In 2024, South Asian countries faced elections and numerous economic stressors. In this context, cities, which have been subject to rapid transformations over decades of development and political projects are an important site of observation in how these developments play out. In this episode of South Asia Chat, Professor Nihal Perera, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning at Ball State University, US, speaks to Dr Rajni Gamage, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, on the transformation of cities in South Asia and the politics of space in Sri Lanka.