Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava co-founded urbz.net, an experimental action and research collective specialising in participatory planning and design. Its clients include community groups, municipal governments, international organisations, private foundations and corporations. urbz has worked with citizens, organisations and municipalities in Mumbai, Bogotá, São Paulo, Geneva and Seoul. urbz's work was exhibited at MoMA in New York, MAXXI in Rome, MAK in Vienna, Istanbul Design Biennial, Chicago Architecture Biennial, Sao Paulo Cultural Center, and Bhau Daji Lad City Museum in Mumbai. They have been published in journals such as The Hindu, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Art India, Domus (Milan), Oxford University Press and Strelka Press (Moscow). The Homegrown City is the first major publication that summarises what they have learned from more than a decade of practice and engagement with cities. Matias has studied Economics and Political Science at London School of Economics, Urban Planning at Columbia University in New York and Urban Information Systems at University of Tokyo. Rahul has studied Sociology and Anthropology at St. Xavier's College (Mumbai), JNU (Delhi) and University of Cambridge (UK).

The Homegrown City argues that unplanned urban areas that have been shaped by their residents can be models of resilience and adaptability as well as affordability.