Research Seminar: 'Fragmented Spaces, Connected Commons: Governance Beyond the State in Bengaluru’s Lake Systems'

Rapid urbanization in the global South is fundamentally reshaping how urban commons are governed, particularly ecological resources such as lakes. Using the Greater Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (GBMR), India, as a case, this talk explores how urban transformation alters actor networks, governance structures, and patterns of interaction in lake management across a rural–urban gradient. Drawing on Cox’s framework of spaces of dependence and engagement, I examine how governance shifts from state-dominated control toward more participatory and polycentric arrangements.

Based on qualitative social network analysis of interconnected lake systems, the study maps key actors involved in lake governance and examines their interactions—ranging from cooperation and competition to resistance and passive acceptance. Network measures such as degree and betweenness centrality are used to identify influential actors and governance brokers across rural, peri-urban, and urban contexts.

The findings reveal fragmented governance networks shaped by municipal boundaries, with rural lakes remaining largely hierarchical and state-driven. Peri-urban areas represent transitional governance spaces where community associations begin to mediate information and resource flows. In contrast, urban lakes exhibit more decentralized and collaborative governance, with NGOs and citizen groups playing central roles. Overall, the talk highlights how increasing participation of non-state actors enables a shift from dependence to engagement, illustrating emerging forms of governance beyond the state. The presentation concludes by discussing implications for sustaining urban commons and strengthening participatory governance in rapidly urbanizing regions.

Speaker

Dr Arvind Lakshmisha

Arvind Lakshmisha is an interdisciplinary researcher at Azim Premji University (India). He previously held the position of Research Associate and Doctoral Candidate at the Section of International Agricultural Policy and Environmental Governance, University of Kassel, Germany. At the University, he was a part of the Graduate Programme for Bangalore Dynamics focusing on rural-urban dynamics in Bengaluru. He was also part of the project FOR2432/2 funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) looking at understanding social-ecological systems in the rural-urban interface. He focussed on analysing the rural-urban dynamics and cross-scalar coordination and institutional change in water governance in Bengaluru, southern India.

During his previous work at the Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru, he worked extensively on issues of climate adaptation among fishing and agrarian communities in South Asia. He helped develop Climate Change Score Cards, a social accountability tool to help increase the accountability of local administration in areas of increasing vulnerability.