Placemaking Weekend India, 2026
At the end of February 2026, I attended Placemaking Weekend India in Goa, organised by Placemaking India and The Urban Vision. The theme was regenerative tourism, and Goa, with all its contradictions and complexity, turned out to be a perfect setting in which to explore the theme.
Prathima Manohar of The Urban Vision introducing the programme of the weekend
The weekend kicked off with a creative session co-hosted by the Goa Zine Festival, where each participant had the chance to make a zine as part of a process for forming something of a collective manifesto for placemaking in Goa. I really enjoyed this methodology. It gave people the freedom to be creative and expressive while still providing a structure for gathering and focusing thoughts, a nice balance that I don't always see in participatory formats.
What followed was a rich programme of panel discussions representing a broad range of perspectives from urban and rural tourism contexts. Two highlights stood out for me: hearing about Suyatri, a sustainable tour company doing thoughtful work in the region, and learning about the mixed reality projects of Anand Babu, who is using immersive technology to bring long-lost heritage back to life and tell the stories of historic monuments in compelling new ways.
One morning began with an introduction to local challenges from the Charles Correa Foundation, followed by a visit to the Fontainhas neighbourhood, a place struggling with a very particular form of over-tourism that creates daily friction for residents trying simply to live their lives. It was a reminder that the impacts of tourism are rarely abstract; they land somewhere specific, and on specific people.
All of this unfolded against the backdrop of recent popular protests against changes to Goa's planning laws; changes that many feel give developers something close to carte blanche to build higher and denser, with little regard for the state's distinctive ecology, architecture, or cultural character. It added an urgency to the conversations that was impossible to ignore.
Mapping Fountainhas
For my own part, I presented the work we are busy with as part of InclusiveCity in Rotterdam and shared how Rotterdam has used cultural tourism as a strategy in redevelopment of former industrial areas, something that India seems to grapple with in different ways.
My main takeaway was a much more grounded understanding of Goa and the Goans. I arrived with preconceptions, the cliché of trance music, drugs, and ageing hippies. That image, I think, can now be retired. Yes, that dimension exists, but it is far from the full picture. What I encountered was a vibrant, confident, and ecologically conscious part of India, one with a deep love of its extraordinary green landscape and a strong sense of its own identity.
The people I met were among the most generous I've had the pleasure of encountering anywhere. As it happened, military actions in Iran and across the Middle East left me stranded in Goa for a few extra days, an unexpected extension that I tried to make the most of. Dean D'Cruz and Joanna Pyres took me in, organised day trips, fed me well, and generally treated me like one of the family. I won't forget that.
I leave with a deeper understanding of Goa and a growing curiosity about the work being done by the people and organisations shaping its future. I'll be back.
