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.

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...