How do socioeconomic inequality, gender dynamics, and informal systems influence mobility in South Asian cities? Watch this recording of the VREF Next Generation Scholars community’s Share Your Science Forum, exploring access, power, and inclusive transport planning across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Urban mobility in South Asian cities cannot be understood solely through infrastructure capacity or network expansion. Questions of access, representation, and power determine who moves freely, whose travel patterns are prioritized, and who remains overlooked by conventional planning regimes. While walking, public transit, and informal transport form the backbone of daily life across the region, their accessibility is shaped by intersecting realities of gender, income, spatial segregation, and governance.

The Share Your Science Forum – Special Theme: South Asia brought together early-career researchers and peers across VREF’s three key programs – Informal and Shared Mobility in Low and Middle Income Countries (ISM), Mobility and Access in African Cities (MAC), and Walking as a Mode of Transport (Walking).

Session Highlights & Presentations

Walking Access and Socioeconomic Realities in Lahore, Pakistan
Dr. Muhammad Nadeem (University of Management and Technology, Lahore) presented spatial and socioeconomic determinants governing who walks to metro stations in Lahore, followed by critical commentary from discussant Daniel Neville DSouza (CEPT University, India).

Integrating Public Transport and IPT Through a GEDSI Lens in Erode, India
Kavya Muthukrishnan (Council on Energy, Environment and Water – CEEW) examined the integration of intermediate public transport (IPT) and formal buses through Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) frameworks, with reflections from discussant Sana Iqbal (Pakistan).

Livelihoods and the Politics of Informal Transport in Bangladesh
Shahinur Bashar analyzed the vulnerability, labor precarity, and everyday politics underpinning informal transport networks in Bangladesh, discussed in depth by Nishant Singh (Indian Institute for Human Settlements – IIHS).

The session was moderated by Nisha Nair and Shahan Ahmed, with opening remarks from Henrik Nolmark (Executive Director, VREF) and an overview of the Next Generation Initiative by Paschalin Basil and Shahan Ahmed. Logistical coordination was hosted by Karin Henriksson (VREF). For questions regarding the Next Generation Scholars community or upcoming forums, please contact secretariat@vref.se.