URBIZEN

Colonial cities are classically dual cities, and Indian cities are no exception. Indian cities have always been dichotomous in nature – traditional & modern, formal & informal, organised & unorganised, etc. And since the political and economic system is biased towards the formal, organised and rich sections of the society, the informal, unorganised and poor sections are left to fend for their own. They occupy the interstitial spaces of the urban environment and based on their limited resources and create environments that mimic their original rural backgrounds and social structures. The informal settlements are basically user-generated models of human settlements employing ingenious use of materials and resources, sometimes self-generated, and sometimes tapped from the city “outside”. The formal city and the user-generated city share a complex symbiotic relationship, and together they form the complex ecosystem of the contemporary Indian City. These two models, running...

Housing and shelter remains the most important of human needs, and a majority of the urban population in developing countries is in desperate need for this very fundamental of human needs. Despite this we do not see significant advancement in technologies that address this critical issue. Recently, a friend shared this video about this new technology that could be the beginning of an answer. 3D printing is fast gaining popularity in the field of product prototyping. Now, we can print an entire 2,500 sqft house in 20 hours. In manufacturing we use a process called CAD/CAM (computer-aided design / computer-aided manufacturing). 3D models are designed on a computer and then manufactured using CNC Machines or 3D printers. The design is manufactured into a physical object automatically, with instruction from 3D computer model to physical object without human interface. Automated construction basically scales up this process. The size of the 3D printer is large enough to construct ...

Sexual violence and crime against women has been creating headlines and an atmosphere of fear, mistrust and apprehension. Though crime and sexual violence against women is a problem that is prevalent across the urban-rural divide, the nature and forms of violence differ, and more often than not, are influenced by the physical environment as much as the social environment. Cities (the word traces its origins to the Latin word Civic, meaning Civilized), bear the responsibility of projecting a civilized, urbane and humane sides of its citizens. Our physical environment plays an important role in our behaviour and conduct, and therefore is one of the tools to curb this violent behaviour.  “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” (CPTED), an approach developed by architect Oscar Newman in the United states is a step towards creating “defensible space” and making safer urban environments. (source: hromedia.com) A recent Blog on India Ink at New York Times by Neyaz Faroo...

(click here for a better quality video) This video is an attempt to showcase the fast pace of urbanization in India in the past ten years (2003 - 2013). I have created the video using historical imagery from Google Earth. The selected location is at the outskirts of Mumbai on the Mumbai-Nasik highway. This region has seen the fastest and most intense development in the last ten years, mostly high-rise residential towers. Rapid and un-checked development has also resulted in massive destruction of forest cover, mangroves and conversion of fertile agricultural land to build-able land. You can clearly see the drastic change between the years 2009 and 2011, when the residential development market peaked before the slowdown. This stretch of highway between Mumbai and Nasik is undergoing massive urbanization with well-known developers on the scene now. The next phase of urban development is already taking place on these fringes and reminds me of the phenomenon of "Edge Citie...

Photographs taken from the 20th floor of a high-rise tower in Bhendi Bazar, Mumbai, showing the contrast of the past and present urban form and a study of urban morphology. Looking West towards Tardeo and Babulnath Looking South towards Fort Area. Bhendi Bazar streets in the foreground. Looking South-East, with the Docks in the background and the J.J. flyover in the foreground. Looking South-West towards Girgaon Chowpatty

India’s urban growth story has been accompanied by the growth in consumerism. And Malls are the most visual landmarks of the new consumerist society. In fact, malls have doubled in the past 5 years in spite of the slowing economy. With malls becoming such an important part of the urban landscape they deserve serious and critical analysis, and not be dismissed as yet another passing fad. Being a western invention, it is no wonder that most malls look like alien spaces in the midst of Indian cities. The success of malls can be partly credited to the clean, posh environment for shopping, eating and entertainment, and partly credited to the loss of quality public spaces in Indian cities. Traditionally, these functions (shopping, eating and entertainment) were carried out on the streets and chowks of Indian cities in turn becoming an integral part of the urban drama. With growing privatization, an increasingly capitalist economy and a growing consumerist society, malls pr...

Many of you would not disagree with the statement that Architecture is combination of Art and Science. If Frank Lloyd Wright proclaimed Architecture as the “Mother of all Arts”, then why not the “Mother of all Sciences”? Why has the mother embraced one child and forsaken the other? The Oxford English dictionary defines Art as: “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines Science as: “The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.” Art in its pure form appeals to our sense of the ideal and our highest aspirations, experienced through passion and instinct. Whereas Science in its pure form tries to understand nature and the environment by ...

Though Indian cities are going through a rapid process of urbanization and growth, there does not seem to be enough attention and debate on the process and the outcomes, either at the government (central, state or local) level or the professional level, save some sporadic conferences and conventions to discuss the issues. I don’t think anyone would disagree to the point that for our overall progress and well-being, Urban Planning and Design should take centre-stage and be at the crux of our discussions on progress and development. Poverty, housing, child mortality, health and education are no longer problems of the villages alone. In fact due to sudden and rapid urbanization and migration, these issues are more urban than rural now. It is time we acknowledge that India will become more urban than rural soon, and accept urbanization as a regional and local phenomenon rather than a foreign idea. Urban Planning and Urban Design will play a pivotal role in shaping the new ...

“In Maurilia, the traveller is invited to visit the city and, at the same time, to examine some old post cards that show it as it used to be: the same identical square with a hen in the place of the bus station, a bandstand in the place of the overpass, two young ladies with white parasols in the place of the munitions factory. If the traveller does not wish to disappoint the inhabitants, he must praise the postcard city and prefer it to the present one, though he must be careful to contain his regret at the changes within definite limits: admitting that the magnificence and prosperity of the metropolis Maurilia, when compared to the old, provincial Maurilia, cannot compensate for a certain lost grace, which, however, can be appreciated only now in the old post cards, whereas before, when that provincial Maurilia was before one's eyes, one saw absolutely nothing graceful and would see it even less today, if Maurilia had remained unchanged; and in any case the metropolis has th...

A recent column by Shanta Gokhale in the Mumbai Mirror encouraged me to write this blog about the meanings conveyed through spaces. In her column Ms. Gokhale laments the lack of substance in the current outcrop of tall buildings and spaces in Mumbai. Giving the example of Kohinoor Square, she says, “A dumb tower is just as meaningless, visually, as the towers of babel that dot the city …”. Spaces are like people; they can be interesting as well as boring, humble, arrogant, simple, flamboyant, reticent, gregarious …. Charles Moore rightly put it by saying, “Place is the projection of the image of civilization onto the environment.” And David Harvey emphasizes the importance of thinking about cities in terms of social processes rather than just things. A Place is merely a physical manifestation of the social processes that take place there. We have to understand the social processes (and political, and economic, as well) that have created (or destroyed) our cities. In...

Recently the Maharashtra State Government withdrew tax cuts and FSI sops for “eco-friendly buildings” . The government is in the process of developing a “Green Building Code”. The code will have mandatory and voluntary reforms. This I think is a good step in the direction of sustainability. In fact, many Western countries have this kind of code already inculcated in their code; for example the Tile 24 Energy Code in California, to which all the projects have to adhere to. In Pune, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation adopted the GRIHA guidelines in their Building bye-laws and require all new construction to follow those guidelines to obtain approval. To me, though, “Sustainable Architecture” is a tautology . I strongly feel that a building is not “Architecture” if it is not “Sustainable”. In the last few years we have seen abundant misuse of the terms “Green”, “Sustainable” and “Eco-friendly”, with developers, builders, product manufacturers using it as a marketing gimmic...

The relationship between Good Design and Good Business cannot be emphasized more. This is true for Urban Design projects as well. A study shows that property prices increase by improving the street with: widened pavements; extra trees; improved lighting; new way-finding signs. Good streets are always a pleasure to walk on. And streets that are pedestrian-friendly attract shoppers and people of all age-groups. This automatically means more foot traffic for retail and businesses, translating into good business and profitability. In fact, in many cities retailers and shop owners are willing to shell out extra money by way of taxes and street improvement funds since it has a direct impact on their business. One can quite easily do a cost-benefit analysis to make a decision for street improvements. In fact, this is a very cost-effective way to boost the local economy. Source:  thisbigcity.net Click here  for the original article.