URBIZEN

Driving down Worli, I noticed a change in the facade of one of the buildings of Shivsagar Estate. The Shivsagar Estate was designed by Architect IM Kadri in Modernist style typical of tropical countries, with louvres that defined the formality of the spaces within. One of the buildings has been clad with a glass curtain wall, disrupting the formal rhythm of the original design. I wonder what IM Kadri thinks about this?  Photo: IM Kadri Architects Photo: Samir Shaikh

TED Talk  by Geoffery West, a physicist and biologist about how large cities perform, reach a peak and then start stagnating or declining.

This is a very interesting graphic published in the Times of India recently, illustrating the "Principles of Road Design". The only detail missing here is the ultimate Right of Way (ROW) or total width of the street to accommodate all these functions. This shows an ideal situation, and may be implemented in a new planned city. But for existing cities, especially older cities, that have grown organically, where the streets were not laid out with the motor car in mind, implementing these strategies becomes a real challenge. Secondly, for the purpose of road widening, land has to be acquired on either side, which can be a tedious and long drawn out process in India. Lastly, for Indian cities, zone has to be clearly demarcated on streets for legal hawkers and street vendors.

Laid out in 1861, on an area of 48 acres, is the present Jijamata Udyan or the "Mumbai Zoo". Sadly, the zoo is in a pathetic condition with sad-looking animals, (whatever are left) in ill-maintained enclosures. But, in spite of the horrible state of affairs, the zoo is usually crowded. Not surprising because Mumbai is so much starved for open space, that these 48 acres partially fills in the need. On the positive side, the zoo is quite well laid out and landscaped and probably has the highest number of mature large trees per acre anywhere in Mumbai. The zoo boasts of some of the best and rarest species of trees and plants, and is a haven for botanists and tree lovers.  Another hidden jewel in the zoo is the Bhau Daji Laad Museum, restored to its original glory by INTACH . It is the oldest museum in Mumbai and has some very interesting artifacts and archaeological collection. My suggestion is to develop a new, state-of-the-art, modern zoo/ animal park...

This is a very interesting debate about the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) System in Delhi. The BRT was launched in Delhi in 2008, and has been surrounded with controversies and hurdles right from the beginning - from accidents to inefficient use of the limited road space. In fact, BRT has been implemented in various cities around the world, and has many variations in the way it is implemented, with varying degrees of success (and failure). There is no single BRT formula that can be applied to all cities. And especially, looking at the unique traffic conditions of India, an equally unique BRT System will have to be thought out, along with an effective traffic management system. One thing definitely comes to light is that in a fast developing India, though there is a need to have a strong and effective public transport system, the needs of the private vehicles cannot be ignored totally. Also, I strongly believe that the issue of traffic and transportation should not (and cannot) be addr...