Colombo Urban Lab

15/12/2025

Whether after floods or in long-term urban redevelopment, relocation cannot simply mean “moving people out.”
It must ensure access to livelihoods, schools, community networks, mobility, and safety.
Past experiences , from the URP to post-tsunami housing , show the dangers of relocation that ignores lived realities.
A transformative recovery means rebuilding homes and rebuilding the systems that allow families to live with security, dignity, and connection.
Read our article to learn more:
https://www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colombos-recovery-from-cyclone-ditwah-be-transformative/

12/12/2025

In our recovery from Cyclone Ditwah, cash transfers alone will not suffice. With many affected urban poor families still excluded from receiving social security, support must be tailored to needs that address nutrition, education, loss of household items and assets etc. Equitable recovery requires universal, dignified, and accessible social protection that supports people before, during, and after disasters.
Read our article to learn what a transformative recovery can look like:
https://www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colombos-recovery-from-cyclone-ditwah-be-transformative/

11/12/2025

Ditwah showed how unprepared our systems are to respond to real human needs.

Without accurate data on vulnerabilities, shelters, income loss, or displaced families, relief becomes inconsistent and unequal.

Transformative recovery requires proactive governance, not reactive fixes.
Planning with real data , and with communities, is the foundation of equitable disaster response.

Read our article to learn what a transformative recovery can look like : https://www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colombos-recovery-from-cyclone-ditwah-be-transformative/

10/12/2025

The floods following Cyclone Ditwah revealed deep gaps in Sri Lanka’s disaster preparedness, social protection, and urban planning systems.
The article outlines three shifts needed for Colombo’s recovery to be genuinely transformative:
- Better planning and better data
- Social protection that goes beyond narrow targeting
- Housing and relocation rooted in lived realities
This 4-part series breaks down why these lessons matter and what it would take to rebuild with justice, care, and equity at the centre.

Read the article here: https://www.csf-asia.org/how-can-colombos-recovery-from-cyclone-ditwah-be-transformative/

27/11/2025

What happens when infrastructure designed for exports meets everyday food realities in Colombo?
Colombo Urban Lab Research Associate Meghal Perera's new article in Roadsides unpacks how the Peliyagoda Fish Market’s cold-chain infrastructure collides with local ideas of freshness, affordability and survival , revealing how vendors innovate, resist, and re-engineer systems built for export markets.
Read the article here: https://roadsides.webflow.io/articles/8248"

25/11/2025

Devana Senanayake’s new piece for The New Inquiry traces Colombo’s housing crisis from Keuneman and Premadasa to the URP’s “vertical slums” , drawing on Colombo Urban Lab’s research on spatial justice and our report "Built on Sand".
It also features reflections from CUL Director Iromi Perera, on how “slum-free” policies deepen poverty, weaponise the grid, and erase decades of community-led housing gains.
Click here to read the article : https://thenewinquiry.com/housing-crisis-in-the-garden-city-of-the-east/"

people in cities across the Global North are unable to access affordable housing, their comrades in the Global South are dispossessed of houses that they and their families have lived in for genera…

20/11/2025

"Creating homes, not houses. This change is possible; we see it all over the world in cities and even in student projects. They inspire us to realise that another future is possible. Our cities are already here. They are built. The challenge is to imagine the housing strategy of the future - not one that is built on a blank canvas, but a strategy that incorporates the realities of today like climate change and struggling economies, and what is yet to come."

At the National Housing Symposium 2025 held at Temple Trees, Colombo Urban Lab Director Iromi Perera stated that the challenge facing planners and architects was to shift to an interdisciplinary, holistic, and visionary approach to housing in Sri Lanka. She said that instead of reading about the work of Geoffrey Bawa or beautiful beachside villas of Sri Lanka, that the challenge instead should be to be known for our novel and empathetic approaches to creating homes and not houses for low-income communities - an approach Sri Lanka actually pioneered in the 1980's. The symposium was organised by the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing to mark World Habitat Day.

19/11/2025

Colombo Urban Lab's Iromi Perera will be speaking on a panel at the Sri Lanka Design Festival 2025. Join us on Sunday, 23 November 2025 at Level 8, The Shoppes, Cinammon Life at City of Dreams.

The discussion will explore on what city branding reveals about our national identity, who determines what our cities stand for and how they are marketed to all audiences, ensuring that we design and brand our urban spaces for the people who live there, not just those who visit.

For more information on the festival and related events, visit www.srilankadesignfestival.lk

30/10/2025

Sri Lankan urban women face multifaceted impacts from heat stress. Women are disproportionately affected by extreme heat due to a variety of factors, including health risks, additional care burdens, and a lack of gender-targeted resource support. At Colombo Urban Lab, our research on heat stress in Colombo highlighted that female outdoor and informal workers face challenges accessing affordable, safe and clean public spaces (e.g. public bathrooms), which can increase their health risks and income earnings. Therefore, heat stress adaptation policies need to provide gender-specific targeted responses to better serve women. What are some of the impacts and policy responses? Read our new blog post to find out.

Sri Lankan urban women face multifaceted impacts from heat stress. Women are disproportionately affected by extreme heat due to a variety of factors, including health risks, additional care burdens, and a lack of gender-targeted resource support. Heat stress adaptation policies need to provide gende...

24/10/2025

In Colombo’s post-relocation high-rises, parks are not amenities, they are everyday infrastructure for health, safety, social connection, and climate resilience. This long read follows four Wanathamulla parks to show how proximity, shade, visibility, and community stewardship turn space into belonging.
From temple courtyards to football fields, these parks show that leisure is not a luxury - it is a right that is embedded in care, safety, and belonging.
Have a look at the long read here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3971fce22dbc47cf8875d79d74e13e00"

02/10/2025

We are excited to share the first edition of the Colombo Urban Lab New Publications Newsletter!

Inside, you’ll find a round-up of our recent publications and research activities.

Read the newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/bdf7f65eef55/colombo-urban-lab-quarterly-newsletter-14176889

Stay updated on our work—subscribe here:
https://mailchi.mp/7befc40b1618/sign-up-for-colombo-urban-labs-quarterly-newsletter

01/10/2025

Meet the Minds Behind the Dialogue ✨️

We are honored to present the distinguished Panelists and Presenters of the National Symposium on Housing in Sri Lanka 2025: Policy, Strategy and Design. 🏠
Join us as thought leaders, policymakers, and experts come together to shape the future of housing and communities in Sri Lanka.

📍 Temple Trees
📅 5th October 2025 | 1.00 PM - 3.30 PM

Online registration is available here:

https://forms.gle/LeUQPbQnYJMJrCQQ6

Kindly note that only pre-registrations are allowed for participation in the event. Please be sure to register here at the earliest to ensure a smooth entry and comfortable experience.