Many of the streets of Yelahanka are buzzing with life during the day, as students, workers and residents occupy the parks, street corners and snack shops. But as the sun sets, certain sections of the community feel trepidation towards public space. Maps of Yelahanka-after-dark show high incidents of crime, disproportionately affecting women. Concerned by these findings, we asked women from diverse community groups (taking care to reach out to women from different classes, occupations, and socio-economic groups) how they felt about the area in the evenings. We were saddened to hear many women felt unsafe, and this posed restrictions in their daily lives. Female college students residing in hostels are not allowed outside after 6pm. We began to observe how differences in age, class, economic status and other factors correlated with limitations to move around Yelahanka in the evenings.

Our research into public safety and crime prevention alerted us to studies showing that streets are made safer by mixed activities in the evenings. Our thoughts were drawn to markets, and vegetable shopping as an activity largely still undertaken by women. The market is a hub for diverse women of Yelahanka, deeply stereotypical as this may be. We ask, can the everyday activity of vegetable shopping be harnessed to address the issue of women’s safety?

Our project proposes an intervention in public space. Taking inspiration from the country’s rich tradition of craftsmanship, performance, procession and spectacle, we will build a moving market for Yelahanka. Our project invites residents to occupy public space after dark – to enjoy and, more practically, buy vegetables from a decorated and mobile train of connected produce carts. This moving market seeks to be a vector of transformation in the local area, capturing social attention whilst offering purchasing convenience across a planned route in the neighbourhood. This project questions – can a moving market bring activity, life and safety to the streets of Yelahanka?

This project was facilitated and curated by Hannah Kemp-Welch as part of the ‘Social Listening’ project at the Srishti Interim of 2023. Curator: Hannah Kemp-Welch

SMI Co-Faculty: Swaroop Vijay Sardeshmukh

Crew: Spriha Das

This was co-created with

Adhavan Mohana Sivaraj, Jyotsna Shiv Ganesh, Ujaan Abhijit Devleena, George Varghese Panicker