What If Children Designed Our Cities? HC E16 | Ruchi Varma, CEO- HumanQind | Ruchita Bansal

About the Episode: In this episode of The Human City Podcast, we explore a radical but deeply practical idea: children as co-designers of cities.My guest, Ruchi Varma, is the founder of @humanqind, a social innovation initiative that has worked with children to redesign school streets and public spaces across Delhi. From the “250 Metres of Happiness” project to city-wide collaborations with government departments, this conversation goes far beyond urban design.We talk about:Why Indian cities systematically ignore childrenWhat children notice in streets that adults don’tHow school streets became a gateway to safer, more humane citiesWhy street safety is not just an engineering problemWhat it really takes to work with government systemsThe hidden costs of being a social entrepreneurWhy compassion, not speed, may be the missing currency in city-makingOne simple takeaway:A different future is possible. Go ask the first child near you.About the Guest: Ruchi Varma is an architect, urban designer, and social entrepreneur, and the founder of Humankind — a child-led city-making initiative focused on street safety, care, and inclusion.Her work brings children into the heart of urban decision-making, treating them not as passive users of space but as legitimate stakeholders and co-creators. Through participatory workshops, on-ground design, and collaboration with government institutions, Humankind has helped reimagine school streets and public spaces across multiple districts in Delhi.Ruchi is an Echoing Green Fellow and has worked closely with public agencies including transport departments, education systems, and public works departments to embed child-centred design within formal governance structures.She is known for advocating a care-based, human-centred approach to city-making, and for challenging the idea that cities must choose speed and efficiency over dignity and safety.Connect with her on Linkedin:   / ruchivarma  Explore more of her work here: https://www.humanqind.org/------------------------About the Host:The Human City Podcast is hosted by Ruchita Bansal, an accomplished urban planner and project management professional with 15+ years of experience. She has led multi-billion-dollar development projects and sustainable mobility programs across India, including her leadership role at the Ayodhya Development Authority.Ruchita is also the founder of SheCity India, a platform for gender-inclusive urban planning, storytelling, and data-driven advocacy.--------------------------About The Human City Podcast:This podcast brings together global voices and local insights to explore how cities can be made more inclusive, sustainable, and human-centered. Each episode uncovers what it takes to design cities that truly work for people.“The Human City Podcast is an initiative of SheCity India — building gender-inclusive, human-centered cities.”