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WISE Locality Dahisar

From local concerns to collective action.

WISE Dahisar aims to be a connecting link for the locality: understanding what Dahisar needs, finding who can help and bringing the two together.

How you can join →Projects
Context

Every neighbourhood in a city has civic problems, and every neighbourhood also has people already working on them. These are community based organisations, NGOs, institutions, local businesses and active citizens. At the same time, there is a gap between the needs & issues of the localities and the solutions required for it. WISE aims to take a locality-based approach to that gap.

Instead of introducing a new project around a predetermined issue, the initiative begins by understanding the locality, connecting the people already working within it and creating ownership within the local citizens.

Why Dahisar

The BRM team has a long-standing familiarity with Dahisar with its office in Dahisar as well as existing relationships with local organisations and some access to elected representatives.

The challenge

Across localities, there is a gap between people recognising a problem and being able to act on it together.

Problems are visible, systems are notCitizens face issues every day but may not know how decisions are made, who is responsible, or where to take an issue.
People and efforts are disconnectedResidents, organisations and community groups already work on local issues, but their efforts rarely connect or build on each other.
Local knowledge is underusedPeople know their neighbourhood well, but there are few spaces to bring that knowledge together.
Action stops at awarenessConversations, campaigns and one-time activities create interest but seldom lead to a concrete response.
Limited capacity to solve togetherMoving an issue through the system takes relationships, coordination, persistence and knowing how the system works.
What WISE will do in Dahisar

WISE will act as a connecting link for the locality. We will map what Dahisar needs, find out who is already able to help, and bring the two together, so that local needs are met by the people and groups best placed to meet them.

Projects

To begin, we are running three small projects.

Each one invites residents to take part, and each one helps us listen, map and act.

1

Road Stories

QR codes on road signs that tell the story behind the road's name: who or what it is named after, and the history of the area around it.

How residents take part
Scan the QR, read the story and share what they know about the road.
What it leads to
Residents learn their locality's history, and local memories get recorded.
2

Garden Audit

A simple toolkit, developed by a Community Connect Fellow, to check public gardens: water use, waste, native plants, accessibility, safety, community use and maintenance.

How residents take part
Visit a garden, fill the 15 to 20 minute checklist and upload photos.
What it leads to
A short report with suggestions, shared with the BMC or local groups.
3

WISE Quotient Dahisar

A survey on how residents experience their locality across the four WISE lenses: Well-being, Inclusive, Sustainable, Entrepreneurial & Expression.

How residents take part
Answer the survey and help spread it in their building, group or workplace.
What it leads to
A clear picture of Dahisar's priorities, compared with Mumbai.
Working with local partners

Local organisations and CBOs are at the centre of this work. Each partnership will be shaped around what the partner does best.

Partners can

  • Share what they see the locality needs.
  • Tell us what they can offer residents.
  • Connect us with residents and other groups.
  • Take the lead on issues in their area of work.

Partners gain

  • New connections across Dahisar.
  • More residents who know about their work.
  • Resident insight from the WISE survey.
  • Support in solving a real local issue.
How you can join

Scan a road QR and add a story. Audit a garden near you. Fill the WISE Quotient survey and share it with your neighbours. If you are a local organisation, help us reach residents or take the lead on what you already do best.

akash.upase@brmworld.org →

Blue Ribbon Movement · 1st Floor, Pitru Chaaya Bungalow, Damodar Mhatre Road, Behind BMC Dispensary, Dahisar (West), Mumbai 400068

Who we are

Blue Ribbon Movement (BRM) is a youth-led organisation working on civic issues, community building and leadership, and the steward of WISE.

WISE is a narrative for diverse urban initiatives to coordinate action for urban change. WISE stands for four interconnected lenses: Well-being, Inclusive, Sustainable, Entrepreneurial & Expression. It brings together academicians, philanthropists, citizens and CSOs towards making the city better. Dahisar is the first locality where this approach is being tried on the ground.

wisecities.in →