suparjya swain 
FEATURE: In the heart of Bhubaneswar, where cracked pavements once told tales of neglect and public walls wore the scars of neglect, urinal, spiting and posters, a silent revolution went underway. It didn’t arrive with sirens or ceremonial launches. It came with a brushstroke, a bicycle, and a belief—that cities are more than concrete. They are living ecosystems, breathing reflections of people, stories, and purpose. And at the center of this quiet transformation stood a man you’ve probably never heard of or seen cycling. But you’ve seen his work—on the walls, in the parks, in the way your city feels. Dr. Piyush Ranjan Rout, a geographer turned urban planner, didn’t just study cities—he reimagined them.
Born and raised in Odisha, Rout’s early life was defined by modesty, discipline, and an unwavering emphasis on education. After losing his father—an education professor—at a young age, Rout watched his mother and uncle raise four sons with resilience and resolve. Their home had little by way of wealth, but it overflowed with values Joint family. Education wasn’t a goal for him rather —it was a way of life.
After schooling government schools in Odisha and graduation from BJB College in Bhubaneswar, Rout pursued a Master’s degree at Utkal University, where he discovered the field that would define his life—urban planning. The idea that one could shape the form, function, and future of a city sparked something within him. It wasn’t just about buildings or bylaws; it was about people, space, planet,dignity, and design.
At a time when the concept of town planning was almost unheard of in Odisha, Rout applied to CEPT University in Ahmedabad, India’s most prestigious institution for planning. Just getting in was considered a feat. He made it—and what followed was a journey that spanned continents, institutions, and ideologies.
A fellowship took him to the Netherlands, where he witnessed cities designed not around cars, but people. Hockey turfs in neighborhoods, cyclists with right of way, vibrant public spaces—he saw what it meant for a city to empower its citizens. Later, thanks in various fellowships travelled across the globe in pursuing higher studies or presenting Various urban research and innovative initiatives. In over two and half decades he left his foot prints with global institutions like the United Nations, United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction, International City / County Management Association, International Council for Local Environmental Initiative, German Development Corporation and World Bank supported prgrammes and Government & Civil Society organisations etc added layers to his understanding. But for Rout, all roads led back to Odisha as he believe there is many possibilities in Odisha; even at a time many used to feel urban planning was part of health and family planning.
When he returned, he found a system still asleep to the possibilities of urban planning. Interestingly Odisha hadn’t recruited a town planner since the early 90’s. In another timeline, he might have become the Chief Town Planner by had he got an opportunity to to serve Government. But Rout wasn’t interested in waiting for government services. Rather He began working alongside in partnership with government, shaping outcomes from the sidelines. He facilitated form Odisha’s municipal association, designed training programs for mayors and city officials, and created study tours to expose local leaders to global best practices. He had no official post, no press coverage—just a quiet insistence of believing that better cities were possible.
One of his most visible legacies began with something simple: a distaste for Bhubaneswar’s grimy, poster-covered walls. When a top official in the Urban Development Department voiced the same frustration, Rout proposed something radical—why not turn those walls into public art gallery of Bhubaneswar Living Heritage Street that told Odisha’s story? From the Ratha Jatra to tribal heritage and maritime glory, every wall could become a living canvas for not just visitors of formal Art Galleries into street where Rikshaw Puller to Foreign Tourist could admire city’s beauties that were once presented inside four walls where are not allowed or they don’t have time to visit. Corporates extended their support as part of corporate social responsibility and local artists ropoed into do the to Task. Bhubaneswar’s streets bloomed with color, and its culture came alive on concrete. The idea spread—to Surat, to Puri, and beyond. In 2016, the project earned a place on The Guardian Cities’ global innovation shortlist. The walls of Odisha had started to speak—and the world was listening.
But Rout’s vision went far beyond paint. As early as 1999, he was advocating for solid waste reforms—long before “waste segregation” and “composting” entered the national vocabulary. In Berhampur, he helped revive forgotten water bodies by tracing British-era canals and rejuvenating dying lakes. Local resistance turned hostile—once, his taxi was even chased by angry goons—but he kept going. The lakes came back to life. The city, slowly, began to remember what it had forgotten. The initiative got National Urban Water Award and initiative further replicated in otherwiser citieses of Odisha.
In a city increasingly strangled by traffic, Rout championed something radical: the bicycle. “Without cycling soldiers, roads will never be enough,” he told officials, who mostly laughed. But he persisted—and helped Bhubaneswar get its first dedicated bike lane. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. Years later, a Dutch NGO appointed him the city’s first “Bicycle Mayor.” Not because he was a professional cyclist—but because he saw what others didn’t.
Education remained at the core of his work. In 2015, Rout advocated with state Government to launch Odisha’s first urban planning course at what is now the Odisha University of Technology and Research. Today, he teaches there, introducing young minds to bold concepts like the 15-Minute City, Public Policy. and the need for inclusive, policy-led planning. Even when Odisha missed the chance to host a National School of Planning and Architecture, Rout didn’t wait to mourn. He built from scratch—raising a generation of planners who could shape cities with vision and integrity.You can trace his impact across the state.
The Kalinga Stadium where in childhood he use to lead his school in parade and volunteering for 1999 super cyclones —now India’s premier hockey hub—was one of his idea at the state administration that Odisha must build Astro Turf and let Hockey gave Odisha an Identity. The idea was well taken post 2012 London Olympics and a series action by Government put Bhubaneswar in global map for Sports.
One of his idea that popped up in 2010 the first organised public bus services in Bhubaneswar. It as phase where trust deficit on public bus service as well as introducing air-conditioned city buses was a joke. But he could convinced the decision maker not only run public buses but also introduced AC Buses. Today fifteen year down the line Public Bus services is not only serving people of Bhubaneswar but across cities and towns of Odisha. Another brainchild of his, implemented at a time when many thought Odisha was too poor for such “luxuries.”
Even the state’s much-lauded disaster preparedness model post the 1999 super cyclone owes part of its origin to Rout’s early interventions and later on appointed by UNISDR now UNDRR as Making Cities Resilient Campaign Advocate bridge Odisha initiatives with UN agencies led Odisha got appreciation as Model in Global Disaster Management from Special Representative of UN.
As a columnist, Dr. Piyush Ranjan Rout has long used the written word to spark dialogue on cities, governance, and sustainability—crafting compelling narratives in English for national and global audiences. But it was only when he began writing in Odia that his words truly came home. The response was overwhelming—calls from villages, letters from everyday readers who saw their lives reflected for the first time. English gave him reach, but Odia gave him roots. In both languages, his pen remains a quiet force for urban transformation.
For Dr. Piyush Ranjan Rout, the city has never been a riddle to solve. It’s been a promise to keep. A story to shape. A future to draw—one mural, one policy, one student at a time.
Interestingly unlike his classmates he never sat for the civil services. He never chased designations. But speak to anyone who’s watched Bhubaneswar change—or Odisha come into its own—and they’ll tell you: the soul of this city was stirred by a man who never needed a nameplate to make a difference.
His reward was never the award. It was the sight of a city breathing easier, moving smarter, living with more pride.
As Odisha looks ahead to its centenary in 2036, Rout offers a simple vision: “Build good cities, nurture good people, make technology & innovation led policies and gave it back to people for a better future.”
He’s been quietly doing just that—for over two and half decades.
