ITDP’s Our Cities Ourselves exhibition opened at the Kanoria Centre for Arts on September 20, 2011. The opening featured distinguished speakers including Shri Asit Vora Mayor, Ahmedabad; Shri I. P. Gautam, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Government of Gujarat; Shri G. Mahapatra, Commissioner, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Mr. Sam Miller, Director, Media Development, BBC World Service Trust and author of the best-seller “Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity”. 

The urban visioning exhibition comes to India during a world tour that has attracted tens of thousands of attendees in New York City, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. The centerpiece of India’s incarnation of Our Cities Ourselves includes renderings for Ahmedabad, developed by ten architects based on ITDP’s principles for transport in urban life. The evocative images bring to life the potential future of global cities and aim to facilitate an exchange of ideas on present urban conditions, key challenges, and possible solutions to realize a vision for more sustainable cities.

ITDP’s India office has also organized a simultaneous, parallel exhibition, Vision of Ahmedabad, at a nearby venue, Amdavad ni gufa. Vision of Ahmedabad draws together six leading architects from Ahmedabad to imagine what the city could look like in 2030. The vision they have created embrace the unique character of Ahmedabad while seeking a more equitable and environmentally sustainable future using the Principles for Transport in Urban Life. This exhibition is being held in association with Environmental Planning Collaborative (EPC).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mayor Shri Vora said, “Parking, pollution and traffic are some of the city’s major concerns and ITDP’s exhibition lends insight into the possible solutions.”