Design for All: How Cities Can Build Inclusive Commons

At the closing session of Porombokkiyal 2026, activist Archanaa Seker used a low-floor bus to illustrate how thoughtful design benefits everyone. A lower entrance helps wheelchair users, older passengers, children, and those carrying bags alike. Seker urged moving beyond viewing accessibility as accommodation for specific groups, calling instead for universal design principles.

Seker described commons as spaces created and cared for by communities, shaped by power dynamics. She traced this principle across physical infrastructure—roads, neighbourhoods—and digital networks like WhatsApp groups that coordinate mutual aid. Roads, she noted, serve multiple purposes; accommodating one use often requires negotiating with others.

Seker highlighted examples including Koffee and Karavalam, a women-identifying community of 200 discussing daily life concerns, and Chennai Rain Relief, which coordinates disaster response. These online communities, she said, demonstrate how people show up for one another through both routine gestures and meaningful support like therapy recommendations.