Last week we asked you - 'what are some of the markets you like and why do you like them?' Here are some of the answers we got!

A new publication by CSF explores the proliferation of algorithms in platform-based gig work, and draws on field research from Sri Lanka on implications for gig workers in the delivery and ride-hailing occupations. csf-asia.org/algorithms-at-… Anisha

What makes a neighbourhood sustainable? Insights from the Colombo Settlements Survey 2023: csf-asia.org/settlements-in…

Households in low income settlements are long standing residents of #Colombo . Yet many have been uprooted from their multigenerational homes and forcibly relocated.

The Colombo Settlements Survey 2023 was a census of all low income neighbourhoods in Colombo city. CUL Researcher Nimaya Dahanayake unpacks what happened behind the scenes and the preparation prior to data collection.
csf-asia.org/behind-the-sce…

How are Colombo’s settlements different from the region?For comparison, the most common type of housing in Kolkata (74.5%) and Dhaka (52.3%) is semi-permanent. In Colombo, 93% of settlements have permanent houses.98% of Colombo's settlements can be classified as on-site upgraded.

The Colombo Settlements Survey 2023 findings show that descriptions of the neighbourhoods of working class poor as ‘slums and shanties’ or ‘underserved settlements’ are inaccurate. Meghal Perera dives into why terminology around these neighbourhoods matters.csf-asia.org/are-colombos-w…

The iconic isso vadai cart vendors have been vending from the pavement on Galle Road since they were banned from the seafront. Vendors have previously been dispossessed from their homes in Kompannyaveediya due to development projects & now their livelihoods face the same fate.

As of 2023, there were 1360 low-income settlements within the Colombo Municipality limits. Settlements in Colombo are unique, compared to other cities of the Global South as it does not have a trend of sprawling slums and shanties. Read the overview here:
csf-asia.org/does-colombo-h…

In a bid to gentrify Galle Face Green in #colombo , the iconic isso vadai cart vendors haven't been allowed to vend from the seafront since February 4, 2024. To date they have been vending from the pavement & are told their permanent eviction is imminent.

sundaytimes.lk/240331/news/th…

There is an illusion that the crisis in Sri Lanka is over - but for Colombo's working class poor it is anything but. Research Associate at Colombo Urban Lab Anisha explores: groundviews.org/2024/03/25/the…

Colombo Urban Lab hosted 'Communicating Crisis' - a panel discussion with Namini Wijedasa Andrew Fidel Fernando Anush Wijesinha Iromi Perera and Sonali Deraniyagala exploring how economic indicators compare with people’s lived experiences and how we can collectively amplify voices from the ground.

Last month we asked our Instagram community, 'how do you perceive fruits & vegetables to be fresh?'. Whilst reflecting on these responses, have you ever wondered what what infrastructural considerations help to keep food fresh and how it differs across different types of vendors?

“You’re trying to mimic what you think is a world-class aesthetic but losing the unique identity of Galle Face and its iconic carts.” CUL's @IromiP on the recent moving of vendors sundaytimes.lk/240331/news/th…

Director of Colombo Urban Lab Iromi Perera writes on the gendered burden of Sri Lanka's economic crisis, and how women's time poverty has increased over the past few years:

ids.ac.uk/opinions/the-g…