URBIZEN

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.

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...

Housing for poor: Jamaican model that India can replicate May 31st, 2008 - 2:32 pm ICT by admin - By Aroonim Bhuyan http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/housing-for-poor-jamaican-model-that-india-can-replicate_10054962.html Dubai, May 31 (IANS) An affordable housing scheme being followed in the Caribbean nation of Jamaica may well be worth emulating in India, which is planning its own social housing project. Called the National Housing Trust (NHT), the Jamaican scheme takes contributions from both the employer and employee, much on the lines of India's provident fund policy, for giving affordable housing to all sections of society. "The Jamaican model, which calls for contributions from the employers and employees for providing housing to all sections of the society, certainly sounds interesting for India," P.K. Mohanty, mission director of India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), told IANS here. "After all, we are also plannin...

A report from NPR : "One of India's most squalid slums sits on extremely valuable property. The government has a plan to let private developers build projects for the rich in exchange for free housing, schools and health clinics for the poor. But many long-time residents oppose the plan." Listen

This is an excerpt from a letter from "Jan Sangharsh Vahini": "Thousands displaced in Delhi by the demolition squad of DDAOn May 3rd, 2007 DDA's demolition squad along with a large number of policemen and three bulldozers came to demolish Shayam Colony, Buddha Vihar in Rohini area of Northwest Delhi. Before the residents could understand anything, police started canning people and DDA's bulldozers began to demolish House no 512A in the Gali Number 23 of Mr Rajit Prasad. It looked as if the locality has been invaded by some enemies of the nation. The cries of young men, women, older people, children meant nothing for the goons in khaki. The land was purchased by the people of the colony from the colonisers, many of whom have turned to politics today. They not only got their power of attorney papers verified by the registrar's office as well as Noteries acknowledged by the government authorities. The people of the colony begged the authorities to give them some...

Though the country has experienced an economic boom, the number of Indians living in slums has increased 100 percent in the last two decades. "The number of people living in slums in India has more than doubled in the past two decades and now exceeds the entire population of Britain, the Indian Government has announced. India’s slum-dwelling population had risen from 27.9 million in 1981 to 61.8 million in 2001, when the last census was done, Kumari Selja, the Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, said. The figure is the latest illustration of how India’s recent economic boom has left behind millions of the country’s poorest people, raising fears that social unrest could undermine further growth." "The expansion of India’s slums is partly due to the rise in India’s total population, which increased from 683 million in 1981 to 1.03 billion in 2001." Source: Source: Times Online UK, May 17, 2007 Full Story: Indian slum population doubles in two decades ...

The Hindustan Times reports that over 60,000 slum dwellers are at risk of being displaced without being adequately rehabilitated. "Though the World Bank had laid a condition to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Develpoment Authoriy (MMRDA) to shift the PAPs (project affected people) within two-three km of their existing homes, the local authorities have been tightlipped." "“We should know where the government plans to shift us. Most of us work in the airport. Rehab tenements are all across the city. We want transparency in the process. It is our right to know where we would be shifted,” said Sunder Padmukh, general secretary of Vimantal Parisar Rahiwashi Ekta Sangh, the umbrella organisational fighting for six slums located on airport land." Sadly, the government has ample land for big developers but none for the poorer sections of the society. Source: Hindustan Times

The urban renewal has impacted the landscape of many cities in India, where the marginalized have to starve for resources and the elite to enjoy resources in abundance. For past a year and a half Hazards Centre conducted research in Jaipur and Indore, in monitoring the shift in the informal sector workers in these cities. The research also underlines the transformation of these cities in terms of infrastructure development and investments. The two day seminar will have presentations by representatives from Jaipur, Indore, Patna, Lucknow and Delhi on the ongoing reform initiatives in their cities/states . It will also have short sectoral presentations on employment, urban basic services, so on followed by extensive discussions to strategise the kind of research and future action needed. Dates: 15 February 2007 to 16 February 2007 Venue: New Delhi, India For enquiries please contact: Leena hazardscentre@gmail.com +919811137421

Architecture for Humanity is building a new space to collaborate online. The Open Architecture Network will be a gathering place for community designers and all those interested in improving the built environment. Here designers of all persuasions can post their projects, browse projects posted by others, comment and review projects, discuss relevant topics, contribute to shared resources, collaborate with each other and access project management tools to support their work. "We imagine a site that not only helps create, support and implement ideas, but also a place that fosters sustainable, replicable, adaptable and scalable design solutions. The network has a simple mission: to generate design opportunities that will improve living standards for all." Alex Steffen from Worldchanging has a good write-up on this: The Open Architecture Network and the Future of Design

This just came in by email: "Mumbai Slum Rehabilatation Scheme (SRS) has been touted by many as the model scheme for rehabilitating slum dwellers through 'Public Private Partnership' . So much so that similar schemes are now sought to be implemented in many other cities as well. In fact, the thrust of JNNURM's approach towards ensuring tenurial security for slum dwellers lies in replicating Mumbai model all over the country. Here's an interesting story on how the said scheme is basically aimed at filling the coffers of corrupt land mafia, builders, politicians and bureaucrats and has little to do with providing housing to slum dwellers." Read the entire story here ...

A new report from the World Watch Institute warns that uncontrolled urbanization in the form of slums is contributing to serious social and environmental consequences. "Unplanned and chaotic urbanization is taking a huge toll on human health and the quality of the environment, contributing to social, ecological, and economic instability in many countries. Of the 3 billion urban dwellers today, 1 billion live in "slums," defined as areas where people cannot secure key necessities such as clean water, a nearby toilet, or durable housing. An estimated 1.6 million urban residents die each year due to lack of clean water and sanitation as a result." "Cities around the world have also begun to take climate change seriously, many in response to the direct threat they face. Of the 33 cities projected to have at least 8 million residents by 2015, at least 21 are coastal cities that will have to contend with sea-level rise from climate change." "While no singl...

The World, a production of Public Radio International and the BBC, visited the shantytowns of the world. You can read and listen to these dispatches from Kenya, South Africa, Peru, India and Brazil at http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/6579 .