As part of World Water Day 2026, the French Development Agency (AFD) and Les Ateliers organise a conference revisiting the question of water, building on the reflections developed during the international workshop held in Hyderabad in 2024: Water and Metropolitanisation – A bioclimatic city of lakes, Hyderabad comes full circle as Health Capital of the world.

The Hidden Life of Urban Water is a conference that invites us to reflect on the deep relationship between cities and water — an ancient connection that is often forgotten, yet essential for imagining the cities of tomorrow.

Cities were born from water. So why have we buried it?

From Hyderabad’s vanishing lakes to Delhi’s forgotten Yamuna, cities are gradually losing this hidden world of lakes, ponds, baolis, canals and wetlands that once cooled neighbourhoods, sustained communities and brought people together.

This open conversation invites us to rediscover the invisible life of water in cities:
how it flows, how it supports urban ecosystems, and how it shapes the way we live in urban environments.

Together, we will explore several key questions:

What have we lost as these traditional water infrastructures disappear?
And most importantly: what would it take to bring them back today?

This discussion will be an opportunity to imagine new ways of reconnecting cities with their water landscapes, for urban environments that are more resilient, more vibrant and more human.

Practical information

📍 Location: Alliance Française de Delhi
📅 Date: 23 March
🕘 Time: 9:30 am – 11:30 am

This conference in Delhi will bring together anyone interested in the future of cities and in how water can once again become a central element of urban life.

Speaker and facilitator

Reena Mahajan is an urban planner and architect advocating for people-centred, nature-positive cities. She is the founder of Studio DiverCity and creator of See Your Street Differently, a video series that makes complex urban ideas accessible to everyday audiences. In 2024 she co-led the international urban workshop Water and Metropolitanisation in Hyderabad with Les Ateliers.

Consult the productions of the workshop in Hyderabad : https://ateliers.org/fr/workshops/238/