growth with Urban Challenges? The Wire..

Bhor, N. (2023) Care-seeking practices for non-communicable chronic conditions in a low-income neighborhood in Southern India. PLOS Glob Public Health, 3(6).

Bazaz, A., Arakali, A., Revi, A., Bhan, G., Gulabani, H., Balakrishnan, K., Kapoor, N., Sami, N., Bhor, N., Pattela, O. N., Beleyur, P. R., Anand, S., Mitra, S., Bhatikar, T., John, V., Duque, J. C., Keith, M., Parnell, S., Tucker, A., & Govil, S. (2023). Maximising the benefits of India’s urban transformation: Local evidence synthesis report. PEAK Urban.

Espey, J., Parnell, S. & Revi, A. (2023). The transformative potential of a global urban agenda and its lessons in a time of crisis. npj urban sustainability, 3(1).

Sami, N. (2023). Rethinking the research funding process: An Indian perspective. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 47(2), 312-317.

Keith, M., Birch, E., Buchoud, N. J. A., Cardama, M., Cobbett, W., Cohen, M., Elmqvist, T., Espey, J., Hajer, M., Hartmann, G., Matsumoto, T., Parnell, S., Revi, A., Roberts, D. C., Saiz, E., Schwanen, T., Seto, K. C., Tuts, R., & van der Pütten, M. (2022). A new urban narrative for sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, 6(2), 1–3.

Anand, S., Lewis, V., & Gulabani, H. (2022). The need for real time and granular data to study the urban economy (Policy Brief). PEAK Urban.

Balakrishnan, K. (2022). Towards more equitable and sustainable urban water systems in India: the role of granular data (Policy Brief). PEAK Urban.

Tripathy, P., & Malladi, T. (2022). Global flood mapper: A novel Google Earth Engine application for rapid flood mapping using Sentinel-1 SAR. Natural Hazards, 114, 1341–1363. .

Nadh, P. O. (2022, June 20). Narrow lanes and deeper histories: Reflections from KG Halli. Ethnomarginalia.

Arakali, A., & Bhatikar, T. (2022). Governing for the local environment within corridor projects in India (Policy Brief). PEAK Urban.

Gulabani, H., Lewis, V. F., & Anand, S. (2022). The application of granular economic data for improved planning and decision-making in Indian cities (Policy Brief). PEAK Urban.

Tripathy, P., Balakrishnan, K., de Franchis, C., & Kumar, A. (2022). Generating megacity-scale building height maps without DGNSS surveyed GCPs: An open-source approach. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science.

Mitra, S., & Pattela, O. N. (2022). Unpacking impact of real estate policies and regulations on inclusive housing development in India (Policy Brief). PEAK Urban.

Anand, S., & Dey, A. (2021). Industrial destabilisation: The case of Rajajinagar, Bangalore. Urban Studies, 59(13), 2660-2678.

Srinivas, A., & Rao, P. (2021, July 30). Planning The colonial legacy of discriminatory housing. The India Forum..

Bhatikar, T., & Sami, N. (2021). Cities and regions in South Asia. In. A. M. Orum, J. Ruiz-Tagle, & S. V. Haddock (Eds.), Companion to urban and regional studies (pp. 3-20). Wiley Blackwell.

Sami, N., & Anand, S. (2021). Expert advice? assessing the role of the state in promoting privatized planning. In C. Hurl, & A. Vogelpohl (Eds.), Professional service firms and politics in a global era: Public policy, private expertise (pp. 273-292). Palgrave Macmillan.

Tomer, S. K., Sekhar, M., Balakrishnan, K., Malghan, D., Thiyaku, S., Gautam, M., & Mehta, V. K. (2021). A model-based estimate of the groundwater budget and associated uncertainties in Bengaluru, India. Urban Water Journal, 18(1), 1-11.

Neto-Bradley, A. P., Rangarajan, R., Choudhary, R., & Bazaz, A. (2021). Energy transition pathways amongst low-income urban households: A mixed method clustering approach. MethodsX, 8, Article 101491.

Neto-Bradley, A. P., Rangarajan, R., Choudhary, R., & Bazaz, A. (2020). A clustering approach to clean cooking transition pathways for low-income households in Bangalore. Sustainable Cities and Society, 66. 102697.

Tripathy, P., Rao, P., Balakrishnan, K., & Malladi, T. (2020). An open-source tool to extract natural continuity and hierarchy of urban street networks. Environment and planning B: urban analytics and city science, 48(8), 2188-2205.

Surie, A. (2020, August 17). Pandemic exposure: ‘Platform’ infrastructure in public use in India. COMPAS Coronavirus and Mobility Forum.

Keith, M., O’Clery, N., Parnell, S., & Revi, A. (2020). The future of the future city? The new urban sciences and a PEAK Urban interdisciplinary disposition. Cities, 105, 102820.

Rao, P., & Suman, S. D. (2020, May 01). Photo essay: A study of contrasts in Bengaluru’s ‘High-tech’ zone. Economic & Political Weekly Engage. .

Balakrishnan, K. (2020). A method for urban population density prediction at 30m resolution. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 47(3), 193-213.

Dey, A., & Pendharkar, A. (2019, October 12). Map: How Bangalore’s IT sector flowered from a princely state Diwan’s industrial dream in 1911. Scroll.in.

Arakali, A., & Koduganti, J. (2020). Large infrastructure projects: The emergence of corridors in Asia. In G. Bracken, P. Rabé, R. Parthasarathy, N. Sami, & B. Zhang (Eds.), Future challenges of cities in Asia. Amsterdam University Press.