Colombo Urban Lab
@colombourbanlab.bsky.social
With a focus on themes such as infrastructure, food environment, social security, public space; and rooted in ethical engagement with communities, our mission is to produce knowledge on equitable and sustainable cities in Sri Lanka.
In our recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, ad-hoc targetted cash transfers will not suffice as many urban poor families still fall through the cracks.
We need universal, dignified social protection for real recovery.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
We need universal, dignified social protection for real recovery.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
December 12, 2025 at 6:48 AM
In our recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, ad-hoc targetted cash transfers will not suffice as many urban poor families still fall through the cracks.
We need universal, dignified social protection for real recovery.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
We need universal, dignified social protection for real recovery.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
Ditwah exposed how unprepared our systems are. Without real data on vulnerabilities, shelters, income loss, or displacement, relief becomes unequal.
Transformative recovery needs proactive planning with communities.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
Transformative recovery needs proactive planning with communities.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
December 11, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Ditwah exposed how unprepared our systems are. Without real data on vulnerabilities, shelters, income loss, or displacement, relief becomes unequal.
Transformative recovery needs proactive planning with communities.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
Transformative recovery needs proactive planning with communities.
Read more here:
www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
The floods following Cyclone Ditwah exposed deep gaps in Sri Lanka’s disaster planning, social protection, and urban policy.
We break down the three shifts Colombo needs to build back better.
Read the article here www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
We break down the three shifts Colombo needs to build back better.
Read the article here www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
December 10, 2025 at 5:18 AM
The floods following Cyclone Ditwah exposed deep gaps in Sri Lanka’s disaster planning, social protection, and urban policy.
We break down the three shifts Colombo needs to build back better.
Read the article here www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
We break down the three shifts Colombo needs to build back better.
Read the article here www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colo...
"What happens when export-focused infrastructure meets everyday food realities in Colombo?
Colombo Urban Lab Research Associate Meghal Perera’s article in @roadsides.bsky.social reveals how vendors reshape the cold chain to survive.
Read it here: roadsides.webflow.io/articles/8248 "
Colombo Urban Lab Research Associate Meghal Perera’s article in @roadsides.bsky.social reveals how vendors reshape the cold chain to survive.
Read it here: roadsides.webflow.io/articles/8248 "
November 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM
"What happens when export-focused infrastructure meets everyday food realities in Colombo?
Colombo Urban Lab Research Associate Meghal Perera’s article in @roadsides.bsky.social reveals how vendors reshape the cold chain to survive.
Read it here: roadsides.webflow.io/articles/8248 "
Colombo Urban Lab Research Associate Meghal Perera’s article in @roadsides.bsky.social reveals how vendors reshape the cold chain to survive.
Read it here: roadsides.webflow.io/articles/8248 "
Colombo Urban Lab’s Iromi Perera will join a panel at Sri Lanka Design Festival 2025 titled "Branding Cities for People, Not Just Tourists"
🗓️ Sunday, 23 November 2025, 15.45- 16.45
📍 Level 8, The Shoppes, Cinnamon Life
To learn more and register, visit www.srilankadesignfestival.lk
🗓️ Sunday, 23 November 2025, 15.45- 16.45
📍 Level 8, The Shoppes, Cinnamon Life
To learn more and register, visit www.srilankadesignfestival.lk
November 19, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Colombo Urban Lab’s Iromi Perera will join a panel at Sri Lanka Design Festival 2025 titled "Branding Cities for People, Not Just Tourists"
🗓️ Sunday, 23 November 2025, 15.45- 16.45
📍 Level 8, The Shoppes, Cinnamon Life
To learn more and register, visit www.srilankadesignfestival.lk
🗓️ Sunday, 23 November 2025, 15.45- 16.45
📍 Level 8, The Shoppes, Cinnamon Life
To learn more and register, visit www.srilankadesignfestival.lk
Leisure isn’t a luxury - it’s a right.
In Colombo’s low-income communities, parks are vital for care, safety, and connection.
Stories from 4 parks in Wanathamulla show how communities turn space into belonging.
Link to the long read here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3971...
In Colombo’s low-income communities, parks are vital for care, safety, and connection.
Stories from 4 parks in Wanathamulla show how communities turn space into belonging.
Link to the long read here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3971...
October 24, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Leisure isn’t a luxury - it’s a right.
In Colombo’s low-income communities, parks are vital for care, safety, and connection.
Stories from 4 parks in Wanathamulla show how communities turn space into belonging.
Link to the long read here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3971...
In Colombo’s low-income communities, parks are vital for care, safety, and connection.
Stories from 4 parks in Wanathamulla show how communities turn space into belonging.
Link to the long read here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3971...
CSF Director Iromi Perera will speak at the National Symposium on Housing at Temple Trees, organised by the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing alongside World Habitat Day 2025, focusing on inclusive & sustainable housing for Sri Lanka
October 1, 2025 at 10:17 AM
CSF Director Iromi Perera will speak at the National Symposium on Housing at Temple Trees, organised by the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing alongside World Habitat Day 2025, focusing on inclusive & sustainable housing for Sri Lanka
Evicted overnight. Homes bulldozed. Compensation denied. Colombo’s “beautification” was enforced through militarised planning.
Read how poverty was policed through planning : www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
Read how poverty was policed through planning : www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
September 22, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Evicted overnight. Homes bulldozed. Compensation denied. Colombo’s “beautification” was enforced through militarised planning.
Read how poverty was policed through planning : www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
Read how poverty was policed through planning : www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
In Colombo, eviction was framed as liberation.
Media & state narratives cast poor communities as “squatters” & “slum dwellers,” justifying their removal.
Learn how stories were used as a strategy to criminalise Colombo's urban poor: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat... "
Media & state narratives cast poor communities as “squatters” & “slum dwellers,” justifying their removal.
Learn how stories were used as a strategy to criminalise Colombo's urban poor: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat... "
September 19, 2025 at 4:24 AM
In Colombo, eviction was framed as liberation.
Media & state narratives cast poor communities as “squatters” & “slum dwellers,” justifying their removal.
Learn how stories were used as a strategy to criminalise Colombo's urban poor: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat... "
Media & state narratives cast poor communities as “squatters” & “slum dwellers,” justifying their removal.
Learn how stories were used as a strategy to criminalise Colombo's urban poor: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat... "
Colombo’s wattes are rooted, self-built communities. Yet in the race to be “world-class,” they were recast as disorderly & removed. Urban planning became a tool of criminalisation.
Read more: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
Read more: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
September 18, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Colombo’s wattes are rooted, self-built communities. Yet in the race to be “world-class,” they were recast as disorderly & removed. Urban planning became a tool of criminalisation.
Read more: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
Read more: www.csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
What does it mean when informality is treated as a crime?
In Colombo, criminalisation is not just about what happens after an arrest. It is built into laws, planning, and design.
Learn how Colombo’s poor are criminalised beyond courts and prisons : csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
In Colombo, criminalisation is not just about what happens after an arrest. It is built into laws, planning, and design.
Learn how Colombo’s poor are criminalised beyond courts and prisons : csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
September 17, 2025 at 7:56 AM
What does it mean when informality is treated as a crime?
In Colombo, criminalisation is not just about what happens after an arrest. It is built into laws, planning, and design.
Learn how Colombo’s poor are criminalised beyond courts and prisons : csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
In Colombo, criminalisation is not just about what happens after an arrest. It is built into laws, planning, and design.
Learn how Colombo’s poor are criminalised beyond courts and prisons : csf-asia.org/criminalisat...
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September 11, 2025 at 2:53 AM
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September 11, 2025 at 2:53 AM
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Colombo is being reshaped to look “world-class” — but often at the cost of inclusivity.
Hostile architecture makes public spaces less welcoming for citizens, while prioritising visitors.
Read our StoryMap to learn more: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a277...
Hostile architecture makes public spaces less welcoming for citizens, while prioritising visitors.
Read our StoryMap to learn more: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a277...
September 11, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Colombo is being reshaped to look “world-class” — but often at the cost of inclusivity.
Hostile architecture makes public spaces less welcoming for citizens, while prioritising visitors.
Read our StoryMap to learn more: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a277...
Hostile architecture makes public spaces less welcoming for citizens, while prioritising visitors.
Read our StoryMap to learn more: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a277...
WEBINAR STARTING IN 30 MINUTES
We present findings from our policy brief on heat stress and outdoor workers, followed by a panel on extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts and urgent policy responses.
Join here: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646.
We present findings from our policy brief on heat stress and outdoor workers, followed by a panel on extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts and urgent policy responses.
Join here: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646.
July 22, 2025 at 12:29 PM
WEBINAR STARTING IN 30 MINUTES
We present findings from our policy brief on heat stress and outdoor workers, followed by a panel on extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts and urgent policy responses.
Join here: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646.
We present findings from our policy brief on heat stress and outdoor workers, followed by a panel on extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts and urgent policy responses.
Join here: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646.
HAPPENING TODAY
Join our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ at 6:30 PM IST / 2:00 PM UK.
We’ll share key insights on heat stress & outdoor workers, and discuss extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts, & policy solutions.
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
Join our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ at 6:30 PM IST / 2:00 PM UK.
We’ll share key insights on heat stress & outdoor workers, and discuss extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts, & policy solutions.
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
July 22, 2025 at 3:40 AM
HAPPENING TODAY
Join our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ at 6:30 PM IST / 2:00 PM UK.
We’ll share key insights on heat stress & outdoor workers, and discuss extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts, & policy solutions.
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
Join our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ at 6:30 PM IST / 2:00 PM UK.
We’ll share key insights on heat stress & outdoor workers, and discuss extreme heat in South Asia, its unequal impacts, & policy solutions.
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
HAPPENING TOMORROW
Our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ will present findings from our report on heat stress in Colombo, followed by a discussion on extreme heat in South Asia and policy solutions.
Time: 6.30pm IST/ 2.00pm UK
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
Our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ will present findings from our report on heat stress in Colombo, followed by a discussion on extreme heat in South Asia and policy solutions.
Time: 6.30pm IST/ 2.00pm UK
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
July 21, 2025 at 3:12 AM
HAPPENING TOMORROW
Our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ will present findings from our report on heat stress in Colombo, followed by a discussion on extreme heat in South Asia and policy solutions.
Time: 6.30pm IST/ 2.00pm UK
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
Our webinar ‘Boiling Point’ will present findings from our report on heat stress in Colombo, followed by a discussion on extreme heat in South Asia and policy solutions.
Time: 6.30pm IST/ 2.00pm UK
Click here to join: us02web.zoom.us/j/88231558646
Join us this weekend as Colombo Urban Lab’s Iromi Perera speaks at There Was Something Here Before — an exhibition tracing the entangled histories of slavery, memory & urban space between Sri Lanka & South Africa.
🗓️ July 19 📍Arcade Clock Tower, Colombo 7
Free Entry
🗓️ July 19 📍Arcade Clock Tower, Colombo 7
Free Entry
July 17, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Join us this weekend as Colombo Urban Lab’s Iromi Perera speaks at There Was Something Here Before — an exhibition tracing the entangled histories of slavery, memory & urban space between Sri Lanka & South Africa.
🗓️ July 19 📍Arcade Clock Tower, Colombo 7
Free Entry
🗓️ July 19 📍Arcade Clock Tower, Colombo 7
Free Entry
