Seminar 2014: Delhi-an inclusive city? by Aneesh Nandi

SEMINAR SERIES 2014

DELHI: AN INCLU-SIVE CITY? d

SEMINAR SERIES 2014 Research and Documentation Report Department of Architecture Academic session 2014-2015 B.Arch year V School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi

Design Aneesh Nandi Editors Aneesh Nandi Bharat Agarwal

ÂŠ School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi, 2015

Disclaimer The authors and editor(s) do not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever whether in contract, tort, equity or othereise for any action taken as a result of information in this report for any error, inadequacy, deficiency, flaw or omission in the information provided by the report. The editor(s) and authors of the papers do not claim any ownership over text / content that has been referenced or already published. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher or author(s), except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles in a review.

Published in 2015 by Department of Architecture School of Planning and Architecture 6B, Indraprastha Estate New Delhi 110002 India Printed in New Delhi, India

DELHI: AN INCLU-SIVE CITY? d

Organized by B.Arch. year V students, academic session 2014-2015 Seminar co-ordinators Prof. (Dr.) Jaya Kumar Prof. (Dr.) Ranjana Mital

Design + Editing Aneesh Nandi Bharat Agarwal

Management + publicity Agnimitra Bachi Akanksha Chauhan Dhananjay Singh Dileep Reddy Faizan Zahid Jubin Jacob Monikuntala Das S. Preeti Uzair Siddiqui Vatsalya Sharma

Seminar:

A note from the co-ordinators

The students of final year at the Department of Architecture participate in and enrich the tradition of the Seminar Programme at the department every year. They pursue various unaddressed issues relating to the built environment, and formulate their ideas and research into presentations. These presentations are then converted to papers that are published annually. The Seminar Programme runs through August-October culminating in a formal presentation in the first week of November. This year the theme for the seminar is: ‘Delhi: Inclusive City?’ The seminar series explores the What, Why, Who and How of inclusivity in cities. It attempts to define inclusivity, why it is needed, who/ what are included/ excluded, and how we as architects and citizens comprehend the idea of an inclusive Delhi. In an attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice, the seminars, for the first time, explored the same physical areas as the Urban Design design studio, namely the railway stations at New Delhi, Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar. The objective of the seminar was to investigate how inclusive the city of Delhi is at/ around the sites selected. Groups of students in groups of surveyed the three sites with respect to: • Open spaces around buildings, parks, greens • Streets – main streets, commercial streets, residential streets • Public areas: shopping centres, community facilities • Transport options • Housing options Each of the above physical areas was surveyed/ explored/ examined for: • Accessibility- to various social groups • Safety • Right to city, Socio-cultural integration • Environmental sustainability • Planning policies, physical infrastructure, repair and maintenance systems: players involved • Architectural expressions • Social responsibility on part of residents/ users/ visitors to area • Any other indicators identified This volume is a testimony to the hard work and commitment of the students and their advisors, and sincerely hope that the readers benefit as much from the research as we all have. We would sincerely like to thank the Director, Dean of Studies, Registrar and the Head of Department for all the unstinted support provided to make the Seminar Programme a success.

Prof. (Dr.) Jaya Kumar Prof. (Dr.) Ranjana Mital

Theme 2014 Overview pages 3-12

An introduction to inclusivity, its pros and cons; establishing a framework for inclusivity in the context of New Delhi. This includes a prologue to the three multimodal transit neighbourhoods under our scanner.

Housing pages 13-52

Habitats and dwellings collectively constitute the category of housing. These feature (specifically for the selected neighbourhoods) spaces like urban villages, dense and organic settlements, government housing colonies, plotted housing and others.

Open space pages 53-100

All unbuilt spaces open to sky, whether land or water, come under the purview of open spaces. These include parks and recreational areas, negative spaces left along built masses and other shared spaces.

Public space pages 101-118

All built spaces accessible to the public have been subsumed under the title of public spaces. These include facilities like school and hospitals, banks and commercial complexes, etc.

Streets pages 119-142

Road networks and urban adjuncts like bus-stops comprise the study of streets. These also include informal sector activities that rely on street-culture: weekly bazaars, daily vendors, mobile tradesmen, etc.

Transport pages 143-156

With a focus on multimodal transit neighbourhoods, transport engages important urban nodes like the railway station, bus depots, the Delhi metro, para-transit and private vehicles.

Introduction to study sites Anand Vihar terminal station (ANVT) Inaugurated in 2009, the Anand Vihar station was built to lighten the load on other stations in the city and represents modern government enterprise. Spread over 42 hectares, the terminal will cater to all east-bound trains outside of Delhi, and is planned as a transport hub. Surrounded by low-density plotted developments and an industrial estate; the context as of now has not felt the impact of this transit hub.

New Delhi Railway station (NDLS) The New Delhi Railway Station is the busiest and largest railway station in India. Starting out humbly as a single platform built in 1926, NDLS came out as a result of the shifting of railway lines in central Delhi to accommodate Lutyenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Delhi. Strategically placed 2km away from Connaught Place, and feeding into the migrant haven that is Paharganj, the station has come to define the image of Delhi for those coming to the city.

Nizammudin Railway station (NZM) Right in the middle of the east and south parts of Delhi, the Nizamuddin station connects with two arterial roads of the city - Mathura Road and the Ring Road. The infrastructure for the station was built in 1952 to serve local trains, but the increase of traffic coming into the city necessitated accommodating inter-state trains as well. A dichotomy of planned and unplanned in seen on either side of the station, with many migrants finding their home on the unplanned side.

OVERVIEW

‘I’ for Inclusivity

Guide

Group members

Mr. Manoj Mathur

Boddi Reddy Dinesh Reddy Dileep Reddy Konala Dekka Vijay Kumar Geddam Raj manoj Golla Kiran Kusampudi Manohar Pilla Ravi Chandra Revina Soni

The notion of ‘inclusivity’ Inclusivity “Inclusion is community. No one becomes included by receiving handouts, even if these handouts are given by public bodies and with public resources. No one becomes included by being treated by a program in which they are no more than a number or a statistic. Inclusion is connection to the network of community development, it is to become more than a speck of dust, to have a forename and surname, with one’s own distinctive features, skills and abilities, able to receive and give stimulus, to imitate and be imitated, to participate in a process of changing one’s own life and collective life.” (Busatto, 2007) An intention or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as handicapped, learning-disabled, or racial and sexual minorities, etc. Inclusion is: • Taking into consideration that diverse groups have different needs that might require extra effort before they can access the opportunities and events that everyone else has. • Treating each person and group according to their needs. • Everybody’s responsibility; particularly those who are part of a dominant group because they are the ones with more privilege and power to change the ‘isms’ in society.

‘Isms’ that prevent inclusion

0.1 Isms (T-D)

Source: Authors

Stemming from the belief that one person/group is better than another, combined with society’s granting certain privileges and power to the mainstream group that’s defined as the ideal, and then we have the ‘isms’ in our lives. For example (0.1); • Racism: When the belief is about skin colour, it gives way to racism. • Ableism: When the belief is about ability, it gives way to ableism. • Sexism: When the belief is about gender, it gives way to sexism, and so on... Inclusion is about recognizing that due to their circumstances, these groups are vulnerable and generally at a disadvantage when it comes to sharing resources and opportunities in society.

Society The simplest definition of society is a group of people who share a defined territory and a culture. In sociology, this definition can be taken a little further by arguing that society is also the social structure and interactions of that group of people. Social structure is the relatively enduring patterns of behaviour and relationships within a society. Thus, a society is not only the group of people and their culture, but the relationships between the people and the institutions within that group. The different ways in which different marginal group exist in society are (0.2); • Exclusion: It is a condition in which the marginalized are kept out from certain activities in society. • Segregation: It is a condition in which the marginalized are separated from certain activities in society. • Integration: It is a condition in which the marginalized are ‘fit in’ to existing conditions in society. • Inclusion: Inclusion is about taking action to incorporate all people into community life ensuring full participation.

OVERVIEW

‘I’ for inclusivity

0.2 Exclusion, Segregation, Integration, Inclusion (L-R)

Source: Authors

What is an inclusive city? “An inclusive city is a city that over-rides differences of race, gender, class, generation, and geography, and ensures inclusion, equality of opportunity as well as capability of all members of the society to determine an agreed set of social institutions that govern social interaction.” (Expert Group Meeting on Promoting Social Integration, Helsinki, July 2008) An inclusive city provides one and all an opportunity to grow to their maximum potential, irrespective of all differences or inequalities, by sharing public resources equally through all economic and ethnic sections. The World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen 1995) defines an inclusive society as a “society for all in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play”. Such an inclusive society must be based on respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, cultural and religious diversity, social justice and the special needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, democratic participation and the rule of law. It is promoted by social policies that seek to reduce inequality and create flexible and tolerant societies that embrace all people. In an inclusive society, members not only have the right to education or the right to political participation but actually take part in the process, using the right to education and having a vote that actually counts in a political process. What is most significant in creating an inclusive society is the engagement of the individual in the process by which society is managed, ordered and represented.

In an Inclusive city: • All its citizens have access to basic services. • People have access to employment opportunities and can engage in productive livelihoods. • Recognizes each person’s cultural rights and provides facilities and public spaces for people to express these rights. • Recognizes the human capital of all its people and strives to actively enhance this through appropriate programs. • Political freedom and political expression. • A city that is both socially and spatially cohesive, where people from every race, ethnicity, nationality and socio-economic background are welcome. • Cherishes and promotes human rights. • Proactive in meeting development challenges, and plans ahead to meet future needs. • A city that promotes growth with equity. • A city where everyone, regardless of their economic means, gender, race, ethnicity or religion, is enabled and empowered to fully participate in the social, economic and political opportunities that cities have to offer.

Why inclusive city? Inclusive cities are more affluent because they mobilize and enable a wider spectrum of people and talents than a city in which some of those human resources are marginalized. They are also more socially just. By including the otherwise marginalized in the productive activities and opportunities of the city, they offer better access to pathways for social and economic betterment. Inclusivity works against social and economic exclusion, and their shadow: urban decay. It works against dividing the city into ghettoes of despair without opportunities for upward economic mobility. It does not mean freezing growth or preventing redevelopment; rather, the opposite encouraging more sustainable, prosperous, comprehensive growth and development by avoiding exclusivity and dislocation and the heavy, often ignored costs they carry. Advantages of being inclusive: • Fulfilling the mandate of serving and involving the community as a whole. • Enhancing problem solving and creative thinking skills. • Having access to diverse, best qualified individuals. • Building partnerships with culturally diverse businesses, religious groups and other cultural organizations. • Empowering people to contribute the best of what they have to offer without holding back because they don’t fit in. • Diversifying volunteer base and support from a broader constituency. • Responding more quickly and easily to broader community needs. • Avoiding legal and other disputes associated with discrimination, harassment and other human rights.

OVERVIEW

‘I’ for Aspects of inclusivity inclusivity In a city, conditions of community life are largely a consequence of the social, economic and governance forces embodied in its growth machines. So inclusivity in its social, economic and governance aspects could be very effective in making a city inclusive. Social inclusivity is understood as a process by which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of their background, so that they can achieve their full potential in life. It is a multi-dimensional process aimed at creating conditions which enable full and active participation of every member of the society in all aspects of life, including civic, social, economic, and political activities, as well as participation in decision making processes. (DESA 2009) Social inclusion is also often more easily accepted as a policy goal, as it clearly eliminates a connotation of assimilation that some associate with the term “integration” - not all individuals and/or groups in societies are eager to be “integrated” into mainstream society, but all strive to be included. Economical inclusivity can be achieved by creating an enabling environment that promotes equitable access to economic opportunities for citizens through a range of capital formation projects. Governance inclusivity can be achieved through promoting active citizenry based on the belief that citizens are the ultimate guarantors of their lives and interests and thus partners in the current and future development of the city. Among these different aspects, social inclusivity is based on architectural terms and hence we delineate our scope to social inclusion. In order to understand the actual process of social inclusion, Goran Therborn, a professor of sociology from Cambridge University, suggests that the following five categories of inclusion be considered as incremental steps to promote social inclusion. (0.3)

0.3 Path to social inclusion Source: Authors

•

Visibility First and foremost, people need to be noticed, recognized, and have their own voices. There is no possibility of having a voice if an individual or group is not accounted for and represented in the processes that make up formal society.

•

Consideration The concerns and needs of individuals and groups are taken into account by policymakers. Often policy-makers do not consider the poor and other marginalized groups as important stakeholders, and therefore, do not incorporate their needs and concerns.

•

Access to Social Interactions People must be able to engage in society’s activities and social networks in their daily life, including economic, social, cultural, religious, and political activities.

•

Rights People must have rights to act and claim, rights to be different, legal rights, rights to access social services, such as housing, education, transportation, and health care. They must have the right to work and the right to participate in social, cultural and political life.

•

Resources to fully participate in society Those who do not have access to rights are not able to participate fully in society. However, even if people have rights to access, they cannot participate fully without adequate resources. Therefore, resources to fully participate in all aspects of societal activities are the ultimate step for successful social inclusion. (DESA 2009)

Who are marginalized? Examining the concept of inclusion with a specific group of marginalized people in mind is an important approach to locating exclusion in the societal framework. The following section contains a discussion of some of the important social groups where the issue of social inclusion is most relevant; (0.4) • Women are subject to social exclusion caused by issues such as poverty, power imbalances, gender-based violence, conflict, restrictions in access to resources and exclusion from decision-making.

•

Youth have difficulty of finding decent work, and productive employment is compounded by a host of other problems, including illiteracy and insufficient training. The crisis of youth unemployment deprives young people of the opportunity to secure independent housing or the accommodations necessary for the establishment of families and participation in society.

•

Elderly are a growing segment of the population. They face barriers at workplaces in promotions and hiring. The developmental potential and diversity of late life need to be explored and supported, while also addressing the health care and income security needs of this stage of life.

•

Differently abled: Many people with disabilities are excluded from active participation in society because of barriers for their physical access to public space and other types of barriers, for example oral communication, Which ignores the needs of the hearing impaired and written information which ignores the needs of the visually impaired.

•

Migrants are often victims of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and social exclusion, having little or no participation, influence or communication with the processes in society.

•

Children especially of urban poor are subjected lack of health services, education, legal protection, etc.

•

Indigenous people are often violated against their rights to their identities, their way of life, their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources.

Areas of study Considering the daily cycle of an individual, each individual functions in at least two kinds of spaces namely private and public. For our argument, private could be the residence and public could be seen as his work space or recreation place. Transportation is the medium which connects public and private space. As he travels between public and private space he comes across streets and open spaces. Hence our elements of study are • Housing • Open spaces • Public spaces • Streets • Transportation

0.4 Marginalized groups

Source: Authors

OVERVIEW

‘I’ for inclusivity

0.5 Group housing and night shelters (L-R): housing

Source: Google image search

Housing Housing is recognized as one of the basic requirements for humans. Housing provides significant economic security and social status in the given society. From psychological point of view housing will have a direct effect on the health, education and efficiency of the workforce and their families while from the society point of view, housing not only promotes economic activities and raises the quality of life, but also acts as strong motivating force to generate voluntary savings. The housing situation in Delhi needs special attention, with the city facing an acute shortage of affordable housing. This shortage results in the growth of unplanned settlement, slums and unauthorized colonies. Around 30% of Delhi lives in squatter settlements. (0.5)

0.6 India Gate lawns: open

Source: Google image search

Open space Open spaces are essential for leisure activities, organized sports and cultural endeavours. (0.6) The mental and physical health benefits of parks and green spaces have been demonstrated and can be proven to be actual preventative measures that impact positively on health care and health care costs.

Green open spaces can be considered an area’s ‘lungs’ that offset the effects of air pollution. The protection of natural areas can help resolve water-related environmental problems. Protection

of wetlands, for instance, will remove the need for costly and environmentally questionable flood-control structures.

0.7 Nehru Place: public

Public space Delhi, one of India’s most polluted and brutal cities, is rarely thought of as a place with an abundance of scenic beauty. (0.7) However this and all the previous cities of Delhi have had extraordinary links with gardens and green spaces. These gardens – these greens spaces – are a pause in the city allowing a dialogue between what Delhi was, what it is and its ever changing people. Delhi has always been a city of migrants.

0.8 Chandni Chowk: streets

Source: Google image search

Streets Streets are valuable public spaces as well as movement corridors. Design of streets is a function of the street hierarchy and adjacent land uses. As the vital arteries of our communities, streets are where one finds a connection between social interaction and the exchange of goods and services. (0.8)

OVERVIEW

‘I’ for inclusivity Streets have buildings and roads, but the spaces in-between are what hold them together as a place – the open spaces, streets, squares, green spaces and the network of pavements and pedestrian thoroughfares that knit them together. All too often, these spaces are used as no more than that – thoroughfares – and we start to forget that they can be so much more. (Government, July 2012) The street is a public easement, one of the few shared between all sorts of people. As a component of the built environment as ancient as human habitation, the street sustains a range of activities vital to civilization. Its roles are as numerous and diverse as its ever-changing cast of characters.

0.9 Delhi metro: transport

Source: Google image search

Transportation Transportation is a non-separable part of any society. It exhibits a very close relation to the style of life, the range and location of activities. Advances in transportation has made possible changes in the way of living and the way in which societies are organized and therefore have a great influence in the development of civilizations. One of the core issues facing Delhi today is the increase in vehicular traffic without significant road expansion. Lack of effective public transportation has further forced people to use personal vehicles. A large percentage of residents still walk or cycle but traffic accidents and absence of pedestrian friendly environment make walking or cycling a very hazardous activity. The traffic seems to get worse and more congested every day with the mixed traffic, which cause inordinate delays. There is not adequate public transport (0.9) which leads to dependency on private vehicles for commuting between their workplace and home. With more vehicles on the road, there are more parking problems and more encroachments.

Bibliography

DESA. (2009). Creating an Inclusive Society: Practical Strategies to Promote Social Integration Inclusive city. <http://www.inclusivecity.org> [accessed 2014] Vision 2050. <http://www.vision2050.com> [accessed 2014] Methods for inclusive cities. <http://www.sdinet.org/method-inclusive-cities> [accessed 2014] Implementing the emerging and sustainable cities. <http://www.iadb.org/en/topics/emerging-and-sustainable-cities/implementing-the-emergingand-sustainable-cities-initiative-approach,7641.html> [accessed 2014] Evictions, the urban poor and the right to the city in millennial Delhi. <http://eau.sagepub.com/content/21/1/127.abstract> [accessed 2014]

0.10 Inclusivity

Source: Authors

HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the gated Guide

Group members

Ms. Amritha Ballal

Aarti Dhingra Aneesh Nandi Ankit Singh Dhruv Moza Divya Jain Jubin Jacob Mridula Garg Udit Mittal

Advisor and title credits Mr. S.K. Das

Chairperson Mr. Sudipto Ghosh

Abstract

The term inclusive is a social phenomenon: developed by society and reinforced through cultural and social practices, whereas housing is a spatial construct that envelops a tangible amount of resources in terms of land, infrastructure, etc. These can be seen as two different yet closely related spheres in need of intervention, and perhaps the only tools us architects and planners have at our disposal affect (and effect) the ‘spatial’ sphere. This distinction becomes apparent in the existing scenario where development happens despite and not because of policy. This is a critique of the regulatory in favour of the facilitative policy model; given that policy interventions in our housing market have had limited success because they were imposed on the existing market system and have rarely attempted to correct its failures. Master plans, zoning regulations and building bye-laws are long term plans and by their very nature cannot respond to the dynamics of urban areas. For example, affordability is viewed as a ratio of price/rent of housing to income of household. The market is sensitive to affordability but lacks in gauging the dwellings’ adequacy. (Affordable Housing for Urban Poor, National Resource Centre, SPA-D). In our research, we selected frameworks for computing this notion of inclusivity within social and spatial spheres, which resulted in a list of parameters on which this notion seemingly depends. During further synthesis, we reorganized the structure of the parameters based on temporal phases of intent, design, and usage, since these phases also help delineate the various stakeholders: policy makers and other forms of authority, the architect/planner, the end user. These spheres of intervention, or scope of responsibilities, adds value to the definition of inclusivity. Christened the ‘inclusive housing matrix’, this tool for analysis is employed on the designated site and case-studies. Using a variety of methods from mapping to interviews, this primary survey gave insight into the conflicting nature of these parameters. Learnings from the case studies highlighted the synergistic nature of the parameters within the matrix. In conclusion, an appreciation of the various factors that affect the social sphere of inclusion because of (or despite) the spatial sphere of housing; as well as larger developmental goals’ impact on the same, is developed.

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the Inclusivity and paths to inclusion gated Inclusion and exclusion Inclusivity as a social construct can be defined as an inverse of the process of exclusion (SPA B.arch housing research students 2011-2012); exclude • To prevent from entering; keep out; bar • To prevent from being included, considered, or accepted; reject. • To put out; expel. exclusive • Not allowing something else; incompatible. • Not divided or shared with others. • Not including specified extremes or limits, but only the area between them. In Right to the City, David Harvey talks about the importance of ‘rights of private property and the profit’ over human rights in a capitalist setup. Right to the city is defined as ‘the right to change ourselves by changing the city’ along with access to urban resources by individuals. It is exercised in groups rather than individually because urbanization is a collective process. He brings to notice certain vulnerable groups (like slum dwellers) who are denied this right. (Harvey, 2008) Inherent in the word inclusion is the fact that somebody includes and someone else seeks to be included. The following grounds of discrimination have been laid down by the United Nations Habitat document, 2014: race/colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion, national/social origin, birth/health status, sexual orientation, education status. (UN Habitat, ‘Right to Adequate Housing’, 2014). These vulnerable groups are generally denied access to basic building blocks of society; housing being paramount amongst them. In this context, Amartya Sen’s view on including these groups through development is especially relevant.

Freedoms and capabilities “The success of a society is to be evaluated primarily by the freedoms that members of the society enjoy.” (Amartya Sen, 1999) Amartya Sen calls the vulnerable ‘agents of change’ rather than ‘patients’. He hypothesizes that all individuals are endowed with a certain set of capabilities, and that evaluating this potential rather than just their income levels – more precisely, evaluating their deprivation in capability and freedom terms, not in economic terms, is a better measure of exclusion. (example: developing someone’s capability and skill at a vocational training facility, allowing him to escape his circumstances. In a situation where he doesn’t have this freedom, he is excluded.) Since the capability set represents a person’s freedom to achieve and if freedom is intrinsically important, the cause for exclusion becomes ‘the state of unfreedom’. Development goals focusing on these freedoms, namely the Human Development index, bring this understanding to the policy framing bodies.

Housing and exclusion

As per 2011 census, the city had a population of 16 million out of which, during 2001-2011, the urban population of Delhi grew at a CAGR of 2.8%, resulting in the increase in level of urbanization. This growing concentration of people in has led to problems of land shortage, housing shortfall and congested transit. It has also severely stressed the existing basic amenities such as water, power and open spaces of the towns and cities. The skyrocketing prices of land and real estate in urban areas have forced the poor and the economically weaker sections of the society to occupy the marginal lands typified by poor housing stock, congestion and obsolescence. According to estimates of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), the urban housing shortage is estimated to be 24.71 million for 66.30 million households. The group further estimated that 88% of this shortage pertains to houses for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and another 11% for Lower-Income Groups (LIG). For Middle- and High-Income Groups (MIG and HIG), the estimated shortage is only 0.04 million. (1.1) There have been several attempts by the state and central governments to change the general perception of housing by employing and promoting schemes that have a wider range of target audience and are ecologically sound, most of them aiming for economic diversity and affordability.

housing and exclusion number of households (millions)

housing shortage (millions)

percentage shortage

EWS

21.81

21.78

99.9%

LIG

27.57

2.89

10.5%

MIG+HIG

16.92

0.04

0.2%

total

66.30

24.71

37.3%

Housing shortage in Urban India Housing shortage in Urban India Report of the technical group, 11th five year plan (2007-2012) technical group, 11th five year plan (2007-2012)

1.1 Housing and exclusion Report of the

Housing development formats that are aimed at / do not ignore the excluded groups (1.2) Affordable housing Affordability in the context of urban housing would mean provision of adequate shelter on a sustained basis ensuring security of tenure within the means of the common urban household. (RICS report, 2012) According to Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, affordable houses may be taken as houses ranging from about 300 square feet (super built up area) for EWS, 500 square feet for LIG and 600 square feet to 1200 square feet for MIG, at costs that permit repayment of home loans in monthly instalments not exceeding 30% to 40% of the monthly income of the buyer. In terms of carpet area, a EWS category house would be taken as having a minimum 25

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the gated square meters of carpet area and the carpet area of an LIG category house would be limited to a maximum of 48 square meters. The carpet area of an MIG house would be limited to a maximum of 80 square meters. Who are identified as the vulnerable? Provided for those whose needs are not met by open market. (RICS, 2012) Integrated housing Integrated housing developments incorporate different types of residential dwellings or commercial buildings, including individual houses, mixed use developments, on one parcel of land. Integrated housing developments often feature internal private access roads and are typically developed into community title type sub-divisions. Who are identified as the vulnerable? Groups using public transportation, pedestrian and bicycles. Mixed-income housing A deliberate effort to construct and/or own a multifamily development that has a mix of income groups as a fundamental part of its financial and operating plans. The intention of this type is to cater to lower income residents. (Brophy & Smith, 1997). Mixed income housing is one of two primary mechanisms to eliminate neighbourhoods of concentrated poverty, combat residential segregation, and avoid the building of public housing that offers all of its housing units to those living in poverty. Community housing Community housing offers secure, affordable, long-term rental housing for people on low to moderate incomes, with a housing need. While community housing properties are either owned by the Government or are rented from private landlords with Government funding, they are managed by non-government community housing providers. Who are identified as the vulnerable? Communities identified by religion, region, caste or occupation. Co-housing Cohousing neighbourhoods or developments are typically formed by a group of people who are ‘consciously committed to living as a community.’ The residents actually participate in finding, acquiring, designing, developing and in the ongoing operation and upkeep of their neighborhoods. These communities are small in scale, usually consisting of between 20-40 homes on average, and are designed to ‘provide a balance between personal privacy and living amidst people who know and care about each other.’ Who are identified as the vulnerable? Communities identified by religion, region, caste or occupation. Co-operative housing A housing cooperative, or co-op, is a legal entity, usually a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinctive form of home ownership that have many characteristics that differ from other residential arrangements such as single family ownership, condominiums and renting. 17

Social housing Housing that is delivered and managed by an organization on a nonprofit basis. It is designed to accommodate households with low to moderate incomes in the core housing and is subsidized using a rent geared to income system. Who are identified as the vulnerable? People who can only afford rental housing. Sustainable housing Housing that is designed to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsâ&#x20AC;?. Sustainable development is seen as a multidimensional process that links environmental protection with economically, socially and culturally sound development. Even though such initiatives cater to individual vulnerable groups, there is no single scheme that aims to include all. There is therefore a need for such a housing that can incorporate all the excluded. In the framework chapter (4), we have attempted to create a matrix out of desirable parameters of all these formats.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;inclusiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; housing development formats Affordable housing

Integrated housing

Mix-income housing

Community housing

co-housing

co-operative housing

Social housing

Sustainable housing

Participatory Membership Government/ Affordable NGO owned housing and based process services Rent-only Buying SelfFlexible Size of Mixed-use financial Efficient use power governing services viability dwelling unit character of resources leveraged by pooling of Flexible Affordability Access to management Need-based resources near work/ design daily needs maintenance transit hub shared shared Near work / shared Basic shared common common amenities transit hub common common resources resources resources resources Near work / transit hub Income level

Housing variety

1.2 Parameters of various housing formats

Housing variety

Source: Authors

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the Frameworks for study gated In order to understand inclusivity in terms of housing, tried and tested frameworks that affect development both socially and spatially have been identified; these frameworks (1.3) have been amalgamated to arrive at an inclusive housing matrix. (1.5) This matrix acts as a tool to assess inclusivity in the case studies. INCLUSIVE HOUSING MATRIX SOCIAL HOUSING SOCIAL INCLUSIVE MATRIX SOCIAL

SOCIAL

INTENT

SPATIAL INTENT

INTENT USAGE

INTENT DESIGN

USAGE

DESIGN USAGE

framework 1

framework 2

framework Human 1 development framework index 1 Human development Human index development index

framework Sustainable 2 livelihood framework framework 2 Sustainable livelihood Sustainable framework livelihood framework

1.3 Frameworks

USAGE framework 3

USAGE framework 4

USAGE framework 5

framework Ideal habitat 3 index framework 3 Ideal habitat index Ideal habitat index

framework Sustainable 4 housing policy framework framework 4 Sustainable housing policy Sustainable framework housing policy framework

framework Desirables 5 from various framework housing 5 development Desirables formats from various Desirables housing from various development housing formats development formats

Source: Authors

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. It was created by Indian economist Amartya Sen and Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990, and was published by the United Nations Development Programme. The 2010 Human Development Report introduced an Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI). While the simple HDI remains useful, it stated that “the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for inequality)” and “the HDI can be viewed as an index of ‘potential’ human development (or the maximum IHDI that could be achieved if there were no inequality)” The framework is defined by:

• • • • • 19

Political Freedoms They essentially include functioning democracy, freedom to scrutinize and criticize actions of authorities, freedom and expression and speech, presence of free press. Economic Facilities Such as People’s opportunity to have and use economic resources or entitlements Social opportunities They include people’s ability to access health and education services, opportunities to participate in social processes and activities Transparency guarantees This concerns transparency in the functioning of authorities so that people can trust the information they receive and the system Protective Security This pertains to social protections of the vulnerable people so that they don’t fall into abject deprivation.

Sustainable Livelihood framework Aiming to understand the complexities of poverty; introduced in a 1992 paper Sustainable Rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st Century, Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway defined livelihood as a composition of capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels in the short and long term. The basic material and social, tangible and intangible assets that people use for constructing their livelihoods — are conceptualized as different types of ‘capital’ to stress their role as a resource base. Four types of capital are identified in the British Department for International Development (DFID) framework for a sustainable livelihood framework (SFL). The parameters for this framework are: • Social capital: Association with groups of individuals. • Human capital: Individual knowledge and skills, capacity to work and adapt. • Natural capital: Access to natural biophysical elements. • Physical capital: Access and proximity to physical man-made assets. • Financial capital: Access to financial assets.

Ideal Habitat index ‘Shelter is important because it protects us from the elements, provides us with a basic sense of security, and a place for our families to interact. But it is also linked to other aspects of what we consider “normal life” privacy, independence, dignity, safety. Shelter is fundamental to the enjoyments of many human rights’ (UNHCR, 2010). It analyses the state of a habitat by gauging its environment. This framework, based on the ideas of David Maddox, Nature of cities 2013 along with the habitat policy MOHUPA 2007, helps derive a structure to assess the state of the ‘habitat’ by gauging the condition of three primary parameters in and around its environment. Physical • Livable: Favorable temperature, humidity, availability of food, water, air • Sustainable: Co-existence with immediate physical and biological environment. • Resilient: Protection against harsh conditions; weather, natural disasters etc. Health • Livable: Availability of clean air, water, food, hygiene • Sustainable: Treatment of sources and raw material • Resilient: Proximity and availability of health facilities Sociological • Livable: Communal harmony; fruitful interdependence. • Sustainable: Conservation of cultural heritage and provision for future generations. • Resilient: Protection by law and governing bodies.

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the gated Sustainable housing policy framework The concept of housing requires a new understanding to effectively address the pressing issues of slums, the urban divide, economic and human development, and climate change. No longer regarded as simply a roof over oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head, housing today plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable development. Sustainable Housing for Sustainable Cities outlines key concepts and considerations underpinning the idea of sustainable housing and provides a comprehensive framework for designing sustainable housing policies and practical actions. Although sustainable housing is often considered from a predominantly green perspective this framework advocates a more holistic approach, which recognizes the multiple functions of housing as both a physical and socio-cultural system and which seeks to enhance and harmonize the environmental, social, cultural, and economic dimensions of housing sustainability to ensure prosperous residential neighborhoods and equitable cities. It lists down the changes at policy level that could lead to more inclusive design.

Desirables from various housing development formats framework This framework is derived from a selective set of parameters from the various housing schemes introduced by the policy makers and broadly defines the scope of an ideal inclusive housing. (1.4) Derived by removing parameters that take away from inclusivity, this is an attempt at listing out tangible means of assessing as well as achieving inclusivity.

Framework 1 Desirable elements from various housing development formats Affordable housing

Integrated housing

Mix-income housing

Community housing

co-housing

co-operative housing

Social housing

Sustainable housing

Participatory Membership Government/ Affordable NGO owned housing and based process services Rent-only Buying SelfFlexible Size of Mixed-use financial Efficient use power governing services viability dwelling unit character of resources leveraged by pooling of Flexible Affordability Access to management Need-based resources near work/ design daily needs maintenance transit hub shared shared Near work / shared Basic shared common common common amenities transit hub common resources resources resources resources Near work / transit hub Income level

Housing variety

1.4 Desirable parameters of various formats

Housing variety

Source: Authors

Inclusive housing matrix

To understand the overlap of the social and spatial parameters, we have created a matrix that we call the Inclusive housing matrix. (1.5) This matrix is divided under three temporal phases: Intent, Design and Usage. We can gauge the success or failure of a housing policy when all three of these are studied together. From the theoretical frameworks mentioned earlier, we have created a list of parameters that fall under these three subheads.

•

Policy or Development intent refers to the developmental intent of planners and policy makers. It sets certain constraints within which the designers or the architects have to work; defines the status quo. In a top-down approach, the influence of policies and codes are of grave importance.

•

Design goals refer to the spatial structure; the direct consequence of the designer’s objective. This spatial structure informs and influences usage patterns within and beyond it. Additionally, accomplishing the limited goals of the project set by the client and the policies; design should have the ability to divert from the rigid societal norms.

•

Usage refers to the various human activities that happen as a consequence of and in spite of the space. The usage pattern indicates what works and what doesn’t. Usage by the people in which transformation occurs through people’s social exchanges, they adapt to the built space and modify it according to the urban necessities.

Policy or developmental intent •

Equitable distribution of resources As opposed to equal distribution of resources, equitable distribution means fair and just distribution. Land, housing stock, open spaces and other social infrastructure should be equitably distributed amongst various user groups.

•

Economic Diversity The fact that housing and urban poverty alleviation is under the same ministry shows that the issue of inclusivity in housing is directly related with poverty. Any housing scheme should not be exclusive to a certain income range user group. A person irrespective of his income should have the opportunity to find accommodation in a neighborhood depending on his convenience and to fit in the residential fabric with human dignity. (MoHUPA, 2011)

Design goals •

Basic Amenities: For any housing scheme, a serviced land with habitable unit sizes that do not compromise on adequate light and ventilation is a must.

•

Permeability: Boundary conditions of any type should not be so rigid that it does not provide access for basic thoroughfare. It should integrate with streets creating active edges. Shared common resources: The housing should not act as an isolated part of the city, which only consumes city’s resources and does not give back anything. Resources such as community parks and markets should cater to a wider range of user group. (Discussion with S.K. Das)

•

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the gated •

Infrastructural Integration: Major infrastructural facilities such as public transport, banks, education and health facilities should be well connected and accessible to everyone.

•

Capacity to grow and adapt: The design should be flexible and allow modifications based on individual’s means and needs.

•

Safety: It is an important concern, but creating gated colonies to ensure safety creates boundaries which are more sociological than physical.

•

Natural territorial reinforcement: Design should encourage responsibility and creation of areas that one is responsible for beyond individual dwelling units.

Usage •

Freedom to participate: Refers to the power of decision making and having the freedom to voice your opinion when it comes to community decisions. (Nabeel Hamdi, 2010)

•

Communal Harmony includes community participation and lack of discrimination leading to a healthy, thriving society formation.

INCLUSIVE HOUSING MATRIX

Intent

Design

Usage

Equitable distribution of resources

Basic amenities

Freedom to participate

Permeability

Communal harmony

Economic Diversity

Shared common resources Infrastructural integration Capacity to grow and adapt/ flexible Safety Natural Territorial reinforcement

1.5 Inclusive housing matrix

Source: Authors

Research hypothesis + analysis

In Anand Vihar, the study area encompasses all unique housing typologies, and the edge of the extents coincides with the spatial structure of the city. It also falls within a 1.5km radius of Anand Vihar Terminal. (1.6) For the purpose of the study, one of every unique typology, typical in structure, and in their adjacency conditions in the larger area are identified: 1. Karkardooma Urban village, 2. Jagriti enclave plotted planned development, 3. Janta flats DDA group housing, 4. Jhuggi Jhopdi or JJ cluster. Considering the inclusive housing matrix, the hypothesis is that “Intent, Design and Usage of housing in Anand Vihar reinforces exclusivity rather than promoting inclusivity.” The aforementioned housing matrix is used as a tool to examine the site. The site is studied at two levels:

• •

Intra-type, wherein, all sub-types are assessed in isolation and within themselves, and Inter-type, wherein, we zoom out and assess the sub-types as a whole.

Certain parameters are overlooked as they are not applicable for both intra and inter-type studies. Using these five frameworks, an understanding of distribution of various assets (resources) amongst the housing typologies is achieved. This distribution is unequal; leading one to extrapolate that certain typologies by virtue, are more ‘included’ or ‘excluded’.

3 4 2 1

1.6 Site boundaries

Source: Authors

Intra-type study Intent; Economic diversity There is a wide variation of occupants based on income levels in the Karkardooma village. Since, Karkardooma village falls under “Lal-Dora”, there hasn’t been a check on the expansion that has taken place in the last 3 decades, which has lead to people coming in from different parts of the country and from a varied economic background, which further adds to the economic diversity of the place. This leads to a more equitable distribution of resources. In the other three types, there is little or no economic diversity.

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the gated

1.7 JJ cluster typical unit plan and street section

Source: Authors

1.8 Urban village typical plan and street section

Source: Authors

1.9 Plotted development typical residence plan and street section

Source: Authors

1.10 Group housing typical cluster plan and street section

Source: Authors

1.11 Karkardooma village and Jagriti enclave (Urban village and plotted development) (L-R)

Source: Authors

site boundary vehicular access pedestrian access temples school market bank hospital community spaces park 1.12 Janta apartments and Vishwas nagar (DDA group housing and JJ cluster) (L-R)

Source: Authors

Design; Basic amenities In Karkardooma village, some of the rental houses provide windowless single rooms for entire family. These buildings open into narrow commercial streets and often lack proper light and ventilation. (1.8) Plotted colonies do not lack any basic amenities as they have low density of population; wide streets and low-rise blocks allow for generous light and ventilation. (1.9) Janta flats by virtue of its cluster typology have adequate sized dwelling units. They have courtyards which allow for sufficient light and ventilation. (1.10) The Jhuggi Jhopdi on the other hand has families living in units lesser than 10 square meters with no windows, these tenements open onto extremely narrow streets. (1.7) Design; Permeability and shared resources Karkardooma has a central commercial spine which runs through the village. It has freely accessible large open spaces in the form of religious spaces and parks. The entrance to the village is formed by an informal market, which makes it highly permeable. Anand Vihar has generous open spaces but restricted pedestrian access. The colony edge is all gated, hence impermeable. Janta flats is a small cluster of flats which has sufficient green and open spaces. (1.11) In the Janta flats, there are no gates to pass but there is strong sense of territory. In this ungated neighbourhood, people have built platforms and street furniture to promote walkability. The DDA markets act as the major centers of shared common space which are accessed by all kinds of user groups. (1.12) The Jhuggi Jhopdi colony has commercial and religious establishments with narrow, yet accessible pedestrian paths. The edge facing the road is commercially active and has a shared toilet facility. There are two main streets which go deep into the JJ colony stretched linearly. These two streets have various interconnections through narrow passages in between the

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Un-gating the gated

Karkardooma

1.13 Capacity to grow and adapt

Anand vihar

Janta flats

JJ cluster

Source: Authors

closely packed houses. These passages have hierarchy in their usage and some may even pass through semi-private areas of the houses. (1.12) Design; Capacity to grow and adapt Karkardooma and Anand Vihar have space for vertical expansion, whereas Janta flats can only expand into terraces and balconies. JJ has limited scope of expansion because of the sheer density and building materials. (1.13) Usage; Freedom to participate In the case of JJ cluster, only the influential has a say in the decision making process. In planned development, the difference in economic diversity is negligible which results in all of them being a part of the decision making group. In Karkardooma Village, only the landowners are considered a part of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Actual residentsâ&#x20AC;? that makes them the only group that influences the decision making process. Usage; Communal housing In Karkardooma and JJ clusters, people come together to celebrate festivals, fix problems and for leisure activities which leads to higher interdependence. Compared to the other 2 housing types, there is lesser interdependence, in planned colonies, which results in limited interactions. The point to note here is that since, the interactions are limited in nature, this also becomes one of the factors contributing to the overall communal harmony.

Inter-type study Intent; Economic diversity The visible economic disparity and the unequal distribution of land in all the four housing types are amongst the important factors that lead to shortage of housing options for the vulnerable groups. The population density of urban village and JJ cluster is more than the planned colonies, but the area allotment for the same is far less resulting in overcrowding and other issues like sanitation, parking, etc. Intent; Equitable Distribution of resources (1.14) The circle indicates the proximity of each housing type to essential resources like schools, banks and hospitals. While the need for walking-proximity to essential resources is the most in Karkardooma village and JJ colony, it is only the planned colonies that enjoy these benefits. The land area of Karkardooma village is disproportionate to its density, while no such disparity is present in the plotted colony.

Design, Infrastructural Integration (1.15) Lines here highlight integration of each type of housing with vital infrastructure

1.14 Equitable distribution of resources

Source: Authors

1.15 Infrastructural integration

Source: Authors

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the gated and transport facilities like bus, metro and the Anand Vihar station. We observe that these integrations are more prevalent with the planned and plotted colonies than with Karkardooma village and JJ colony. It is clear from the map, that when one talks of infrastructural integration, planned development has everything integrated compared to the other types which has grown and stands in isolation. Design, Permeability Plotted development, being a gated colony, is the least permeable compared to other housing types. Although one can find their way through the marked area of the plotted colony, there is no dedicated pedestrian pathway designed to connect the Anand Vihar road to the Vikas Marg. (1.16) Design, Capacity to grow and adapt, and safety As a neighborhood, there are multiple empty land parcels that can be developed to reduce the disparity in housing, hence providing the capacity to grow. This is only possible if the there is a change at the policy level. The empty land parcels as discussed earlier are the most unsafe areas for its inhabitants along the entire Anand Vihar road stretch. These housing types might seem â&#x20AC;&#x153;inclusiveâ&#x20AC;? within themselves. But, when examined horizontally, we realize that as a whole, Anand Vihar is not inclusive. Rather it promotes Exclusion. Hence, the research hypothesis is true.

Karkardooma 29

1.16 Permeability

Anand vihar

Janta flats

JJ cluster Source: Authors

Precedent study

In Aranya, the intent was to create an economically diverse housing. The site plan accommodates and integrates a variety of income groups. Payment schemes, and a series of site and service options, reflect the financial resources of this mixed community .The land has been divided equitably amongst the various economic groups, with the lower income groups being placed in between the higher and the middle income groups. They have also been placed closer to the district center. (1.17) Eighty demonstration houses display a wide variety of possibilities, ranging from one room shelters to spacious houses. Most of the income groups buy only a house plot. Available to the poorest, in addition to the plot itself, are a concrete plinth, a service core, and a room. The down payment is based on the average income of the family, the loan balance being paid in monthly installments. Creation of pedestrian friendly streets and interactive terraces leads to formation of safe spaces without putting barriers or gates. In all, a complete freedom and a palette of choices are given to the multiple user groups. At mass Housing at Nerul, Navi Mumbai by S.K. Das, the primary objective was to create a new urban condition in which communities are formed by diverse people who have do not necessarily have any prior relationships or common background. Community formation here is born out of the urban necessity to manage and maintain environment and infrastructure. The larger community is disaggregated into condominiums (loosely structured housing associations) of 96 families each, who take full charge of their condominium, including building maintenance, open spaces, services, and the collection and disposal of waste, which is ordinarily done by paying user charges to the administration. A decentralized water supply, for example, ensures that 12-16 families are provided with underground water storage and are, from then on, free to allocate and use it any way they want to. A variety of social agreements thus emerge out of this process. Since landscape platforms and underground service networks are formatted on separate grids, the community at a cluster level determines the nature and texture of the landscape for themselves, thereby generating a variety of landscapes at the neighbourhood level. 80% of the site area is thus brought under user control.

LIG + EWS MIG HIG commercial

1.17 Aranya site plan

Source: Vastu Shilpa associates

1 HOUSING / ANVT

Un-gating the Conclusion gated Aranya and Nerul housing case studies are examples of housing where the parameters of the Inclusive Housing Matrix are mostly affirmed. In terms of housing, economic diversity is generally considered as conflicting with communal harmony. However, In Aranya and Nerul, both economic diversity and communal harmony coexist. This has been a result of the way the site plan was devised by the architect at the design stage along with the anticipation of its usage. Further, the Inclusive Housing Matrix is not a checklist, but rather a set of interconnected parameters. This understanding leads to a conclusion that all these parameters are not only interdependent but highly synergistic ie., together, these parameters can produce far better results than what they could have individually. For example, to discuss permeability and sharing of common resources, safety comes into question. However, Aranya is an example where permeability and sharing of common resources coexist with security. This questions the physical boundaries of housing, which can be replaced by better design alternatives for the desired safety. There is a need to comprehend a scenario where if safety is granted and completely assured, would gated housing still be preferred? Architects, planners and urbanists need to alter their perception and comprehend the idea of an interdependent shared city.

Bibliography

Alexander, C. (1977). A Pattern Language. Authority, D. D. (2001). Zonal Development Plan, Zone E East Delhi. Berube, J. (2006). Housing Policy Debate. Brugmann, J. (2010). Welcome to Urban Revolution. Chambers, R., & Conway, G. (1992). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st Century. Classic. Chattopadhyay, S. (2006). New Essays on Inclusive Housing. Das, S. (2014, November ). Ungating the Gated. (A. Dhingra, J. Babu, M. Garg, & U. Mittal, Interviewers) Davis, M. (2006). Planet of Slums . DFID. (2002). Shelter and Human Rights. Department For Internantional Development UK. Ghosh, S. (2014, November). Final Crits. (D. Moza, A. Singh , A. Nandi, & D. Jain, Interviewers) Gora, R. (2014, August 12). Delhi: Rural-urban migration swell ranks of Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homeless. Business standard, p. 1. Gupta, M. (2012, September 06). East Delhi 91 colonies approved for regularization. Zee News, p. 1. Hamdi, N. (2010). A placemakers guide to building. Hamdi, N. (2010). small change. Housing: Research and Documentation, B.arch year 4. (2012). SPA-D. KPMG. (2012). Urban housing shortage in India. Lasalle, J. L. (2012). Affordable Housing Shortage in India. Jones Lang Lasalle. Lawson, J. (2006). Critical Realism and Housing Research. Maddox, D. (2013). Nature of Cities . Millenium Development report. (n.d.). Mital, R. (2014, November ). Review crits. MoHUPA. (2011). Towards more Inclusive Cities. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. MoHUPA. (2011). Affordable housing in partnership. MoHUPA. (2011). Report of the working group and rural habitat. Narayanan, N. P. (2012). Housing in Delhi. Slide Share. Picketty, T. (2014). Capitalism in twenty- first Century. Raban, J. (1974). Soft City. Saunders, D. (2010). Arrival City. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Shukla, S. (2013, April 5). East Azad Nagar Colony added to regularized. Millenium Post, p. 2. Singh, R. (2013, September 18). Delhi: 5 months on, first legalized no better. Times of India, p. 3. Smith, B. a. (1997). Mixed Income Housing. Stiglitz, J. E. (2012). Price of Ineqality. Surveyors, R. I. (2012). Making affordable housing work in India. Turner, J. (1976). Housing by People. Un-Habitat. (2014). Right to adequate housing. Un-Habitat. Wilkinson, R. G. (2009). The Spirit Level. Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a way of life. The American Journal of Sociology, Vol 44, No.1 , pp. 1-24

HOUSING / NDLS

Guide

Group members

Ms. Anjali Mittal

Akanksha Chauhan Akhil K. Tiwari Ejaz Fysel Priyesh Dubey R. Rachakonda Roshan Kerketta T. Ramror, Vidisha

Being different together

Abstract This paper theorizes that socio-spatial inclusion/exclusion is an emergent property of the interaction between multiple dimensions i.e. spatial, economic, social, physical and political. We first study the various definitions of inclusivity given by different persons and organizations to grasp a holistic meaning of the word. Through these definitions we identify the many different lenses through which housing must be looked at in order to gauge the real degree of its inclusivity. We arrive at a definition wherein all of the dimensions of inclusivity are given due consideration. Under economy, we study issues pertaining to policy making and affordability. Cities of India like Delhi have expanded to unimaginable proportions to accommodate and keep up to the economic growth rates, impacting severely on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban form, where one finds pockets of enormous density and marginalizing its poor inhabitants. The paper also attempts to examine urban development policies, that have been formulated by the government over the years, and their impact on intra-city relationships. We try to relate urbanist Alain Bertaudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory of urban spatial structure being the possible cause of the labour marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consolidation or fragmentation, to the context of Delhi. Every large society contains people with distinctive cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioural or biological traits. Those that belong to a minority group are often victims of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and social exclusion. To accurately assess the level of inclusivity on the site, we identified the social groups which are at a risk of being excluded. Infrastructure plays a crucial role in society and economy by providing services to households such as the availability of transport, electricity, safe water and sanitation, and other basic facilities. It has a tremendous impact on improving the quality of life. This is especially the case for poorer households. These physical aspects of the housing are further delineated. Lastly, we identify the different typologies of housing that exist within the chosen site and study their spatial quality like standard of living, porosity of boundaries and their mobility. The criteria for the selection of these three study areas were their diverse nature. Using a questionnaire formulated from the previously identified parameters, we surveyed these study areas, illustrating the differences that exist within the site in order to highlight their significance within the symbiotic framework of inclusivity. Finally, we assess them through the parameters in order to measure their degree of inclusivity. We first evaluate the opportunities, (education and employment) and choose those most commonly employed across the different typologies of housing identified, then measure the extent to which neighbourhoods offering different levels of opportunity and walkability/ transit accessibility are occupied by diverse demographics. In other words, we measure how much access all residents of a metropolitan area have to neighbourhoods that provide opportunities for fulfilment of their aspirations. Through this analysis, inferences are drawn and recommendations are made on different possible ways to reach the goals for stable, adequate, equitably accessible and affordable housing.

2 HOUSING / NDLS

Being Inclusive housing different together According to our study the key aspects that should be fulfilled for an inclusive society are respect for all human rights, freedom, security, citizens who participate in civic, social, economic and political activities, access to education, access to public information, and resources. All citizens should have equity, community interaction & interdependence. These factors broadly fall under five main parameters i.e. political, economic, social, physical & spatial. Thus inclusive housing includes (almost) everything within its scope. It does not try to equalize everyone and bring them to the same socio-economic level, but rather accepts and respects their differences. It is a process in which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of their background, so that they can achieve their full potential in life. It is aimed at creating conditions which enable full and active participation of every member of the society in all aspects of life, including civic, social, economic, and political activities, as well as participation in decision-making processes. Super-inclusive housing would include all groups of people belonging to different economic strata, religious beliefs, sex, familial and household structure, professions, disabilities, age, or even sexual preference. Thus, we theorize that inclusivity in housing is an emergent property of the interaction between multiple dimensions i.e. spatial, economic, social, physical and political. In our study, we concentrated on three choice areas of focus. Each study area offers a different architectural language and typology of housing.

2.1 Study area

Source: Authors

Analysis - mapping

Spatial There are three identifiable typologies of housing which exist on-site. (2.2)

•

Government housing: Adjacent to the civic centre there is a large CPWD housing complex along with the Minto Road Hostel complex. These cater to the long term and short term residential needs of government employees and their families, respectively. This typology consists of self-sufficient gated communities which have their own convenience shops, parks and other amenities.

•

Notified Slum/Special Area Zone: The housing found along the edge of Shahjahanabad and Paharganj is majorly a mixed-use type. The ground floor usually consists of commercial shops and the upper floors are residential. The MCD has declared many of these localities as illegal but they continue to flourish as they are registered under the Waqf board. All domestic needs like water and electricity are privately maintained by individuals.

•

JJ Colonies: Most of the occupants are washermen or dhobis who are dependent on nearby housing colonies and hotels for their livelihood. People consider themselves descendants of the old settlement around the dhobi ghat.

Economic In terms of the household earning capacity (2.3) • The government housing consists of mostly mid to high level officials so their monthly income is substantial. • The special area zone i.e. Paharganj and Shahjahanabad consists of mostly middle income groups. • The JJ colonies are occupied mostly by labour serving the gated communities. These individuals are mostly poverty stricken and living in dire conditions.

Social The findings indicate evenly distributed age groups and a balanced gender ratio, and dominance of the Hindu religion in the region. (2.3)

Physical JJ colonies and the notified slum areas have limited access to public facilities such as schools, parks, hospitals, etc. as compared to the government housing. (2.4)

Political We found a significantly higher population of the residents of zone A possess voter ID cards as compared to those of zone D. This can possibly be attributed to the fact that most of the housing in zone D is government owned and therefore the residents are mostly migrants rather than locals. Their interest in the city politics is diminished as they are hardly affected by its dynamics. In contrast, a much higher percentage of aadhar card holders was seen in zone D as compared to zone A. Ration cardholders are significantly higher in zone A because this area consists of mostly JJ colonies where people are more dependent on government subsidized commodities.

2 HOUSING / NDLS

Being different together

2.2 Housing typologies and income range

Source: Authors

2.3 Age group and religious distribution

Source: Authors

2.4 Gender and physical infrastructure distribution

Source: Authors

Degree of inclusivity

Overlaying the different parameters we arrive at the final levels of inclusivity on the site. Here we can see the degree of inclusivity graded from the highest to the lowest. (2.5) The red patches are exclusive and fail to provide opportunities for interaction within the neighbourhood. The green patches are highly inclusive areas at the urban scale. The yellow patches are inclusive at the typology level, so these are the areas where the intra-communal interactions are high.

2.5 Heat map for inclusivity

Source: Authors

Special area zone Neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to its surroundings: The area has evolved organically as part of its surroundings. The workplaces situated mostly on the ground floor or in close proximity. Connections to the neighborhood: High density - does not have sufficient public transport. The developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s layout makes it impossible for a bus to serve the area. Narrow lanes leading to houses which can be accessed only by foot or two wheelers. Use and access of the surrounding facilities: Limited access to public facilities such as schools, parks, hospitals, etc. Children go to school mostly on foot. Most of the daily use goods are easily available in the local shops, which reduces the need to go to bigger market located far away.

JJ colonies Neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to its surroundings: The JJCS have sprung around the vicinity of the govt. housing colonies. No or minimal access to public facilities. 38

2 HOUSING / NDLS

Being different together

Connections to the neighborhood: The neighbourhood surrounds and caters to the organized govt. housing. Location of these settlements to close proximity to housing have ease of access to public transport. The three JJCS have varying densities based on location and surroundings. Use and access of the surrounding facilities: Limited access to public facilities such as schools, parks, hospitals, etc. Children go to school mostly on foot. Easy availability of daily usage goods in the locality, reduces the need to go to far off marketplaces.

Government housing Neighborhood’s response to its surroundings: Planned gated housing complex with devoted areas for playgrounds, parking facilities, and daily and daily use shopping etc. Boundary walls on all sides. Residents come from different parts of the country. All houses are allotted by govt. to their employees. The workplaces situated far from this housing. Connections to the neighborhood: The neighbourhood is well connected from all sides. Wide roads with buffer on both sides. Most of the people use private mode of transport. Use and access of the surrounding facilities: Limited access. Not everyone is allowed inside the complex. Easy accessibility to public facilities such as parks hospitals etc. There is provision of clinic inside. Children from neighbourhood come in evening and play games like cricket and football. Most of the daily use goods are easily available in the complex itself. The street right outside gets full of vendors in evenings. The low-income population was originally living in “illegal” squatter settlements or slums or JJC – because there was not adequate affordable housing supply for them in the centre city – when they originally arrived in the city to work and aid in its economic growth. Displaced low-income population is most often located at the outskirts of the city. This puts tremendous pressure on the transport infrastructure of the city, as well as the finances of the low income families – as they have to commute every day to their place of work in the city. Moreover, secondary sources of family income (women working locally, etc.) are often severed, thus making the family poorer. Children are disconnected from schools and new social and physical; infrastructure is not provided. Shared amenities originally available in the city centre are also out of reach after relocation. The above situation often forces the poor to move back into the city and live as squatters or slums in dilapidated conditions again, just to be close to jobs & amenities.

Conclusion

• • • • • • •

The dense settlement in Shajahanabad is inclusive in terms of transport nodes and commercial activities while it lacks various other factors. Railway colony is exclusive as the community is inclusive with park and open spaces within itself. Government low rise housing is an exclusive group with inclusive open spaces. Gated community urban village is inclusive in itself while it is under legal threats. The CPWD housing is part of the Lutyen’s bungalow zone (LBZ) which makes it inclusive with open spaces and transport nodes in it. Paharganj settlement is inclusive with commercial activities but lacks inclusive open spaces. DDA housing is inclusive with open spaces (NDMC area- boundary of informal to formal).

Bibliography Cass, N., Shove, E. & Urry, J. 2003. Changing Infrastructures, Measuring Socio-Spatial Inclusion/Exclusion. DESA. 2009. Creating an Inclusive Society: Practical Strategies to Promote Social Integration. Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS). 2012. The Unsung City Makers - A Study of the Homeless Residents of Delhi. 49th ISOCARP Congress. 2013. Conflicts In Land And Housing markets. Sugiyarto, G. 2005. Infrastructure supporting inclusive growth. Manilla. 2011. Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific: Framework of Inclusive Growth Indicators. Harrington, M. & Dawson, D. 1997. Recreation as Empowerment for Homeless People Living in Shelters. Spence, S., Stevens, R. & Parks, P. 2004. Cognitive Dysfunction in Homeless Adults. National fair housing. <http://www.nationalfairhousing.org, NFHA 2008> [accessed 2014] Alain Bertaud <http://alainbertaud.com> [accessed 2014] United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 <http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html> [accessed 2014] Homeless people <http://homelesspeople.in/?q=node/343> [accessed 2014]

HOUSING / NZM

Man vs. exclusion

Guide

Group members

Ms. Kanak Tiwari

Anjali Singh Japleen Kaur Karan Singh Renuka Singh Siddharth Mathur Snober Khan

Abstract

Based on our research and readings, we define Inclusivity as a social condition comprising of a combination of factors that lead to an equitable society or community with optimum level of exclusion. In this research paper, we have tried to understand the issue of Inclusivity in Delhi’s Housing scenario using the example of Sarai Kale Khan precinct. It begins with an introduction to the terms ‘House & Housing’, and ‘Inclusion & Exclusion’. Dwelling is neutral and so it can work either for us or against us. When it works for us we are able to exclude those we wish to be apart from and include those we love and care for. At the same time, inclusion is the ability to be involved and to choose to interact when you wish for it. This inclusion is what makes a housing livable. The site is later analyzed on parameters such as presence of facilities and typology. It has been judged on two broad parameters in our ‘Mechanism for Inclusion Housing’ called the tangible and the intangible. The tangible aspect covers parameters such as a house that satisfies minimum standards and by laws as determined by NBC and Delhi Building By laws, a neighborhood that provides a safe, accessible and interactive community and existence of all required facilities as per the Delhi master Plan 2021. The intangible is an attempt to understand housing differently, not just as an amalgamation of a house satisfying building by laws and a good neighborhood with required facilities. For this we used the Happiness/Well Being Index for Inclusive Housing. Based on this, conclusion has been framed. The paper ends with a brief discussion on government policies such as the JNNURM and Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna and also looks at findings of think tanks such as Task Force of the Fourth Planning Commission to determine what has been done and what mere can be done to achieve the utopian idea of an inclusive housing.

3 HOUSING / NZM

Man vs. Introduction exclusion House & Housing House: The house is a tool invented by human beings to help in their adaptation to their environment. It is a unit that should ideally contain a living space, a kitchen and a toilet. Housing: Collection of houses form a housing. Since we humans are social beings, it is our housings that provide us with an opportunity to interact. Services and facilities are also provided collectively. Housing is about Settlement, about moving in the environment, about making and keeping community, and about finding our place and keeping it. It is making places as well as using space.

Inclusion & Exclusion When it works for us we are able to exclude those we wish to be apart from and include those we love and care for. This exclusion is what makes a house habitable and habitual; It is what makes it ‘mine’ and so it is mutual. At the same time, inclusion is the ability to be involved, to be embraced, and to choose to interact when you wish for it. This inclusion is what makes a housing livable. What this means is that inclusion and exclusion are oppositional; ‘my’ inclusion of intimacy demands and depends upon the exclusion of others. However, this leads us to a question. Does this not indicate a problem with the usage of only the word inclusion with housing? It is not necessary to exclude others? This oppositional structure of inclusion/exclusion operates to the benefit of all only so long as some are not excluded from all places; as long as we all have a right to be in some place, and cannot, under normal circumstances and through legal means, be excluded from that place. What we then need is the possibility, and indeed the actuality, that all of us can attain this balance of inclusion/exclusion, rather than just being excluded.

Definition of Inclusion Hence, we define Inclusion as a social condition comprising of a combination of factors that lead to an equitable society or community with optimum level of exclusion. This means that for inclusivity to exist, three broad factors must exist together. • The ability to exclude and include whenever needed. • Equitable right to resources. • Presence of basic minimum standards. inclusion works • If one has the ability to include ones he loves, and can exclude others. • If everyone has an equitable right to housing. • If the basic standards and guidelines are followed. At the same time, the situation isn’t inclusive if • One lose the ability to include and exclude. • There is no equitable access to housing. • Basic standards and guidelines are not followed.

Site analysis Housing typologies Most of the site is organically settled by private unauthorized ownership and JJ clusters. Due to planned development Nizamuddin residential colony and Siddharth Nagar is in contrast to Sarai Kale Khan village. (3.1) On account of Lal Dora norms the settlement appears free from the city’s development controls. An onslaught of development pressures in the absence of development controls have allowed addition of an incessant number of floors, affecting light and ventilation conditions.

3.1 Housing typologies

Source: Authors

Income groups Annual household income data, which is an aggregate of expenditure and savings data, of number of households in six income brackets for the year 2004 were obtained from Indicus’ data repository. The four income brackets are – • < Rs. 75,000 (or, < Rs.0.75 lakh) or Rs.75,001- Rs.300,000 (or, Rs.1.5 lakh – Rs.3 lakh) • Rs.300,001 - Rs. 500,000 (or, Rs.3 lakh – Rs.5 lakh) • Rs.500,001 - Rs.1,000,000 (or, Rs.5 lakh – Rs.10 lakh) • > Rs.1,000,000 (or, > Rs.10 lakh) The numbers of households in the first two income brackets (< Rs.0.75 lakh, Rs.0.75 lakh – Rs.3 lakh) were added up and classified as population belonging to the ‘lower’ income group. The next income bracket (Rs.3 lakh – Rs.5 lakh, Rs.5 lakh – Rs.10 lakh) were classified as ‘middle’ income group, and > Rs.10 lakh was classified as the ‘upper’ income group. (3.2)

3 HOUSING / NZM

Man vs. exclusion

3.2 Income bracket chart and map (L-R)

Source: Authors

Commercial development The mixed-use commercial areas in Sarai Kale Khan village and Nagli Razapur have developed along the main roads. (3.3)

3.3 Commercial development

Source: Authors

3.4 Community interaction map and infrastructural facilities (L-R)

Source: Authors

Community interaction and infrastructural facilities The bigger dots in the map are parks and open spaces that are highly interactive among different age groups whereas smaller dots are major street nodes. (3.4) The second map shows the facilities available in Sarai Kale Khan. The site is lacking in healthcare services and dedicated space for community activities. Presence of bus terminus and railway station makes the housing suffocative. Although people have easy transport services available on their locality, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a healthy environment.

3 HOUSING / NZM

Man vs. Inferences exclusion The degree of inclusivity has been measured in two parts: the tangible aspect and the intangible aspect. The tangible: â&#x20AC;˘ A house that satisfies minimum standards and by laws as determined by NBC and Delhi Building By laws. â&#x20AC;˘ A neighborhood that provides a safe, accessible and interactive community. â&#x20AC;˘ Existence of all required facilities as per the Delhi master Plan 2021. The Intangible: An attempt to understand housing differently, not just as an amalgamation of a house satisfying building by laws and a good neighborhood with required facilities. A housing as we understand, is much more. As we human beings are social beings, it is our housings that are determinants of our society and culture, hence factors such as safety of environment, interactions, physical and mental well-being play an important role. For this we used the Happiness/Well Being Index for Inclusive Housing, which will attempt to measure the abovementioned aspects.

Tangible House Standards The National Building Code and Delhi building byelaws gives us the basic requirements of a house with the minimum dimensions for bedroom, toilet, kitchen, ventilation, etc. Based on the primary surveys, the findings are that a large percentage of houses in Sarai-Kale-Khan and Nagli Razapur, do not even match the minimum standards of room sizes. (3.5) DDA and Nizamuddin East fare well, whereas the situation for the slum settlement of Bahlolpur Bangar is much worse. Block type Comparing the densities and per capita space available in all the neighborhoods, we find that while somebody living in East Nizamuddin has 56.25 sqm of living space per capita, housing such as Sarai Kale Khan and Nagli Razapur cannot provide an individual with even 10 sqm of living area per capita. (3.6) Streets The approach roads to most of housings in Sarai Kale Khan and Nangli Razapur are very narrow, with high degree of encroachments like shops, balconies etc. Such a situation can be extremely dangerous in the event of a disaster such as fire, with the narrow streets making the use of fire tenders impossible. Parking While most of the people in East Nizamuddin and DDA own vehicles, and have abundant space to park them, the four wheelers owned by people in Sari Kale Khan and Nangli Razapur do not have manoeuvring space on the streets, let alone parking. As a consequence, many vehicles are found parked in large garages on the ground floor. Also, being near a transport hub, the area houses many rehdi-walas and auto rickshaw walas, who have no space to park their source of livelihood.

Electricity and water Most of the residences have a rather dependable supply of metered electricity, thanks to privatization. However water supply continues to be erratic and much housing relies on borewells to meet additional needs.

3.5 Housing standards survey

Source: Authors

3.6 Block survey

Source: Authors

3 HOUSING / NZM

Man vs. exclusion Facilities For the last tangible aspect, we have made a list of facilities and services that are required for a residential precinct with a population of one lakh people as per the Delhi master Plan 2021. (3.7) At face value, there seems to be no shortage of schools, medical facilities, sewage treatment plants, utility services and the like in and around the precinct. However most of the facilities are present in East Nizamuddin, while Sarai-Kale-Khan and Nangli Razapur continue to suffer because of lack of basic amenities and care. For example, necessary facilities such maternity homes are nonexistent. There is only one dispensary in the DDA housing that provides rudimentary care. Also, most of the facilities in East Nizamuddin arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accessible to people from other areas because they have either been priced out of it or because they lie within gated communities.

3.7 Facilities

Source: Authors

Intangible Happiness/ Well Being Standard The factors that have been considered for the happiness index include: • Environment Wellness, which is a measure of absence of pollution and cleanliness. • Physical Wellness, which is a measure of prevalence of diseases and ailments. • Safety • Social Wellness, which is measure of levels of interaction that exist between people. • Political Wellness, which is measure of how adequate, is the representation of people in civic bodies, and how much they are involved. Analysis of the site shows the various kinds of disparities that exist. Within the span of a few hundred meters, one finds people from all possible walks of life, sharing the same space. Although it is not possible for a place to be completely inclusive or non inclusive, we conclude that the Sarai-Kale-Khan precinct is far from being inclusive. (3.8) • A majority of the people do not have a house that fulfills the minimum standard. • There is hardly any equitable distribution of facilities in and around the site. • The balance between inclusion and exclusion does not exist, with a majority lying out of reach of the bare minimum.

3.8 Intangible survey

Source: Authors

3 HOUSING / NZM

Man vs. Way forward exclusion In India, National and State urban housing policies over recent decades have broadly centered on the following models: • Urban Housing schemes based on large central and state subsidies such as those under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and INDIRAMMA in Andhra Pradesh. These are mainly in the category of welfare schemes.

•

Measures to ensure supply of small housing sites and small dwelling units in the mainstream and legal housing segment with security of tenure by forcing by regulations the private real estate trade as well as government agencies as part of Master Plan and layout regulations with the assumption that poor people who mainly depend on unauthorized colonies would have an affordable legal option. This has been practiced in Haryana and some other states.

•

Schemes like the Slum Redevelopment Scheme of Mumbai which allow designated pockets of slums to be re-developed with many times higher density in comparison with other areas of the city so that a private developer who is allowed the development right of such slum has to build permanent houses for the original occupants in high rise structures on part of the same site out of the profits.

Governments have a responsibility to ensure that all citizens have a roof over their head. With a vast population living below poverty line, the State of India should try to ensure that even the poorest earn enough to have a square meal and clothing and shelter with sound structure and basic infrastructure and services. While state subsidies for these needs are already in existence, in the long run it is necessary that housing policies for the poor are based on financially sustainable models that depend in good measure on what the urban poor can afford. Most houses in which poor people live are built by private initiative, either by the poor themselves or by small private developers in the unorganized sector. These houses do not fall in any of the categories on which most of the government policies are based. The largest housing segment of the urban poor therefore remains unidentified and hence outside government contribution. Also, the Government needs to understand the importance of intangible aspects such as environmental wellness and safety and add them to its future policies on housing. Also, people are complacent about their right to be included in the mainstream. Inclusion needs to be seen as a right, not a privilege. Government policies to that aim tackle exclusion in housing; and suggestions for the same: • Provision of EWS and LIG flats, to overcome the major issue of exclusion when it comes to housing, Economic Exclusion. Also, there are hardly any options for affordable rented housing.

•

Encourage Public Private Programs to provide basic amenities such as water and cleanliness. Along the lines of privatization of electricity, more accountable means of PP partnership should be developed.

•

Make policies such as the JNNURM (that specifies infrastructure gaps relating to water, sanitation, sewerage, drainage and roads on one hand and deficiencies in housing and basic services on the other and marks 20-25 % land in housing projects to EWS.)

•

And the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana (that envisages a slum-free India by encouraging policies that bring existing slum settlements within the formal system so they can avail the same level of basic facilities as rest of the city.)

•

Also, Findings of think tanks such as Task Force of the Fourth Planning Commission which submitted a report titled ‘Shelter for the Urban Poor and Slum Development, in Sept.1983 ( in which it suggested a new definition of a “house” (Not necessarily pucca or permanent status symbol, but one that shelters adequately), and a re-definition of the housing task (Not necessarily permanent building, but livable environment) should be implemented.

Bibliography Dwivedi, Rishi Muni. 2007. “Urban Development and Housing in India”, New Century Publications, New Delhi. Hudco-hsmi, 2010. “Shelter Magazine”, Special Issue. King, Peter, 2008. “In Dwelling: Implacability, Exclusion and Acceptance”, Ashgate Publishing Company, Suite 420, 101 Cherry Street, Burlington. S., Renuka and Reddy, Mahalakshmi V., 2009. “Housing and Space Management”, Directorate of Information and Publications of Agriculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-I, Pusa, New Delhi 110012. Sen, Amartaya. “The standard of Living”. Sevcenko, M.B., 1981. “Urban Housing”, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Model inclusive zoning developments. <http://spa.ac.in/NRC/ThemePaperModelInclusiveZoningDevelopment.pdf> [accessed 2014] Affordable housing. <http://mhupa.gov.in/w_new/AffordableHousing.pdf> [accessed 2014] Housing for equal opportunities. <http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/disabilities/fhefhag> [accessed 2014] Accredition standards manual. <http://www.housing.nsw.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/1B44D24A-1D20-4285-A2DE-3328597CECB7/0/ AccreditationStandardsManual.pdf> [accessed 2014] Inclusive housing policy. <https://www.cordaid.org/nl/projecten/lobbying-for-inclusive-housing-policy/200-10059/> [accessed 2014] Housing quality standards. <http://www.powershow.com/view1/70c69-ZDc1Z/Housing_Quality_Standards_powerpoint_ppt_presentation> [accessed 2014] Housing quality standards. <http://www.nchh.org/policy/nationalhealthyhousingstandard.aspx> [accessed 2014] Delhi master plan. <http://delhi-masterplan.com> [accessed 2014] Land regulations in Mumbai. <http://globalurbanist.com/2011/04/26/how-ill-conceived-land-regulations-have-choked-mumbai.aspx> [accessed 2014] Slum rehabilitation in Mumbai. <http://globalurbanist.com/2011/05/03/unfunded-promises-and-common-citizens-slum-rehabilitation-inmumbai.aspx> [accessed 2014] Economics of free housing in Mumbai. <http://globalurbanist.com/2011/05/10/the-economics-of-free-housing-in-mumbai-time-for-a-newdiscourse.aspx> [accessed 2014] Housing policy 2007. <http://mhupa.gov.in/policies/duepa/HousingPolicy2007.pdf> [accessed 2014] Towards inclusion and equity. <http://infochangeindia.org/agenda/social-exclusion/towards-inclusion-and-equity.html> [accessed 2014]

OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of green

Guide

Group members

Mr. Sandip Kumar

Ankita Badwal Dhruv Kumar Faizan Zahid Jennifer Rocha Nandini T. Nivedita Jha Santosh Sagar Zaynah Rojoa

Abstract

The main theme of an inclusive city is equity and accessibility in terms of its economy, political rights, infrastructures, services, shared spaces, etc. If one interprets the ‘shared spaces’ aspect, inequality in terms of the usage of open spaces will be considered. The high influx of people in the city has resulted in more demands and requirements from its open spaces. As a result, there exists more pressure on these spaces to cater and fulfil those requirements and needs leading to exclusion. In an attempt to investigate the degree of inclusivity or exclusivity of open spaces, few open spaces of zone E or Anand Vihar region were selected as the basis of the study. The study starts with the formulation of the research question: How inclusive are the open spaces of Anand Vihar? In order to investigate the inclusivity of the open spaces in Anand Vihar, a primary survey was conducted. Inferences were derived from the survey, which were further analyzed in the form of tables and charts. The gender data obtained for each case study indicate that women are excluded from these open spaces. However it will be wrong to assume that women are excluded from all the open spaces of Anand Vihar based on the study of only 4 sites. During the course of our study, there were two questions that kept coming up -‘Why are certain people using these open spaces less than others?’ We observed that even though there is no deliberate legal or physical attempt to exclude people from the open spaces, they are still being excluded, a state known as passive exclusion. Our studies indicate that people tend to form groups and territories. In an open space, these territories impart a sense of belonging to some while imparting a sense of alienation to others leading to passive exclusion of certain groups.

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of Open spaces green Open spaces constitute a vital component of the city. They act as its lungs, providing breathable spaces. Further these spaces link different elements of the city and provide it with an aesthetic appeal, breaking away from the built mass. Open spaces affect people physically, socially, and psychologically, and play a part in enhancing or diminishing the quality of life. Thus, the open spaces are one of important resources of the city. The functions of an open space can be classified into five types which coexist with each other – Social and Societal, Environment, Ecological, Structure and Aesthetic (Francis, 1996). • Social and societal refers to the ability of the open space to provide for leisure and recreation, facilitate social interaction and communication and impart access to the experience of nature. It also has the function of bridging the gap amongst the multiple groups in society while simultaneously catering to their different needs. • Ecological are not particularly people-oriented, but concerned with the well-being of other forms of life like fauna and flora, that are and ought to be protected in open spaces. Environmental constitute climatic enhancement, noise screening, groundwater recharge etc. • Structure of the space includes articulating, dividing and linking areas of the Urban Fabric, improving the legibility of the city, establishing a sense of place and acting as a carrier of identity, meaning of identity, meaning and value, scale and size. • Aesthetics is the key which attracts variety of users and becomes a portal through which an individual can escape the city crowd. The ‘pleasantness’ factor includes aspects such as its welcoming and relaxing atmosphere and its suitability for interacting with people and children’s play, as well as the quality of its trees and plants, reflecting social as well as aesthetic considerations. (Thompson & Travlou, 2007). These functions, together contribute to the quality of urban life directly as well as indirectly. But, this idea has significantly changed, mostly in urban areas like that of Delhi. A city is now comprised of a variety of these open spaces which are planned to serve specific functions. The MPD 1962 states - ‘A system of linked open spaces and district parks has been worked out for the entire urban area of Delhi related to the proposed pattern of residential densities.’ Looking at the MPD 1962 land use plan, this system is clearly visible. Whereas in the MPD 2021, the ratio of open spaces to the built spaces has reduced drastically. These spaces are now catering a much larger population where each individual user has a different set of requirements and expectations from them, making it a valuable commodity. What makes this even more complicated is the fact that what suits one group of people sometimes preclude the same for others, giving rise to a conflict between people and their interests from open spaces. How can we ensure that what suits one group of people does not preclude provision for, and enjoyment by, another group? ‘It has been suggested (Thompson, 2002) that, instead of the park as “melting pot”, we need the “salad bowl”, where different cultures can find individual expression.’ (Thompson, 2002) Therefore, it is important that the city is planned in such a way that its open spaces are more equitably distributed, catering to the needs of its varied population. Urban open space should not be considered as an isolated unit but as a vital part of urban landscape with its own specific set of functions so that different cultures can find individual expression in a single platform. (Rogers, 1998)

In order to investigate the inclusivity of the open spaces in Anand Vihar, a primary survey was conducted. Inferences were derived from the survey, which were further analyzed in the form of tables and charts. Social, Economic and Political aspects of the city constitute the main parameters that were chosen to describe inclusivity. Only social parameters i.e.- gender, age, origin/ locality and physical/ mental status were considered. On the other hand the main

parameters for an open space were filtered down to accessibility, usage, safety, topography, size and scale, context and maintenance. After overlapping the inclusivity and open space parameters, we analyzed our case studies in their terms. Anand Vihar, in Zone E, with a projected population of 28 lacs in 88 sq. km. is deficient in open areas. As per MPD 2021, 15-20% of the total city area should be for recreational use. Consequently, there should be a minimum of 15% that is of 88 sq.km. i.e. 1320 Ha. Under recreational use. However, the Zone possesses only 935.33 Ha. Of recreational area. In an attempt to compensate for the current deficiency, the remaining 391 Ha. Shall be included in the redevelopment schemes in the zone (DDA, 2010). The current open spaces of zone e ranges from city level areas, zonal/divisional open spaces, city forest and historical monuments, district parks, neighborhood parks, water bodies, institutional open spaces, buffers, traffic islands, parking to residual spaces. Spaces were analyzed according to their categories and according to the observations made on site, and 14 sites were picked. These fourteen sites were further studied based on their context, characteristics and users. The data was recorded and assessed, after which, the sites were narrowed down to 4. (4.1)

4.1 Chosen sites within Anand Vihar

Source: Authors

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of Site studies green Karkardooma Park The Karkardooma Park is a neighborhood park surrounded by the DDA flats on the west and the Karkardooma village on the east. A school is next to the park and a major road runs along the primary entrance. The second entry to the park is from the village side. (4.2) The space is divided into two major areas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the park area and the Temple area. The park area is L shaped with trees and hedges lined along the perimeter and a pathway connecting both the entry points. High fencing runs along the perimeter of the boundary walls except for the part adjacent to the village.

4.2 Plotted developments and Urban village (L-R)

4.3 Map highlighting the park

Source: Authors

Source: Google Earth imagery

4.4 Graph showing the difference between the numbers of differently-abled visitors; Male and Female; from Karkardooma village, MIG flats or other settlements

Source: Authors

4.5 Graph showing the different activities on site, and the different age groups which use the park.

Source: Authors

The main entry encompasses a poorly designed ramp, hindering the access for the differently abled. The second entry which is from the village side is a staggered one, made by the urban village people and has no designed access for the differently abled either. The raised pathways in the park add to this lack of accessibility. (4.4) The major users of the park belong to the urban village, who access the park from the secondary entry. This shows the scarcity of an open space in the village, which this park fulfils. (4.3) The edge of the park along the DDA gated flats is high and seems to have been constructed in 3 stages. This shows a sense of insecurity felt by DDA residents, due to the urban village people. The class difference between them is clearly seen interrupting their social contact. The prominent activity of the space is for thoroughfare, the park being a shorter route between the village and the main road. This also creates eyes on space and safety for the villagers, at the same time making it uncomfortable for outsiders. It is observed that the expanse of illicit activities happening in the park are higher when other activities are less in number. This shows how various users utilize the space at different times of the day, to avoid conflict. (4.5) Infants, children and teenagers are among the minority users of the park, whereas the number of middle aged people using the park is highest. The lack of play infrastructure for children could have given rise to such differences. The ratio of men using the space to that of women is very high. This shows the insecurity that women might feel due to the illicit activities like gambling happening within and around the park. 58

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of green Green belt The Green Belt Park is a DDA owned park and a part of buffer green belt. A rail line and the old Anand Vihar railway station run parallel to its length. A dense green railway buffer belt and a middle class plotted development, the Anand Vihar colony lie on either sides of the park. An arterial road from the Anand Vihar colony which terminates at the railway station, holds the only public entry to this park. The park is a long, narrow and flat strip of land. A row of trees and shrubs run along its perimeter. (4.7) A paved path runs throughout the park. The central space is covered with grass and ample trees, which keep the park shaded. The limited access along with the linear shape and dense vegetation creates visual disconnect across the park. (4.6) Hence the rear end is

4.6 Anand Vihar colony, and raised path of the park. (L-R)

4.7 Map highlighting the park

Source: Authors

Source: Google Earth imagery

4.8 Graph showing the difference between the numbers of differently-abled visitors; Male and Female; from Anand Vihar and other settlements

Source: Authors

4.9 Graph showing the different activities on site, and the different age groups which use the park.

Source: Authors

less accessible. It is difficult for the differently abled, to use the park due to its raised concave pathways and trees blocking at intervals. (4.8) The park also acts as a backyard to the three storied apartments lined on its edge that can be directly accessed from the apartments. This provides a private character to the rear area of the park. The majority users belong to the Anand Vihar colony. Although a significant number of railway station users are seen in the front area of the park. Due to its proximity to railway station, houses lining the park have high walls and have grill barricaded balconies. The major activities catered by this space include walking and socializing. Majority of the users groups were middle aged and elderly from the surrounding residential colony. The number of children visiting the park on the other hand is less even after the provision of a play space. (4.9) This could be due to the lack of visibility of the play area from the main entry of the park or even due to its location at the edge of the colony, making it insecure for children to access or play.

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of green Residual railway land The railway residual land is a railway owned land left for future development. The site is a triangular piece of land with an uneven and dusty terrain. The railway platform runs along on one edge of the space and a Nallah runs along the edge toward the main road. Few Dhabas are seen along this Nallah edge. The third edge is an entry space to the railway station housing an auto and taxi stand. The residual land can be access from this entry space as well as from the end of the platform. (4.11) A trail is created by the thoroughfare between the access points.

4.10 Used as transition space, and encroached upon.

4.11 Map highlighting the park

Source: Authors

Source: Google Earth imagery

4.12 Graph showing the difference between the numbers of differently-abled visitors; Male and Female; from Anand Vihar and other settlements

Source: Authors

4.13 Graph showing the different activities on site, and the different age groups which use the space.

Source: Authors

The entry into the site is un-gated and is directly accessible from the road. No physical barriers other than a curb at few space is seen to obstruct entry to this space from the railway station side. The level difference between the trail and the platform due to the undulating terrain and unplanned tree growth of the space, results in an uncomfortable access for all users including the differently abled. (4.12) Thoroughfare, as a major activity is seen along the trails due to a lack of access between the old railway station and the Anand Vihar hub. (4.10) Dhabas along the Nallah edge serve the coolies, auto and taxi driver. This shows â&#x20AC;&#x153;how found spaces serve the needs of the people in a ways designed spaces cannot.â&#x20AC;? Urination along the trail is also seen next to other activities. A lack of accessible public facilities for people in the surrounding area could be a reason inclining toward such activities. (4.13) The number of female user of this space were drastically low in comparison to the number of male users. The activities, like urination in the space could be a contributing factor to such numbers. Women are mostly seen in mix groups of 3-4 people. This shows the insecurity amongst women relating to the space.

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of green Bahubali park Bahubali Park is a district park which caters to a population of about 5 lakh. It is surrounded by a school in the north and middle class plotted development on the east and west edges. A road runs along the southern edge. There are in total five entry points to this space of which three are directly from the residential areas and the other two from the road. (4.15) The park is a large and grassy land with slightly undulated terrain. It has trees and shrubs running along the periphery, followed by walkways. It also has demarcated play areas. (4.14)

4.14 Used as play space by children

4.15 Map highlighting the park

Source: Authors

Source: Google Earth imagery

4.16 Graph showing the difference between the numbers of differently-abled visitors; Male and Female; from Anand Vihar and other settlements

Source: Authors

4.17 Graph showing the different activities on site, and the different age groups which use the space.

Source: Authors

The scale and the multiple access points from various sides makes the park easily accessible to the surrounding neighborhoods. The staggered entries to the park at places, makes it inaccessible to the differently abled. (4.16) Wide and well maintained pathways run along the perimeter making it more functional. Walking, exercise, yoga and socializing are the major set of activities the park caters. People from neighborhoods like the Karkardooma village also come to the park for leisure. The proximity of the park brings in people from neighborhoods in a radius of about a kilometer. People from the Karkardooma village are also seen using this park. A balance between all the age groups exists. However the number of elderly and middle aged people using the park was slightly high (4.17). A significant number of women access the park even during morning and late evening hours indicating a sense of safety. Although, most of them visit in groups of more than two. Due to the scale of the park, a variety of activities among different social groups happen simultaneously in different pockets without interrupting others. These pockets created tell us about the territories created due to human behaviour, leading to passive exclusion of few groups.

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of Inferences and conclusion green Analysis According to the 2011 census of India, the ratio of men to women for Zone E of Delhi is 1.15:1. On observation, the ratio of men to women users, found in the various case studies are 3:1 for the Karkardooma park, 2:1 for the green belt, 3:1 for Bahubali park and amazingly 26:1 for the residual space. Consequently, if these two sets of data are compared, these four open spaces will be qualified as gender exclusive. The reasons for such a pattern in the residual space, which is an unplanned, poorly maintained and unbounded, is understandable but in the case of a planned and well maintained space, the Bahubali Park, exclusiveness is highly questionable. According to the census of India, the ratio for the differently abled people to non-disabled ones in this region, is 165 people for each differently abled person. If the same ratio is derived in the context of the four open spaces studied, the results are 1150:1 for Karkardooma park, nil for green belt, 249:1 for residual space and nil in Bahubali park which is striking. This clearly indicates the lack of infrastructure for such categories of people, making these space less inclusive for such categories. Also, if we consider the age group factor in our 4 case studies. Generally, in all these spaces, the age group of 31-49 using the park is fairly high. However the age group of 12-18, 19-30 and people over 50 have a comparatively low usage. (4.19) This again points towards the incapability of these spaces to cater to the needs of these age groups and hence they get excluded to some extent from these open spaces. This inference can be further reinforced through the 2011 census whereby the ratio of these age groups is completely different from the observations made on the sites.

Conclusion Coming back to our research question - â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How inclusive are the open spaces of Anand Vihar in the context of Delhi?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; As discussed in the research methodology, we have studied the parameters of inclusivity as single entities and then compared them with the open space parameters. However, the results of the research show that the inclusivity parameters are dependent on each other and affect each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nature. (4.18) If we associate age to gender, the needs and requirements of that person changes in relation to the open space. Likewise, if more parameters are considered, a different set of needs and requirements are obtained. In this way, a multitude of profiles can be obtained by merging different parameters, and thus have a more comprehensive view of inclusivity of open spaces. The gender data obtained for each case study indicate that women are excluded from these open spaces. (4.20) However it will be wrong to assume that women are excluded from all the open spaces of Anand Vihar based on the study of only 4 sites. Moreover, our study has demonstrated that these spaces have unique characters and usage patterns dependent on typology and context. An inference about the inclusivity of open spaces of Anand Vihar, based on our methodology, would be unjustified. Our research is just a starting point. In order to achieve holistic conclusion, the relationship between the inclusivity parameters and their association with open spaces should be investigated in depth. 65

4.18 Adopted methodology considers each parameter of Inclusivity as a separate entity.

Source: Authors

4.19 Participation of different age-groups in the different parks

Source: Authors

4.20 Women are poorly represented in all parks.

Source: Authors

4 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Shades of green However, there are a few key learnings. During the course of our study, there were two questions that kept coming up -‘Why are certain people using these open spaces less than others?’ ‘Is it even possible to have an inclusive open spaces?’

Passive Exclusion We observed that even though there is no deliberate legal or physical attempt to exclude people from the open spaces, they are still being excluded, a state known as passive exclusion. The Karkardooma park was majorly occupied by the people from the urban village. The people from neighbouring MIG flats refrained from using the park. Similarly, in Bahubali park, during peak hours, most of the spaces were occupied by specific groups which lead to passive exclusion of other groups. Such patterns can be observed in other case studies as well. These examples indicate that people tend to form groups and territories. In an open space, these territories impart a sense of belonging to some while imparting a sense of alienation to others leading to passive exclusion of certain groups. Another reason to passive exclusion is that these spaces often, fail to cater to the needs of various types of user groups. It has been observed that in Karkardooma Park, children would barely come due to the lack of playing facilities. Instead they find other spaces to conduct these activities. Consequently, it is imperative to understand the needs and requirements of the open space users and how they vary over time in order to avoid any sort of exclusion.

Public Participation From our study, we have realised that the designs of open spaces are mostly similar. Standard elements are applied to each space which are insensitive to the actual needs and requirements of the users, indicating a centralized and a top-down design approach. There is a need to embrace the diversity in design and management of these open spaces. It is important to promote public participation by empowering local bodies in the design process of open spaces to hence yield a more inclusive system of open spaces.

Bibliography

Bhan, G., 2009. This is no longer the city I once Knew. Evictions, the urban poor and the right to the city in millenial Delhi. Das, P. & Munshi, 2006. Open Mumbai â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Re-envisioning cities, The case of Mumbai. DDA, 2010. Master Plan Delhi 2021. s.l.:s.n. Francis, 1996. Habitat, U., n.d. UN Habitat. [Online] Available at: http://ww2.unhabitat.org/campaigns/governance/documents/way_forward_29.May.doc. Harvey, D., 2008. The Right to the City. Harvey, D., Spring 2000. Cosmopolitanism and the banality of geographical evils. Public Culture, pp. 529-564. Harvey, D., Spring 2009. Financial Crash and the Right to the city [Interview] Spring 2009. Holston, J. & Appadurai, A., 1999. Cities and Citizenship. Mahadevia, D., 2001. Sustainable Urban Development in India: an inclusive perspective. Rogers, 1998. Urban Task Force. Roy, A., 2009. Why India Cannot Plan Its Cities: Informality, Insurgence and the Idiom of Urbanization Planning Theory, pp. 76-88. Thompson, C. & Travlou, P., 2007. Open Space People Space. Thompson, C. W., 2007. Urban Open Spaces in the 21st century. Verma, G. D., 2006. Planning and Equity. New Delhi, MPISG. Wirth, L., July 1938. Urbanism as a way of life. The American Journal of Sociology vol 44 no.1, pp. 1-24.

OPEN SPACE / NDLS

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity

Guide

Group members

Mr. Gaurav Shorey

Aditya Kumar Atul Anand Jha Dipayan Ghosh Humayun Imran Neeraj Kumar Nidhi Sohane Shukti Sahni Uzair Siddiqui

Abstract

Equality for everyone is a notion embedded in the idea of democracy, and access to all rights, for each and every citizen, is one of the pillars for the modern idea of any sustainable state or city. Hence inclusive open public spaces become a prerequisite for sustainability. An inclusive open space should offer equal access to all user groups of different ages, gender, economic background and ethnic origins. This research is an attempt to analyse how well the open spaces in the New Delhi Railway Station precinct in New Delhi fare in this regard. Inclusivity of any space is affected by factors ranging from city level accessibility, spectrum of activities offered, the context of the space, accessibility options for the differently abled and other factors. These have all been addressed to the extent practically possible. The methodology adopted was based on site surveys and space syntax. Through the research it was discovered that absolute inclusivity is inherently not possible due to the diversity of needs of differing user groups; explorations and interventions in temporal and spatial dimensions of the open spaces in question might offer a way forward.

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी Introduction

Inclusivity

The idea of inclusion germinates from the need to offer opportunities to different groups irrespective of their identities, so as to avoid marginalization and facilitate economic emancipation. An inclusive city is one that values all people and their needs equally. It is one in which all residents- including the most marginalized- have a representative voice in governance, planning, and budgeting processes, and have access to sustainable livelihoods, legal housing and affordable basic services. (Douglas, 2013) Modern society mobilizes exclusion on grounds as varied as citizenship (legal identity), ethnic or regional identity, religious identity, gender identity, age group, physical ability and economic standing. Inclusive cities are more affluent because they mobilize and enable a wider spectrum of people and talents than a city in which some of those human resources are marginalized. They are also more socially just. By including the otherwise marginalized in the productive activities and opportunities of the city, Inclusive Cities offer better access to pathways for social and economic betterment. (Urbanism, 2010) Inclusivity allows individual and communal identities to induce vibrancy in a definitive situation and also to ensure that by retaining their identities, a minority is not pressured into assimilation by the majority. Inclusive Open Spaces Open Spaces, for the purpose of this research, have been defined naturally occurring or manmade pieces of land and water bodies, which have no building(s) or built structure(s) and are open to sky. Extending the definition, the authors interpret open spaces that show inclusion as the ones that do not discriminate based on race, gender, physical ability, age, socio-economic status or any other criteria defining one’s identity. They must be accessible to different user groups and should offer freedom of use at different times. Need for Inclusive Open Spaces The importance of open spaces for the general wellbeing of the population has been historically established. The Master Plan of Delhi, 2021 has duly acknowledged the need for open space, and hence specifies a minimum open space of 4.5 square meters per person at neighbourhood level. The World Health Organization recommends that 9 square meters green open space per dweller should be the minimal norm for a city. If you leave aside well-planned cities abroad, which have more than 80 square meters per capita green space on an average, and compare only Indian cities, Chennai is among the poorest. Gandhinagar has 162 square meters per dweller green space, Chandigarh has 54 square meters, Delhi has 21 square meters, Bangalore has 17 square meters and Chennai has only about 0.46 square metres per city dweller. In other words, the amount of open space within the city has to be increased by at least twenty times to meet the bare minimum norm (Srivathsan 2013). Open spaces have become imperative for the democratic functioning of a society. The progression of capitalistic economy gave rise to mall culture. To quote Margaret Kohn, “Ironically, just as new malls are increasingly designed to recreate the atmosphere of old-fashioned downtowns, they are restricting the civic, political, and religious activity that gave city centers their dynamism and variety. Privatizing public spaces has restricted the democratic rights of protest by making it harder for people to get their voices heard. Although there are many other sources of political information such as television advertisements and direct mail, these other forms of communication do not allow the citizen to answer back, ask a question, or take immediate action.” (Kohn, 2004) In such an environment, open spaces are left as the only haven for expression.

Open spaces are very important for the health of a society, and exclusion from access directly affects the wellbeing of marginalized sections.

Site selection and justification

In the opinion of the authors, the sites selected must be drivers, with a broad spectrum range of open space typologies so as to paint a more complete picture of the area of study. The importance of these particular sites over others stems from the geographical extent of their effect, along with the diversity of activities supported by them. Connaught Place is a city level integration core (refer spatial configuration methods of space syntax, page 7), and people from across Delhi gather here. After the introduction of metro, there has been a surge in the number of pedestrians using the space. Location of this junction between the Blue and the Yellow lines of the Delhi Metro adds to the footfall that Connaught Place receives. Hence, three major open spaces in Connaught Place- Central Park and the two parks of Palika Bazaar- have been selected for this study. These spcaes are different in terms of their size, bounding conditions, all the while being equally accessible (physically), making them interesting from the perspective of this study to elaborate how various aspects (apart from the physical accessibility) affect activity patterns in an open space. Ramlila Maidan, being a city and national level public landmark- a space for public gathering and expression- is an important and limiting choice, serving as an exclusive space where religious leaders,political figures, social activists and the general public congregate. At a neighbourhood level, Ramlila proves to be a valuable choice in the context of dense Shahjahanabad for it provides an open space to outsource amenities like parking, congregation and a play space. The size and historical value of Ramlila Maidaan, along with its physical connection with Shahjahanabad, justify it as an asset for this study. Paharganj, with its unique morphology and spatial evolution supporting a range of professions and activities , allows for an unparalleled look into the complex interactions between economy, society and spatial restrictions that shape a place. The main bazaar chawk is where the main bazaar diverges into two parts- one leading towards Chuna Mandi and the other towards Ramakrishna Ashram Marg. Since the main bazaar street is a commercial street, catering to a wide array of users, the chowk witnesses a multi-lingual and multi-national crowd. The people passing by can vary from European or American tourists to local residents of Paharganj, or traders from other Indian states. Kaseru Wallan chowk, on the other hand, is more residential in nature. Once one moves deeper into the criss-cross network of alleys in the heart of Paharganj, spaces start becoming more intimate. Hotels start disappearing and the nature of buildings tend to become more residential, with occasional general shops and eateries. Open spaces here present themselves in the form of chowks and building niches. The crowd here is mostly limited to local residents (both Delhi local and immigrants). An occasional tourist or outsider may wander into these alley, but for them the open spaces are transitional. Shivaji Park is a district destination park unique for the regularity of its usage for outdoor activities like martial art classes and as a leisure park. The Minto Road government quarters are representative of how most formal, gated communities in Delhi presently exist. Its study will present an insight into the use of open space by all the residents of Delhi who reside in such formal and planned residences.

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी Methodology

Inclusivity

The Inclusivity of spaces will be analysed under macro level parameters such as access to the space at city level and the context in which the space is located. And consequently under micro level parameters considered for this study, are Regulation, Accessibility, Maintenance, Amenities; and Natural Surveillance. The aim of the study is to analyse the relationships between spatial character and inclusivity. The first step in the site study is to collect data pertaining to various measures spanning the field of sociology and the spatial characters of places. To elaborate and analyse chosen study areas, the following will be enlisted: • Gate Count and Kind of People Entering the Study Area: This lists the people who use that space, along with an indication of the number of users • Time Cycles: Use of the space in the temporal dimension • Activity Mapping: Activities that take place within the space • Spatial Character: Topography, bounding condition, visually isolated areas etc. are listed under this heading. These will later be analysed via the principles of space syntax to quantify their extent of accessibility. It analyzes spatial configuration with the help of three methods, based on• Integration represents the number of intersections faced to move from one segment to the destination segment. Each intersection marks a turn, break in the straight line path. It is mathematically calculated as the inverse of the angular mean depth of a segment divided by its node count. A segment requiring least turns to reach all other segments is said to be most integrate, and are represented with hottest colours like red or yellow.

•

Choice represents the number of times a segment is used to travel from all possible origins to all possible destinations by the shortest possible route, here the smallest angular route. Choice 2000 metric represents the angular choice within a metric radius of 2000m or 0.2km, i.e. the importance of a particular segment while travelling from all possible origins to all other destinations within a distance of 0.2km from the segment.

•

Depth is defined by the number of lines distant from a given number of steps to an axial line, for that axial line.

These help understand the structure of spatial field and its principles of organisation, both formal & informal.

Observations Central Park, Connaught Place Gate Count and Kind of People We observed people of all income and age groups coming to the park. The park is frequented by couples throughout the day. During the evening, families and groups of people gather for leisure activities. Few children come to the park as playing sport is restricted and there are no swings or rides. Vendors and beggars are excluded from Central Park, but they try attracting people from across the boundary. Time cycles • Daily: Central Park operates from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. It becomes most active during evenings. • Weekly: Inner Circle is pedestrianized from 6:00am to 11:00am on Sundays as part of Rahgiri. Central Park transforms as volunteers organize various activities like dance, martial arts and musical performances. Playing amateur football and cricket are also allowed during Rahgiri, something which is otherwise restricted within Central Park. • Periodical: The amphitheatre is used for various cultural events ranging from musical performances to interactive sessions (like the recent visit by Humans of New York blogger, Brandon Stanton). The attendance at such events may go up to thousands. Activity Mapping Central Park is a destination park where people come for leisure activities. There is no street furniture available in the park, other than from the steps of the amphitheatre where people sit. People also sit on the grass, which is very well maintained. The park is occupied by many couples throughout the day. Couples can be seen being intimate on the sloped portion, along the periphery of the amphitheatre. People are generally seen to be sitting in groups along the periphery of the park where tree shade is available. The central area and the amphitheatre only see substantial people movement and use when the weather is pleasant and permitting. Spatial Characters • Access Points: The sole entrance and exit to Central Park lies facing the entrance to Palika Bazaar on inner circle. Entrants are checked manually and must pass through metal detectors.

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: The perimeter is a 0.8m high steel grill railing with sharpened top-ends mounted on a 0.45m high stone clad base which together act as the boundary. A 2m wide footpath with 0.5m wide tree buffer along the inner circle runs along the periphery of the park. The railing, although physically restraining, is not a visual barrier. (5.1)

•

Movement through Space: Central Park is not used as a thoroughfare because of a singular opening that acts as both entrance and exit. Movement of people is mainly along the circular track leading to the open air theater, and withing the green belts of the park.

•

Visual Isolation: Central Park has points of visual isolation due to its topography and the presence of skylights. The trees are of a low height and provide little shade, also maintaining visual inclusion.

•

Topography: A large skylight for the metro station and the amphitheater sit above the station. The periphery of Central Park is on the same level as the road, gradually sloping towards the center where a sloping light well is created for the Metro Station’s skylight.

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity

AMPHITHEATRE

EXIT ENTRY

5.1 Central Park, CP

Source: Authors

IN N E

R C IR C

SKYLIGHT

OUTE

5.2 Pallika Bazaar park

RADI AL ROA D NUM BER 1

LIK

ENTRANCE TO PALIKA BAZAAR

R C IR CLE Source: Authors

Pallika Bazaar park Gate Count and Kind of People Many people of middle and lower income groups come to the Palika Bazaar Park. Few children come to the park as playing is restricted and there are no swings or rides. Vendors and beggars are not restricted from entering the park. Time cycles • Daily: Trees are the only shade-providers in the place. Owing to the park’s open nature, it is used mostly during the mornings and evenings on hot days. When present, pleasant weather encourages many more people to use the park. • Periodical: It is not a formal space for any event, however informal events of a small scale do take place during Rahgiri. Activity Mapping The Palika Bazaar Park is mostly used as a thoroughfare. There are benches available for people to sit, although many prefer to sit on the grass since the park is well maintained. It is a leisure park and that doesn’t offer any specific activities in its space. In the early morning, some people can be spotted sleeping near the skylight of Palika Bazaar. Once Central Park is closed, many couples can also be spotted to be sitting in this space. Spatial Characters • Access Points: There are seven formal unguarded entry points to the Palika Bazaar Park. Besides these, it is also possible to access the park from the side adjacent to Radial Road number 1 (adjacent to Block N) because of nonrestrictive bounding conditions. (5.2)

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: Palika Bazaar Park is bound by Inner and Outer Circles on the North and South, Radial Road Number 1 on the East, and the street leading to Palika Parking on its West. Street markets line along the Western and Northern edges of the park.

•

Movement through Space: Owing to its proximity to gate number 6 of the Rajeev Chowk Metro Station and lax bounding conditions, the park is liberally used as a thoroughfare.

•

Visual Isolation: Trees line the periphery of Palika Bazaar Park, along with the market on Inner Circle and street shared with Palika Bazaar’s parking, acting as visual barriers between the surrounding road and park. Utilities for Palika Bazaar (generators etc.) on the Southern side visually block the park from the Outer Circle.

•

Topography: Palika Bazaar Park sits over Palika Bazaar and is elevated from the road level. It tapers towards the road on its Eastern, Western and Southern edges.

Pallika Parking park Gate Count and Kind of People People of mainly middle and lower income groups come to the park. School children come to hang out when they bunk classes. Vendors and beggars are also not restricted. Time cycles • Daily: Since there are no shade-providers in the space it is used mostly during the mornings and evenings on hot days. However, pleasant weather encourages many more people to use the park.

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity D

5.3 Pallika Parking park

5.4 Ramlila maidan

LIK

O LR IA

Source: Authors

•

Periodical: The space is not used for hosting any formal events.

Activity Mapping There are benches located along the periphery of the park. Additionally, it is well maintained to allow people to sit on the grass. During the day, youngsters can be spotted smoking on the stairs leading to the park. The park is also used during the evenings by middle-aged people who play cards. Once Central Park is closed, many couples can be spotted to be shifting here. Spatial Characters • Access Points: There are four unguarded entries to the Palika Parking Park marked by staircases. (5.3)

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: Bound by Inner and Outer Circles on two sides. Radial Road number 2 and a market along the street shared with Palika Bazaar occupy the remaining two sides.

•

Movement through Space: The park is used mainly as a thoroughfare during the day.

•

Visual Isolation: Due to its level difference, people in the park are not visible from the road. There are skylights for the parking located in the center of the park, that particular area being visually isolated from the rest of the park.

•

Topography: The park is situated atop the underground Palika Parking. It is elevated 2m from road level, but is flat otherwise.

Ramlila Maidan Gate Count and Kind of People Ramlila Maidan was populated by 92 cars, 14 autos and 76 trucks towards the Kamla Market edge on the first site visit. It was discovered that the neighbourhood uses this side of the maidaan as a parking lot on a day-to-day basis. Alternatively, the maidaan was barricaded in preparation for the 2014 Dusshera Mela.

Time cycles Daily- The maidaan works on a 12 hour basis car-parking whereas trucks come in and out whenever they are allowed to move through the city (11am and 9pm). • Periodical- Ramlila Maidaan is used periodically during public demonstration rallies, poltical gatherings, religious satsangs and annual events like the Dusshera Mela and prior to the Haj season, when pilgrims from the neighbourhood depart for Mecca. Activity Mapping Ramlila is an active city level gathering ground, used especially for public expression. On a daily basis, the maidaan serves as a parking lot for the neighbourhood (especially trucks bound for other parts of the country, carrying trade goods). Only on weekends does one see the maidaan being used by small groups for sport. Spatial Characters Access Points: Parking entrance towards Kamla Market edge, Processional entrance near Turkman Gate, separate entrances from Asaf Ali Marg for mosque and temple, entrances along Jawaharlal Nehru Marg for pedestrians. (5.4)

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity

5.5 Section through Paharganj chowks

Source: Authors

5.6 Minto Road quarters and Shivaji park

Source: Authors

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: A high boundary, with a mix of masonry and metal grills, stands along all edges of the park. It stands in visual connect with all its bounding streets, unless cordoned off by shuttering and police barricades (for example, the maidan is currently visually cut off with barricading because it is being set up for Dusshera, which will run between 24th September to 5th October). The mosque and its entrance is separate- it is not allowed an internal access to Ramlila. Haj pavilions are allocated and allowed only in one edge of the park. Eating stalls set up for Haj. Public urinals at the Ram

Lal Chowk acts as a neighbourhood civic amenity. Autowalas and beggars alike come use the space.

â&#x20AC;˘

Movement Through Space: Cars and trucks occupy one end of the park, people come and use the maidan towards the processional entry off Turkman Gate.

â&#x20AC;˘

Visual Isolation: Consumption of alcohol and drugs by truck drivers in-transit is permitted by visual isolation created in the truck parking area.

â&#x20AC;˘

Topography: There is bare, flat surface without any grass all over the ground.

Paharganj Chowks Gate Count and Kind of People Gate count study for the chowks and niches in Paharganj cannot be successfully determined since these spaces are more private in nature. A local resident may move to and fro in the same region in a very short period of time. Time cycles and Activity Mapping Daily: Main Bazaar Chowk First cycle of the morning consists of vendors with their movable stalls; tea stalls, juice stall, fruit stalls and the vegetable stalls. The garment stalls pop up throughout the street. The chawk houses a number of parked cars and rickshaws at this time. The crowd consists mostly of local residents and shopkeepers. After 10 the tea stalls starts to disappear. They are replaced by a number of garment stalls which extend onto the street. The fruit and vegetable stalls remain until late afternoon. The parked cars slowly disappear as the day progresses into noon. The crowd changes to tourists and shopkeepers. In the afternoon the activity at the chawk decreases as compared to the morning, though the streets remain bustling with shoppers and tourists alike. Late in the afternoon there was no significant increase in the activities at the chawk. By 5 o clock only a few fruit stalls remained. The shoppers and tourists started to increase at this point. So did the number of autos and motorized vehicles Daily: Kaseru Valan Kaseru Valan lies in the heart of Paharganj. Is has almost no Hotels, the streets are less commercial (for tourists) and are less maintained. It houses mostly the local population and transient labour class. Parts of Kaseru Valan contain a number of building niches, which, on closer examination one finds out, are the breathing spaces for this settlement. This space is exclusively used by the residents and rarely would one see an outsider. The space was very active from early in the morning. Early (before 8 am) it is used as a space for drying clothes. Soon after 8 o clock the laundry disappears and makes way for an eater which spills out onto the road. People buy treats from the eateries and enjoy it in the space. Early in the morning this is also a parking for rickshaws and electric rickshaws. Soon after 10 the vegetable and fruit vendors show up, but they are not static for a long period. They keep circling fron one chawk to another. The cuisine in the eatery starts to change. The parked rickshaws disperse. The chawk is relatively less active in the afternoon. There are still people but they just sit at one place resting. Around 3pm the vendors start to crop up. The movement of people is rare though occasionally one could be seen making a purchase. At around 4 the space entertains small groups of kids whose games are not contained to the space but continues through the street to many such streets. 80

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity Periodical: Chowks and building edges are places for cultural activities and celebrations. Spatial Characters • It lies on the north of main bazaar street and is accessible through numerous narrow alleys from the main bazaar street. It is also accessible from Chelmsford road and D.B.Gupta road. Though most of the activity is through pedestrians, there are a scanty numbers of e-rickshaws and rickshaws that pass through it. The building niche in the study lies on the handi wali gali, nearest landmark is a municipality school (called Peeli School by locals)

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: There is no definite boundary defining the chowk of main Bazaar. It is lined with a dense belt of commercial shops ion either side. The shops entertain tourist for clothing line, books, curio, eateries, accessories and various other products. The building on either side is mostly 3 storeys high, with a rooftop restaurant and hotels and dhramshalas on the mid floors. Kaseru Valan is a strictly residential zone with scanty household stores and eateries scattered through it. The building niche studied was surrounded by residential on three sides and a narrow road on one, with the exception of one eatery.

•

Movement Through Space: The Pedestrian movement through the main bazaar chawk is seamless, even with the presence of chaos the pedestrians make their way very easily. The vehicular traffic however is often hindered because of the unpredictability of the pedestrian movement. There is only pedestrian movement through the space with the exception of occasional rickshaws. (5.5)

•

Visual Isolation: The main bazaar chowk is very much transparent in terms of n open space and so is the building niche in Kaseru Valan.

Minto Road Government Quarter Parks Gate count and kind of people Being a gated colony, only the people living within the community have access to open spaces. There are designated parks for different age group people. Even though there is space provided for parking cars along the roads inside the community people still park their cars inside parks. Time cycles and Activity Mapping • Daily: Children play in the parks, parents come with their infants/tot lot in the parks. People use parks and walkways around parks for transition between spaces. Walls, railings around the parks are being used for hanging clothes. The Minto Road edge is used as a toilet, high wall is running along the minto road edge of the community, hence segregating the community from the activities happening on the Minto Road and vice versa. The other edge is more vibrant and happening, since there are many activities taking place on it eg hawking, people selling meat, dhabas etc.

•

Periodical: At the time of festivals open spaces are used for performing rituals and for celebrations.

Spatial Characters • Access Points: Gated community, hence people living within the community can access open spaces on an everyday basis. (5.6) 81

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: High wall running along the Minto Road edge, hawking,

eateries on the other edge having low height wall and railing running along the whole length of the edge.

•

Movement Through Space: Some parks have opening on the two edges, therefore they can be used as thoroughfare. Some parks are used as parking grounds.

•

Visual Isolation: Since it is a gated colony therefore visual connect is missing from outside, but within the community open spaces are easily visible from most parts.

•

Topography: Open spaces are located between building masses, mostly flat. The park along the colony edge on Minto Road is slightly raised.

Shivaji Park Gate count and kind of people The users mainly included coolies working at the station, auto rickshaw drivers and karate club members practicing in the gymkhana within the Shivaji Park complex. These people were mainly middle aged and mostly men (gender exclusive). The park is well maintained and landscaped. Time cycles • Daily: Even though the park has lots of trees and shade that people can enjoy, it remains closed from 1000- 1600 hrs. It is used by regular set of people mainly in the mornings and evenings. • Periodical: The park isn’t used for hosting any events. Activity Mapping Shivaji Park is a well maintained and landscaped park complex. It is a triangular piece of land with roads on all three sides. It is open to all but restricts sporting activities like walking/ running on the grass and playing cards. People can be spotted here chatting or practicing karate in the building within the park complex. No kids were spotted in the park Spatial Characters • Access Points: There are two entry gates to the park complex- One opens towards Bhaavbhooti Marg and other on the service road on the Northern edge.

•

Bounding/Edge Conditions: The park is surrounded by roads on all three sides. There is a bus stop on the Northern edge, an auto rickshaw stand on Bhaavbhuti Marg and Minto road acts as its third edge. The park boundary wall is fenced and porous but the dense foliage doesn’t allow much to be seen.

•

Movement Through Space: A few users who are destined to visit access the park. It doesn’t fall in people’s normal thoroughfare and movement patterns.

•

Visual Isolation: Though the boundary wall is porous, it is impossible to look through the dense foliage of the trees and bushes planted along the edge.

•

Topography: The park’s contextual topography is generally plain throughout. The park’s landscaping is such that the pathways lead and merge with the top of the building complex sitting below the podium of the Shivaji statue. 82

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी Inferences

Inclusivity

5.7 Access

Source: Authors

Analysis of the sites under Macro Level Parameters Access The above figures show an axial maps of Delhi based on step depth of 10kms radius, showing various integration cores and road networks at the city level. At a radius of 5kms, we observe that Connaught Place and the India Gate hexagon continue to be important integrators, while smaller areas within dense areas like Paharganj also begin to show up. (5.7) Access to a space is the measure of its situation in city level transport networks viz. bus routes, metro routes, and arterial road network of the city. The above figure shows an overlay of bus and metro routes passing through Connaught Place. This confirms its integration, as Connaught Place is accessible from all across Delhi.

Therefore, based on integration and step depth metrics, we come to the following conclusions: • Central Park and Ramlila Maidaan are naturally integrated by virtue of their location, and hence have potential to be inclusive to the whole city. • By extension, Shivaji Park and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Park are equally integrated but not as inclusive, for reasons we will come to know later. • Paharganj Chowks and Minto Road Housing Complex parks cannot be integrated at a city level due to their step depth. This, along with the scale of these sites, limits the scope of their inclusivity to people residing near them.

5.8 Immediate context

Source: Authors

Immediate context The nature of built use and activities that exist surrounding a space impact the kind and frequency of people visiting it, and vice-versa. Proximity to Connaught Place, which is a city level commercial district, contributes to the total footfall that Central Park and Palika Parks receive. Paharganjâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Main Bazaar Chowk also enjoys the same advantage. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Park and Kaseru Walan chowk find themselves surrounded in a primarily residential context, this leads to a smaller and less varied crowd visiting them. Ramlila Maidaan lies peripheral to Shahjahanabad, and is the only relief space of its scale that the people of Shahjanabad have access to. It is the only expanse where children can play cricket or football. Trucks and cars from neighbouring Kamla Market, Sadar Bazaar and Shahjahanabad resort to the maidaan for parking, for lack of any alternative. It can be noted here how the context has defined and captured the activities that are performed. (5.8)

5 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity

5.9 Regulations

Source: Authors

Analysis of the sites under Micro Level Parameters Regulations Regulation and access control are active methods of exclusion that are deployed. For example, India Gate becomes the natural choice of expression by masses during events affecting public life, as seen during the 2011 Cricket World Cup victory or the Nirbhaya incident. These instances only prove India Gate’s accessibility and appropriateness, and in turn, its desirability or inclusivity. One lesser-observed form of active regulation is also witnessed in Central Park, where vendors and beggars are not allowed entry by security personnel. A passive approach can be witnessed in the case of Minto Road Housing Complex parks. One can only access these parks through the colony gates. (5.9) However, since the notion of entering an unfamiliar gated community is unsettling to most people, outsiders are not encountered. In principle, the parks of a government colony might belong to everyone but in practice this was not observed. Universal Accessibility A further means of exclusion that the authors encountered in each sites was the lack of accessibility options for the differently-abled. Ramps are non-existent in Palika Bazaar and Palika Parking Parks. It is practically impossible for the wheelchair bound to access Paharganj’s chowks during working hours because of inadequate manoeuvring space. This is largely due to the crowd and the absence of clearly demarcated spaces for pedestrians and vehicles. Lack of paving in Ramlila Maidaan and the Minto Road Housing Complex parks also does not favour the wheelchair bound and elderly. (5.10) The elderly also require support handrails at a level change or an armrest, while getting up or sitting down on a bench. This limits street furniture options for them. Granite paving in Connaught Place becomes very slippery during rains. It turns precarious for children and the elderly. Tactile paving for the visually impaired was absent inside all the open spaces that the authors visited, excluding them altogether. Although such paving is now present along pedestrian footpaths, it is never continued inside open spaces.

Maintenance of Amenities The major concerns for people visiting any open space are its general maintenance, weather protection and the provision of amenities like toilets and street furniture. In this regard, the Palika parks fare well because they have a well-maintained green cover and an acceptable amount of trees shading the space. Shivaji Park and Minto Road Housing Complex parks also have an acceptable level of green cover. The bare nature of Ramlila Maidaan proves to be a big

5.10 Universal accessibility

5.11 Maintenance of amenities

Source: Authors

5.12 Natural surveillance

Source: Authors

5.13 Temporal dimension

Source: Authors

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जिसकी लाठी, उसकी

Inclusivity deterrent to recreational footfalls. Free of charge public toilets are available on the periphery of Central Park. However, these toilets are only accessible from the inner circle and are located far from the singular entrance of Central Park. Public toilets in the vicinity of Ramlila Maidaan are poorly maintained. Some street benches are provided in the Palika parks. In the case of Central Park, the number of benches is starkly inadequate. (5.11) Placement of street furniture to facilitate various activities is also very important. There should be options for people to sit in groups or in isolation. The presence of an amphitheater in Central Park and a good green cover, all the way to the Palika parks, enable various seating configurations for people within these sites. The absence of children from gate counts of Central Park can be attributed to the absence of features like swings and rides. This quality excludes children and mothers from many of the studied areas. Materials used for street furniture also contribute to its usability. For example, metal or stone furniture can get unpleasantly warm or cold, while a wooden finish can provide a layer of insulation. In this site study, however, the authors only found steel or stone furniture. Natural Surveillance Visual isolation and natural surveillance are also factors that appropriate a space for some functions, while making it exclusive to others. Some activities like drug indulgence, public display of affection or playing cards favour visual isolation to an extent. Natural surveillance is desirable, but a lack of it tends to foster these activities in places. Factors like topography, presence of trees or urban adjuncts and even bounding conditions, affect the visual permittivity of a place. The plinth of Palika Parking Park isolates it from the visual field of people present in Connaught Place. This is a major reason why middle-aged men can be seen playing cards in the evening, while some people smoking marijuana can also be spotted occasionally. Skylights over the Palika parks also provide islands of visual isolation, leading to public urination in these spots and occasional drug abuse. (5.12) Topography and a single point of access barring its use as a thoroughfare are reasons why so many couples feel safe to get intimate inside Central Park. Restricted access inside Ramlila Maidaan and its visually impervious boundary appropriates some parts of it for drug abuse. Temporal Dimensions Public spaces, and in turn open spaces, are co-produced by spatial metrics and user behavior. This goes to say that spaces only come into being when they are activated by a presence of people according to dynamic, changing patterns and timetables. This can lead to the association of particular places with particular people or activities– with both positive and negative results. Ramleela Maidan is an excellent example to cite for this. It exclusively functions as parking space and an open ground throughout the year, but dramatically transforms into a space for cultural expression during Dusshera. It is inclusive then to people of different socioeconomic backgrounds under the unifying factor of festivity. Furthermore, the same Ramleela Maidan becomes a very important space for political protests.

Another case in point would be Raahgiri Sundays in Connaught Place, inviting children to play in Central Park and cycle in the inner circle- a space that is otherwise exclusively designated for vehicular traffic. Spatial co-production comes into being by the option of activities that are offered and those that people choose to perform in a space. Aesthetics and views from inside are extensions that assist in place making. Such a sharp contrast can be seen when we cut a section through the center of Connaught Place. (5.13) A fairly democratic and busy Rajeev Chowk Metro Station, with its converging metro lines, sits hidden and buried under a highly regulated and policed Central Park.

Conclusion

Open spaces are of different categories, specific for different functions. Spatial characters of an open space are by far less rigid because of their ‘open’ nature, thereby allowing a greater spectrum of users and activities to occur in the space. They are important as breathing spaces as well as places of democratic expression. In this study, the authors observed that inclusion and exclusion are concepts not black and white, but grey. Different user groups have different desires and expectations, and this diversity sometimes leads to a conflict of interests. People constantly carve out spaces for themselves and exclude it for others. The excluded in this case are the differently abled, senior citizens, children and women. Their dearth in our gate count is an evidence of this exclusion. Those who bear power over a situation governing a space (and hence the space itself ), such as the truck drivers and car owners, as observed by the authors, have successfully taken over open spaces for their usage. Those without this power, such as children and the elderly, have suffered. Governments practicing exclusion tend to warp the notion of equity and rightful assemblage, rights that are intrinsic in democratic societies. Realizing that the notion of acceptance is a utopian proposition, the authors’ solution to achieve inclusion is to strive for curated inclusivity, wherein inclusion is achieved in pockets and layers so that everyone gets a space to plug in when and where they feel fit. It could be temporal, like the different uses of Ramleela Maidaan by different groups, or Central Park, which selectively includes different groups in different situations. It could be spatial where the same united space offers activities in different zones that interest different groups. It could be something new altogether, but one which gives an opportunity for everyone to access it, irrespective of their identity. The UN defines a public space as “an area or place that is open and accessible to all peoples, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socioeconomic level”. However, in light of the authors’ findings, this definition needs a relook.

Bibliography Douglas. R., 2013. What do we mean by Inclusive Cities. Available at:http://nextcity.org/informalcity/entry/commentary-what-we-mean-byinclusive-cities [Accessed 18 September 2014]. Thompson. C. W., 2007. The Nature of Exclusion. In: Open Space: People Space. New York: Taylor and Francis. Srivathsan. A., 2013. Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/where-is-our-patch-of-green-mr-mayor/article3223739.ece [Accessed 26 November 2014] Kohn. M., 2004. Brave New Neighbourhoods: The Privatization of Public Spaces Hillier. B., 2007. Spatial Sustainability. London, University College London. Puri. Z., 2012. Spatial Critique of Hauz Khas Village, Gurgaon: Unpublished. Urbanism, C. f. I., 2010. A World of Inclusive Cities. [Online] Available at: http://www.inclusiveurbanism.org/ [Accessed 18 September 2014]. UNESCO, IInclusion Through Access to Public Space, Available at http://www.unesco.org/ new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/urbandevelopment/migrants-inclusion-in-cities/good-practices/inclusion-through-access-to-public-space/ Social Value of Public Spaces [Online] Available at:www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/2050-public-space-community.pdf [Accessed 18 September 2014]. Inclusive Design for Going Outdoors [Online] Available at: http://www.idgo.ac.uk/[Accessed 18 September 2014]. Adams. P., 1997. The Retreat from Tolerance, Sydney: ABC Books.

OPEN SPACE / NZM

Open space matters

Guide

Group members

Dr. Ranjana Mital

Aman Saini Ankit Joshi Ashim Chakrabarty Harman Bumrah Harsh Vats Priya Vashist Tauseef Ahmad Tridib Ray

Abstract

An Inclusive City promotes growth with equity. It is a place where everyone, regardless of their economic means, gender, race, ethnicity or religion, is enabled and empowered to fully participate in the social, economic and political opportunities that cities have to offer, i.e., participatory planning and decision-making are at the heart of the Inclusive City. Cities are constitutionally agglomerations of great size, density and importance and open spaces are one of its fundamental integrant. An open space is any open piece of land that is either developed or undeveloped and is accessible to the public. Thus to establish the understanding of the idea of a proper open usable space, and the right for it to be provided to every citizen, exhaustive site studies were done at Sarai Kale Khan. This brought in an interesting conclusion which shows that open spaces have been made inclusive by mutual exclusion, where every person or group gets the freedom to participate in a time based sharing of available open spaces. This mutual exclusion is not something people want but is something people have settled down for, to fulfil their needs for a healthy open space.

6 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Open space Introduction matters The need of inclusivity is an upshot of diversity. If our population were to be homogeneous, an apropos design could cater all. This diversity does not allow inclusivity to be measurable with any single quantitative or qualitative scale. This said, baseline, limit and range could always be corroborated with our knowledge of basic human requirements and after tracing patterns within settlements. Inclusive Cities, as a term, can be a way of limiting this scope to a geographical boundary or a prospect of cities being able to provide an opportunity for social equity, economic growth and innovation leading to inclusion. Cities are constitutionally agglomerations of great size, density and importance and open spaces are one of its fundamental intrigant. Open space, through eyes of an urban planner, is any open piece of land that is either developed or undeveloped and is accessible to the public. (Program, 2014) It can include parks, green areas, paved areas, natural landscapes etc. In land use planning a map could easily be created showing extents of different open spaces. But this may be true only for planned parts of city as a street or a road in an organic-unplanned settlement could be used as an open space and an open space could be used as thoroughfare. And an anthropologist may argue that even a balcony or a verandah is also an open space and a badly lit dilapidated park is not. This suggests that an open space could also be defined through the activities happening there which makes it more difficult to identify in terms of physical boundaries. A rudimentary figure-ground diagram shows a two-dimensional map of an urban space showing both built and unbuilt spaces. It is an attempt to understand the relationship these positive and negative of urban fabric. A Nolli map named after and Italian architect and surveyor Giambattista Nolli gives even a better understanding by denoting open spaces both within and outside buildings. (Wikipedia,2014). These representations can provide us the density of built spaces and distribution of open spaces in a city which would further help us judge inclusivity of an open space by setting open spaces per person as an initial parameter. National Building Code of India sets the basic standard for per capita open spaces as 6sqm whereas basic standard and best in class per capita open space is 9sqm and 16sqm respectively according to McKinsey Global Institute. (NBC, 2005) (McKinsey, 2010) We can select a colony or a locality or a zone and easily analyze whether open spaces provided are sufficient or not and improve the scenarios accordingly. If we take examples of metropolises like Delhi and Mumbai, we can easily verify the use of this parameter. But this gives us only a primitive understanding. To increase degree of inclusivity for an open space, more relevant parameters like universal accessibility, proximity, maintenance etc. should be established so that any such space could be assessed as genderinclusive, differently-abled-inclusive, age-inclusive, and class-inclusive or not. Now, if we try to put both terms ‘inclusive cities’ and ‘open spaces’ in the current scenario of Delhi and try to elucidate both and their dependency on each other by means of different parameters, we could easily point out that areas with high population have less open space and areas with low population have more open spaces. Also, the planned areas of cities have low population density and organic-unplanned areas have very high population density (population density of Lutyen’s Delhi is 4,909 people per square kilometer and population density of Old Delhi is 25,759 people per square kilometer as per 2001 census). (Delhi Districts: Population & Population density)

The majority of the stakeholders in high density areas are informal-economy population and migratory population. And open spaces are not the priority for such population but whatever they have occupied; they manage to use it as efficiently as possible. In Dharavi, you may stumble upon a one-square-metre shop. A genius typology bridging micro-architecture and product design, this one-square-metre shop both supplements and compliments the open

spaces around and vice versa. And this also shows what our informal economy is; managing to stand on their own by creating jobs for themselves and in the process providing for rest of the population. India is growing, along with its better half: the informal economy. Half of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP and 90% of employment are informal. Dharavi, for example, exists in the heart of Mumbai where the land prices are sky-high. And it exists only because it supports the informal economy by not only providing cheap accommodation but also means of employment. So we can easily conclude that removing slums, unauthorized colonies and squatter settlements is far from a solution. Delhi has more that its 50% population living in such settlements. But there are no existing policies and guidelines that support these vital organs of our urban structure. The core of this problem maybe a simple inefficacy of planners and authorities to provide for huge migratory population which actually constituents majority of the informal economy. This mass departure of people in itself is not a problem as migration from under-developed, usually rural, sites to developed areas in search of better opportunities has been an inherent character of the human species from the beginning. And inherent character of cities is to support large populations. This behaviour can be visibly observed in examples all over the globe, be it the favelas of Brazil, the slums of Neza-Chalco-Itza, Mexico, or that of Dharavi, Mumbai. Such exodus has almost always resulted in the creation of unauthorized colonies, squatter settlements and even slums, in the major metropolitans. The pattern is the same in India; the large number of un-planned areas, even with the significant levels of functionality that it holds in the favor of the residents, has continually posed major concerns for the planners and people from other allied professions. Interventions, though planned and suggested on severe scales and at various levels, have always fallen short of being noticed by the city leaders. Such is the predicament, which has made the concept of inclusivity a luxury beyond the ones India can afford, even though this very inclusivity is whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so necessary right now. But unjustified and unequal distribution of open spaces for these stakeholders (migratory and informal-economy population) is just a part â&#x20AC;&#x201C;though major-of inclusive open spaces. Many social theorists (Lefebvre, 1991) (Harvey, 1990) (Soja, 1989) have asserted different bodies experience space differently depending on, amongst other things, their gender, class, age, sexuality and physical disability, because access to space is socio-culturally determined by these differences. But architectural and planning representations assume that the user of space is a neutral entity, i.e., all human inhabitants identically experience similar spatial configurations and unsurprisingly this neutral user is usually an upper-class, able-bodied, hetero-sexual male. (Ranade, 2007) So accessibility of an open space on the basis of gender also becomes another important parameter for judging inclusivity of that space. Our scope is Sarai-Kale Khan (Delhi). The site contains Indraprastha Park; a district level green area, Vir Hakikat Rai Inter State Bus Terminus, Janta Flats; DDA constructed EWS flats, Sarai Kale Khan Village; a 17th century Gujjar (a pastoral ethnic group) village, Nagli Razapur; a relatively new urban village adjacent to Sarai Kale Khan village, H. Nizamuddin Railway Station, and Nizammudin East; a planned colony across railway station. This site allows us to deal with a diverse population and a density as high as 2sqm per person and as low as 18sqm per person.

6 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Open space Inclusivity and open spaces matters Inclusive cities Inclusive cities promote growth with equity, indiscrimination in terms of economic means, gender, race, ethnicity or religion, participation in social, economic and political opportunities, participatory planning and decision-making, representative voice in governance, planning, and budgeting processes, access to sustainable livelihoods, legal housing and affordable basic services, and all people and their needs valued equally. (UN-HABITAT, 2003) (Douglas, 2013) (Goltsman, 2007) (Collaborative for Inclusive Urbanism, 2012) India, especially Delhi, has served us with numerous instances where the aspirations, imaginations and requirements of the disadvantaged have been dismissed extensively. The dearth of inclusivity; be it in terms of economic means, gender, race, ethnicity or religion, has given way to the necessity of this very idea. The number of people in Delhi living in informal and unauthorized colonies, has reached 3.8 million. Too slow to respond to their needs, the city gives them the benefit of neither government recognition nor figuring in development schemes.(Sen, 2013). Informal settlements occupy one-third of the area in large urban centers such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai and the population living in urban slums is set to climb steeply to reach about 105 million in another five years — a 40 per cent increase over the 2001 level. The sufferings inflicted on the vulnerable will reduce only if the urban poor are recognised as important stakeholders and provided with much needed legal protection, preventing forced eviction and deterioration of living conditions. This could be followed by development plans and integration of these informal areas with mainstream planning process. (The Hindu, 2013). Thus our definition of inclusivity is two-fold; stressing on the robust involvement of the people of the community, who are going to be directly affected by the development projects, in the decision making, thus ensuring that the final policies reflect the collective wisdom and visions of the community and the specialists; and the second part ensures that far from being forced out of the lands that have been their home for decades, after the development plans are put in place, they should actually get proportionate shares of the benefits that arise from the same, or otherwise. As David Harvey says, “The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights.” (Harvey, 2008)

Open spaces

Open spaces are an essential component of a society. They have a huge impact on social, physical and psychological wellbeing of the members of a society. Open spaces can increase aesthetic appeal, amenity and value of a neighborhood, suburb or regional area. The function and size of open spaces changes in correlation with the population they serve. According to ESRI (India), Open spaces can be divided into these categories: • Tot-lots (125-5000 sqm) are for children and old people serving 300-3000 people. This area is generally located adjacent to a group of houses. • Housing-area-park and playground (5000-10000 sq.m.) are for children, young people and old people serving 3000-20000 people. This area is located approximately 500m away from houses. • Neighborhood-park and playground (10000-20000 sq.m.) are for young and middle-aged people, and for organizing community level functions serving a population of 20000100000 people. This space is located about 1 km away from residents. It serves a wide range of recreational needs within the community. • Community-park and playground (20000-250000 sq.m.) are for young people, middle aged people and for organizing community level functions serving a population of 100000

to 800000 people. This space is located approximately 2km away from houses. Since this space is bigger in area, it serves community as well as environment. This space is usually much greener as there is ample amount of area for planting trees. The standards devised for open spaces in these areas are significantly different from the standards for the same followed in developed countries like United States (Manlum, 2003): • Children’s park (200-400 sq.m.), serving a population of 100-1500 people and a service radius of neighborhood level. • Small pleasance (200-400 sq.m.), serving a population of 100-1500 people and a service radius of neighborhood level. • Neighboring Park (2-8 ha.), with a service radius of 400-800m and a serving population of 1000 to 5000 people. • District park (8-40 ha.), with a service radius of 800-5000m and a serving population of 5000-20000 people. • Large-urban-park (>40 ha.), with a riding distance of half an hour (by car) and a servingpopulation of more than 20000 people. • Regional park (>100 ha.), with a riding distance of an hour (by car) and a servingpopulation of a larger region. The inference from the comparison above is that the standard for open space per person in United States is higher than the Indian standard for open space per person. The biggest reason for this deviation is overpopulation of urban areas in India. An open space of the same area serves a larger population in India as compared to that in the USA.

Needs and functions of open space Open spaces promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of communities. These are also the four cornerstones of the sustainability framework. This section describes the impact open spaces have on these four well-beings: Social • Open spaces provide places for people to meet and interact, thus increasing social cohesion and social inclusion. • They provide opportunities for education and lifelong learning. “From playgrounds to sports fields to parks benches to chessboards to swimming pools to ice skating rinks to flower gardens, parks offer opportunities for people of all ages to communicate, compete, interact, learn and grow” (The Trust for Public Land, 2010). • They create opportunities for community participation in caring for the environment. Well designed spaces can promote a sense of place and be a source of community pride, helping to reduce crime and the fear of crime. Economic Open spaces bring measurable economic benefits to local, regional and national economies. These economic benefits enable communities to function and prosper, allowing them to build social cohesion, social capital and healthy communities. Research done by students of Deakin University summarised economic benefits of open spaces as follows : • Parks and nature tourism are significant contributors to our regional (and national) economy. • Parks and associated tourism provide employment. • Urban greening attracts new businesses, consumers and tourists. • Proximity to large open spaces raises real estate values significantly.

6 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Open space matters Environmental The contribution our green spaces make to our physical environment is immense. They maintain our clean air and water, enhance and protect biodiversity, cool our cities and store carbon. Open and green spaces particularly those with trees and large shrubs, can protect people from the harm of key environmental exposures such as flooding, air pollution, noise, and extremes of temperature in urban environments. This protection is likely to become more important as the local impacts of climate change become more frequent and extreme. Cultural Urban spaces have a special cultural significance, providing a sense of place and belonging. Open spaces create opportunities for cultural interaction, bringing people of different cultures together to celebrate community diversity or for communities to celebrate their own cultures. (Regional Public Health, 2010)

Inclusive open space The fundamental principle of inclusivity is that all resources should be available in equity. An open space would be inclusive if it is open to all people living in its proximity irrespective of their gender, caste, religion, race, financial condition. Open space in cities are places to celebrate cultural diversity, to engage with natural process and to conserve memories. Urban open spaces must provide a place for the meeting of strangers and a place where one can transcend the crowd and be anonymous or alone. And in all of this, the urban park will continue to serve a central function in society’s self- definition. (Thompson, 2007) A set of parameters to gauge the inclusivity of an open space • Easy to find access/ no barriers to open spaces / welcoming natural gateway. • Good paths, easy to walk on and enjoyable so that older people and people with physical disabilities don’t face problems while using them. • Seats in an open space for older people. • No excessively shady areas to avoid sense of insecurity. • Maintenance - Well maintained open spaces create a cordial feeling. (Hammersmith & Fulham Council, 2008)

Open space at Sarai Kale Khan

1. IP park 2. Vir Hakikat Rai ISBT 3. Yamuna Riverfront 4. Janta Flats 5. Nangli Razapur 6. Sarai Kale Khan Village 7. Nizamuddin East 8. Nizamuddin Railway Station 9. Railway Structures

6.1 Open space on-site

Source: Authors

There is a lot of disparity in the average values of open and indoor spaces per capita numbers of these areas, ranging from 0.77 sq.m. open space per capita for the Sarai Kale Khan village to 11.8 sq.m. for the Nizamuddin East colony. Almost a similar relation can be seen in the average indoor space per capita, with Janta Flats having the minimum at 3.12 sq.m. and the Nizamuddin East with the maximum at 15.62 sq.m. Keeping in mind that the National Building Code allowas 6 sq.m. of open space and 10 sq.m. of indoor space per capita, it is unsettling to know that where Nizamuddin East have significantly more than the said quantities, areas like the Sarai Kale Khan village and Nangli Razapur have disproportionately less. (6.1) On the basis of these spaces and their typical usage, open spaces have classified into sub-city level and neighborhood level open spaces. While the former constitutes the Yamuna Riverfront, IP Park and the ISBT on site, the neighborhood level open spaces include East Nizamuddin, the Village, Nangli Razapur and Janta Flats.

6 OPEN SPACE / ANVT

Open space Site analysis matters

6.2 IP park and school playground (L-R)

Source: Authors

Northern zone: Indraprastha park and school playground Factors governing usage of space: In early morning, the elderly group is seen using the I.P. park area forming numerous small groups. In the afternoon till dusk- children in the neighboring areas are seen using both the spaces for recreational activities. During night and during the rainy season, the school playground becomes the car parking area for Nangli Razapur people. The area seems to transform throughout the day as required by the people, as different groups of people use the space differently. During the night, the space becomes a major car parking space for the Nangli Razapur area. (6.2) Usage of space: Both the spaces are used by the children for playing, and as a thoroughfare by the residents, as there is no direct connectivity in upper part of Nangli Razapur to ring road. The school playground is used as the parking space at night, again by the residents, and the I.P. park is used by the adults as a space for socializing. Thus, a single space used multifunctionally, for different activities. Catchment and their sizes: In Indraprastha park, the primary users are boys (About 15 to 30+ in evening, with the number increasing significantly on weekends to 50+). No girls were seen here at any time. Other users of the playground area include kids (4-10 years), whose number varies from 20 to 30 during weekends. Quality of space: Children and teenagers use both the spaces evenly, as the quality of space doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter much for children; yes if the spaces are infrastructurally developed, that would have been an added advantage, but quality seems to be an important factor for the elderly as they mostly gather in I.P. park which is more greener and appealing. Thus, Quality of space seems to be an important factor for the elderly. Safety: One very interesting thing to note is the safety aspects of these spaces. Even though there are many anti-social elements present in and around but primary schoolaged children who used the area were left unsupervised by their parents, which suggested that parents had some confidence in their safety. The activity mapping here of the playground parks shows how these spaces are minimally used by the elderly and the women of the area only as a thorough-fare. The area was streaming with males, and people from all age groups, but there was still conflict as to where the women of these areas went.

Central zone: DDA and adjoining open space At the center of the site we have DDA janta flats parks and Unused SDMC parking. These comprise of small well maintained spaces used by people.

The people living in these areas have adjusted to the way of their usage of these open spaces in order to meet their requirements. The open spaces have been used by different numbers of people, depending on the size and proximity of the open spaces. The elder children usually

6.3 Central and Southern zone open space (L-R)

Source: Authors

go to bigger and far-off open spaces so that there isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t much crowd while the younger group sticks to the nearby spaces. The quality of these open spaces vary depending on the locality they are built in. Also the majority of the children using these spaces are boys, but there is higher inclusivity among the younger children of these areas. The amount of elders using these spaces was rather low, and the kids tend to play freely in the open spaces without any elder supervision. The open spaces in DDA flats: The residents have modified the spaces available to them to suit their own usage, like the space near parking is used to play cards. The rest of the spaces are also used by children to play near their house. On asking people we found that the spaces in dda flats are used by young children sometimes but mostly are empty. The older children go to the IP Park to play as the space is not adequate for them. The kids play football in the spaces between houses rather than in parks, the majority of which were girls. The elders tend to sit on the porch outside their house. The activity mapping of the DDA parks shows how the space is mostly empty during the day with some activities happening in morning and evening. It also shows how older kids donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use the space for playing and prefer going to IP Park. The park adjacent to DDA flats in Sarai kale khan area: The space is mainly used by kids. The kids of this area go to the IP Park sometimes when matches are played. The ground is not in a great shape as compared to the DDA parks but it comes under Sarai kale khan. (6.3) The parking space behind DDA flats: The parking is not currently occupied, as the area is off limits to everyone The area is a waste land as the situation stands, even though it shares boundary with the main Nizamuddin road, but is kept closed. The activity mapping of the SDMC parking shows how the space is mostly used by hawkers and vendors at night as night shelter, because of which the space is not safe for kids to use.

Southern zone: Primary school playground, ISBT round about and MCD park The school premise is open to public and has two gates which provide entry to the school grounds. However the site is being used by the Sarai Kale Khan residents for their private parking space due to lack of proper parking spaces. The MCD park is situated at the rear end of the Sarai Kale Khan residential area; near the primary school. It is used partially for parking and partially by kids playing around during the evenings. At night people bring in their foldable beds and sleep there due to lack of space. Majorly the space is used by elderly men who gather in numerous small sized groups, and by the children and teens playing. The time of day determines the usage of these spaces by different groups of people. This space is used for different activities like Playing, Parking, Socializing, etc. 98

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Open space Conclusion matters Inclusivity through mutual exclusion To make a city inclusive, the open spaces should be open to everyone; however with increasing built densities in cities, it is very difficult to create huge open spaces that can be used by everyone at the same time. The term ‘mutual exclusion’ here means limiting the usage of open spaces by different set of people at different times in a day. This way, the availability of open spaces can be restricted to definite groups of people at definite times so that everybody gets to use the open space according to their needs. This is seen to exist at our site, Sarai Kale khan where one can see old people using the open spaces during the early morning and not in the evenings as much as kids and men and women, and in the late evenings the number of kids playing or using the open space for their activities reduces and the spaces are used mostly by men and some women usually in groups. In this way the open space is equally divided amongst the different groups of people and everyone seems to get a share of time to use a particular open space during the day; this has happened because of the ever growing densities of people and their want for an open space. This way the open space seems to become inclusive by mutually excluding a particular group of people and involving a certain particular group for a particular time period throughout the day. An example from our site: • At early morning, one can see a lot of cars being parked along the roads and at around 6-7 am one can see elderly people walking around and some people jogging / exercising on these streets. • At 8-9:30 am as the density of the cars start reducing one can see elderly people sitting with charpies on the road. • At around 11- 12 pm the amount of people seen on the road reduces and so does the number of cars. • In the evenings say 3-4 pm, kids start pouring into the streets and the streets start getting active. • At 6-8 pm the street becomes very active and people of all age groups are seen using the street. • Again at night the amount of cars parked reaches its peak and the number of people on the street reduces.

Inequitable distribution of resources There is a drastic contrast in the open space available per capita in the Sarai Kale Khan region when compared to the open space available per capita in the Nizamuddin East settlement. The open space available in the Nizamuddin East is almost equal to the area per capita indoor used by the people of that settlement. It begs the question: Is there really a shortage of open space or is it just the unequal distribution of open spaces and maintainance which actually makes the difference? Also, in conjunction with the earlier point, are designers the key actors in designing an open space or is it the user using it?

Bibliography

Balestra, F. (2014, September). Architecture Every Day. domus, pp. 30-37. Bhan, G. (2009). “This is no longer the city I once knew”. Environment and Urbanization, 127-142. Collaborative for Inclusive Urbanism. (2012, February). A World of Inclusive Cities. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from Collaborative for Inclusive Urbanism: http://www.inclusiveurbanism.org/ Collins, E. D. (2014). English Dictionary. Retrieved from Collins: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/inclusivity Delhi Districts: Population & Population Density . (n.d.). Retrieved from DEMOGRAPHIA and THE PUBLIC PURPOSE: http://www.demographia. com/db-delhidistr.htm Douglas, R. (2013, January 28). Commentary: What We Mean By “Inclusive Cities”. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from The Rockfeller Foundation’s Informal City Dialogues: http://nextcity.org/informalcity/entry/commentary-what-we-mean-by-inclusive-cities Goltsman, D. I. (2007). Inclusive Design: Moving Beyond New Urbanism. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from The Inclusive City: http://www. inclusivecity.com/Content/10012/Inclusive_Design_Moving_Beyond_New_Urbanism.html Harvey, D. (1990). The Condition of Post-modernity. Oxford: Blackwell. Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City. New Left Review, 23-40. Lefebvre, H. (1991). The Production of Space. London: Blackwell. McKinsey, G. I. (2010). India’s urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth. Indai: McKinsey & Company. NBC. (2005). National Building Code of India. Planning Comission of India. Oxford Dictionary. (2014). Oxford Dictionary. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from Oxford Dictionaries: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/ definition/american_english/inclusivity Patel, S. B., Seth, A., & Panchal, N. (2007). Urban Layouts, Densities and the Quality of Urban Life. Economic and Political Weekly, 2725-2736. Program, U. E. (2014, 6 5). What is Open Space/Green Space? Retrieved from EPA United States Environment Protection Agency: http://www. epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/openspace.html Ranade, S. (2007). The Way She Moves. Economic and Political Weekly, 1519-1526. Ranade, S. (2007, April-May). The Way She Moves: Mapping the Everyday Production of Gender-Space. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42. Rockefeller, John D. (2014). Designing the Inclusive City. The Rockefeller Foundation, 182-223. Sen, K. M. (2013). A place in the city. Seminar 648, 32-35. Soja, E. (1989). Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory. London: Verso. The Hindu. (2013, February 26). Building Inclusive Cities. The Hindu, p. 13. UN-HABITAT. (2003). The Global Campaign on Urban Governance. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from UN-Habitat: http://ww2.unhabitat.org/ campaigns/governance/documents/way_forward_29.May.doc. Wikipedia. (2014, 7 9). Giambattista Nolli. Retrieved from Wikepedia The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giambattista_Nolli

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किसको खिसकाऊँ? Guide

Group members

Ms. Mukta Naik

Agnimitra Bachi Aparna Konat Bharat Agarwal Damini Rathi Divya Singh Lokesh Singh Palak Mehta

Chairperson Mrs. Sudeshna Chatterjee

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Abstract

7.1 Nizamuddin

Source: Authors

In light of the current development context, where many socio-cultural groups may find themselves next to their least expected counterparts, influencing change towards social inclusion within this nascent group would be a key ingredient in the building of a resilient society. We study the public spaces of Nizamuddin, where they are subject to use by a variety of groups, who appropriate the spaces according to their own need. (7.1) Semi-structured interviews have been used to develop an understanding of the dynamics of interaction between these groups. Using a framework of ability, dignity and opportunity the standing and support each group gets in comparison with one another has been evaluated. Inclusivity is fundamental to utilising the potential of the various groups seen on the site, and public participation emerged as a tool to achieve this by bridging the gaps between what the people want and what the authorities think is needed.

7 PUBLIC SPACE / NZM

किसको Prologue खिसकाऊँ? A society that has sustainable structure makes sure of its proper functioning by depending on all its members to be active contributing members of the society. Not only should every individual be able to sustain himself but also be able to contribute to the society. Most modern societies are structured in a way that an individual who do well for himself , automatically contributed towards the functioning of the society. To ensure every individual’s participation, there needs to be scope for his involvement. Ensuring this involvement is the key challenge that needs to be faced by efforts targeted at achieving social inclusivity. The primary basis on which one can either include or exclude individuals is to group them under certain attributes. The association of individuals or groups of individuals to a certain identity causes the effect of inclusion or exclusion. Among the most common basis on which people are excluded are gender, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, and disability status. Social exclusion based on such grouping can lead to lower social standing of the individuals in question. This is often accompanied by lower outcomes in terms of income, human capital endowments and access to employment and services. This identity clubbing may sometimes also result in failure to recognize the voice of this body in local or national levels, excluding them from making national or local level decision making. For every individual of a community, it becomes important for him to feel included within a society. The feeling or perception of inclusion itself would open up new avenues for his participation and involvement within the social structure. Inclusivity as a perception comes with the provision of opportunity, ability and dignity to ensure that every individual is empowered as a valued, respected and contributing member of society.

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•

Ability: The ability of a person talks of the basic requirement of skills to survive. It refers to whether or not the involved parties have the resources to sustain themselves. It might seem as an innate quality of a person to be able to sustain himself, but on closer inspection it reveals that there might be several factors that lead to their disadvantage on this regard and can be anything from malnourishment as a child to bad parenting. The other aspect that is involved is capability building. The capabilities of a present generation can be built through certain societal building techniques that would grant them the opportunity to develop further. (Inclusion Matters, The World Bank, 2013)

•

Opportunity: ensuring everyone has the accommodations they need to reach and contribute their personal maximum potential. Inequality of opportunity is one of the major factors that plays out in a developing economy. This also results in the nonrealization of human potential. It is often assumed that equalizing the supply of services at the beginning of the life cycle will provide individuals with an equal chance of translating their abilities into enhanced wellbeing. However this fails to hold true in many cases. For example, the child of a daily wage worker, may go to school up till the eighth standard. He Is most likely to discontinue his studies as he would realize he is capable of selling physical work to support his parents. This can either be a choice that he makes or is a choice that is imposed on him by his parents. It is important to sustain and manage the older generation and simultaneously provide opportunity at the beginning of the life cycle to equalize chances of translating this new generation’s capability into enhanced well-being. (Inclusion Matters, The World Bank, 2013)

•

Dignity: Whether a group is recognized and involved in the decision making processes of a community, as opposed to being pushed to the margins. Social inclusion is intrinsically linked to notions of respect and recognition when, to their institutions and norms, dominant cultures and processes alternatively the suspect individuals and groups who are considered subordinate, those individuals and groups can either opt out, submit or

protest. Until and unless the society is capable of recognizing the smallest of the social groups, and these groups are enabled to mobilize themselves, it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be said that each group is treated with dignity. When an individual is cornered with inability and the lack of opportunity, and is forced into a situation where his or her dignity is overridden by need, we have another pressing conflict. (Inclusion Matters, The World Bank, 2013)

Conditions that prove to be a barrier between an individual, and the three enablers of inclusivity are conflicts. Competition, with equal opportunities between the same sector, is viewed as a positive force pushing the involved parties to be better. Conflict, however, is seen as a negative force, with clambering between various parties due to a lack of opportunity. However, conflict can also be seen as the coexistence of multiple activities taking place within the same place, and the interaction between each can be mutually beneficial, or destructive, based on the attitude and actions taken by the parties involved. (Lehtovuori, 2005) Different actors claim public spaces based on their own interest and values. These differences often lead to conflicts. In this regard, Public places seem to be hotbeds of activity where Inclusivity can be assessed. Different forces and actors interact (combine, conflict and oppress) in order to determine how a public spaces develops. ( Cuthbert, 2006; Massey, 2005; Bentley, 1999; Madanipour, 1996; Castells, 1993; Lefebvre, 1991) It is in these interactions between these different forces and actors, that lenses are created through which problems are understood and solutions are framed within a decision making process.

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किसको Public spaces and actors on-site खिसकाऊँ? Public space The vicinity of the Nizamuddin Station has various points where the activities of the users of the site intersect, and the competition for space is pronounced. Seven of these spaces were finalized based on the amount of overlaps taking place, and the importance of the spaces in terms of infrastructure and community. (7.2) Entry from the Sarai Kale Khan side This is a secondary gate to the station, a point where commuters, coolies (porters), auto and rickshaw wallahs and vehicles collide with the markets and residents of the surrounding colonies. This gate was opened up recently to service the increased footfall of the Nizamuddin station, and was not planned for in the station’s design. This is evident in the chaos seen outside the gate, where there is a lack of spatial acknowledgment and allocation for the various activities that are expected of a railway station exit. Entry from Nizamuddin East This is the primary gate to the station, where all formal access to the station takes place. In contrast with the Sarai Kale Khan side, it is heavily formalized which brings its own set of conflicts. Until the gate that represents the end of the RPF (Railway Police Force) jurisdiction, there are no hawkers and no rickshaw wallahs in sight, which limits the options available to the commuters coming out of the station. Bus Stand Just beyond the RPF gate, freed from the shackle of regulation, a variety of informal activity springs up. Hawkers vending food and goods service this node between the station and the rest of the city, but even this has the shadow of authority and corruption looming over it. Local Market The existing Barapullah bridge hosts a bustling evening market, with all kinds of vegetables and domestic supplies catered for. Here people from different strata are brought together by the quality of the offerings, and we consider this to be a successful public space. Underpass An underpass connecting the two sides of the station was constructed as part of the development for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. While it was fitted with lights to illuminate the path, they were quickly broken or stolen by delinquents in the area. This has led to the underpass being dingy during the day, and completely dark at night. This fosters an environment of danger and uncertainty. Rickshaw Stand In the vicinity of the Barapullah bridge, there is a stand where rickshaws park overnight. Street vending and passenger movement keep the space active during the day that keeps the spaces active, during night, it is desolate. The road adjacent to the Barapullah bridge remains either neglected, unused or unsafe.

Actors

105

Since we define our public spaces by the activities that take place in them, the actors involved are the ones who feel the direct impact of the inclusivity, or lack thereof, of these public spaces. These spaces reveal to us the dynamics of social interaction that are key to understanding inclusivity. We have identified the major actors based on their prominence and visibility. (7.3)

The commuters have a contrasting experience between the two sides of the station. While those on the Nizamuddin side have access to pedestrian paths and are dropped off in the peace of a designed drop-off, while who access the station from the Ring Road in the chaos surrounding the entry. Lack of dustbins and presence of dead spaces are chief among their complaints. They do however, like the informal markets surrounding the exit, talking of them as recreational spaces, that make them feel safer despite the congestion caused by these markets. Hawkers have a contentious existence around the station. The actual users of the site appreciate their presence, as they offer food at a reasonable price and make the experience of navigating to and fro less monotonous. The authorities on the other hand, are the antagonists of a hawkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. A hawker is on the fringes of the law in terms of their right to be vending on the street. Legal recognition for the hawkers, while proposed and talked about, has not taken effect in practice. The hawker lives in a constant state of insecurity, and loses a significant portion of his income to bribes and the institutionalized harassment that is thekedaari. The hawker is also an important part of society, the regularity of their interactions leads to familiarity with the residents of the surrounding areas. Many of the hawkers themselves live in the Sarai Kale Khan Basti. The autowallas have a transitory presence at the station, since they come, drop and pick up passengers and leave. There is a designated auto stand outside the Nizamuddin East entry. There is talk of corruption in the allocation of those slots as well. In the current legal system, the autowallahs have poor representation in terms of their response to anonymous phone complaints. The autowallah likes the presence of hawkers, as it reduces speed of pedestrian flow, and increases their chances of getting a passenger. The narrow road width on the other exit is also a concern, while theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always vary of dropping passengers around dead spaces or ones they know to be populated by local goons. The rickshawalla faces similar conflicts to the autowalla, but the extents of his movement are more limited, therefore their conflicts are more site-specific. While the rickshaw is the most flexible in terms of its movement of all the modes of public transport, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always considered the bottom rung of movement and is blamed for traffic jams, and are herded like sheep by the police. The residents are chiefly concerned with station activity getting in the way of their everyday lives. While the residents on the Sarai Kale Khan side feed off the development that the station brings, they are not keen on embracing it. They are more concerned with hygiene and safety, with many objecting about the intersection of school kids and vehicular traffic. There are three prominent residential colonies near the Nizamuddin Station, being Nizamuddin East, Nangli Razapur and Sarai Kale Khan basti.

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7.2 Selected public spaces

Source: Authors

7.3 Actors on-site

Source: Authors

7.4 Unstructured interviews

Source: Authors

Methodology Unstructured interviews There seem to be cycles of recurrent activity, set in periodic cycles. During these cycles different actors come across each other in many a transactions and interactions. During these exchanges arise conflicts. To understand the working of public spaces it becomes extremely important to dwell into this dynamism. This could only be done through extensive observation. However, conflicts can be internalized and invisible. It is important to consider the fact that most of these people have already faced these problems and conflicts for a long time now, and to them it might not seem as obvious. Only through exhaustive conversation with these actors was it possible to assimilate and estimate the nature of these conflicts. Over 130 unstructured interviews were recorded. (7.4) Content analysis These responses are then accumulated and analyzed. This happens through what is called content analysis. This method of analysis uses a mixture of qualitative assessment and linguistics, where keywords or key phrases are identified across the interviews. The keywords are characterized by the kind of data one is looking for. (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005) In this case, all issues relating to the actors existence in the public space were sifted through. The frequency with which one observed the similar keywords was noted. The geographic area where this keyword arose on the site was also noted. The assimilation of the keywords and tabulating the result of the analysis give much insight into the working, the lacking of the public spaces. (7.5) Issue identification Once the geographical correlation of the keywords is extrapolated, the similar keywords which addressed the same bigger problem were clumped together. Various keywords came together under parameters that were hygiene, safety, authority, markets , space contestation and sense of belonging. These parameters covered most of the problems and issues that were identified in the keyword generation phase. In another study to attempt understanding as to which problem affected which actor group, the keywords were plotted against the parameters of safety, hygiene, authority, markets , space contestation and sense of belonging on one axis, while on the other were the various actor groups. (7.6)

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7.5 Geographic content analysis

Source: Authors

7.6 Issue identification

Source: Authors

Analysis of key issues Rickshaw wallah’s sense of belonging The rickshaw walla is an indispensable part of Delhi’s urban fabric. He occupies the last rung of the transit system and provides for local transit in a city where pedestrianism is still trying to make a mark with either poor or nonexistent infrastructure in some parts or the harsh and extreme weather. Being the lowest in both the economic strata and on the social ladder, these individuals fight to find their place in the society. Bhanu, a rickshaw puller from Gorakhpur, gets into a frenzy as he shouts “Sab rickshaw walon ko hi bolenge! sirf hamari hi galati ho sakti hai” (Everybody points at the rickshaw puller, its always our fault!) while he is shouted at to remove his rickshaw from the path of an auto rickshaw. There is a certain lack of dignity of labour, where there seems to be more physical work than the intellect. Their income barely crosses enough to sustain. Most of the rickshaw wallas share a single room with five or six others in the northern fringes of Ishaq Basti. Others still sleep out in the open, many under the roof of their own rickshaw. There exists an empty plot about 700 meters from the station entry, right below the Barapullah elevated roadway. This is where most, if not all rickshaw pullers park their cycle rickshaws. Most of the rickshaw pullers don’t even own their own rickshaw, but instead take it on daily rent. An informally scrawled last name and number at the back of the rickshaw usually tells of the owner who runs the enterprise of renting rickshaws. On site, the rickshaw wallas seem to have an unspoken hesitance to interact or have anything to do with the gujjar community who reside in pockets of Ishaq Basti. “Kuch bhi bolte hai to sir jhukke chalna padta hai, Maar peeth kisko khana hai bhai?” says Dayal Singh, voicing his fear of violence.( “Whatever they say we just need carry on without paying too much heed. Who wants to be beaten up?”) There seems to be a constant disconnect from the society. For this group it is an almost internalized exclusion, where they do not maintain any ties with people of the society but only talk and connect to other daily wage earners or people they transact from. Their relationship with the society is almost too temporal. Having no such ties they are also poorly represented in the community and the society at large. They are presently dependant on Non Governmental organization and bank heavily on the provision of rights by the police. The RPF (Railway Police Force) and the Delhi police have both been observed mistreating, manhandling and abusing rickshaw wallahs. The rickshawallas persistently try to inch their way closer to the exit gate, driven by their need to get hold of a savaari, and the RPF keep beating them back to beyond the RPF draw gate , around 500 meter from the entry gate. The traffic police constantly shepherd the cluster of rickshaw wallas this way and that to accommodate traffic in the area. The voices of the Rickshaw wallas is unheard for more for the reason that there isn’t one than the fact that they are oppressed. After the interviews it became clear that exclusion was largely internalized with individuals not aspiring for more. This presents itself as a serious concern in the upliftment and inclusion of this user group.

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Autowalla’s relationship with Authority The autowallah is probably the most visible of the actors on an urban scale. A unique feature of Asian roads, the autos or auto rickshaws ferry people over short and long distances. The prices and tariffs are prefixed according to government mandate and come as a recognized form of public transport. There exists a legal framework within which the Auto rickshaws fall. Uniformed auto drivers, Regulated tariff meters and uniform design of auto pull this community or service providers together. There exists a strong sense of belonging within this community. With such strong legal structure, the auto wallas still complain of the inadequacy of earning a practical living out of the mandated fares. It is common occurrence that most tariff rules are not followed, and the driver asks for excess fare or denies to take on passengers. There is strong disparity between the traffic police and the auto rickshaws for several reasons, Primarily, the auto rickshaw is a dominant occupier of space on the roads of Delhi. Parking, Dropping stopping and fare discrepancies are common grounds of conflict between these two groups. Near the Hazrat Nizamuddin station, the two exits see different treatments of autos. The western exit is organized and planned, with auto lanes where there is designated space for auto rickshaws to wait till the passengers approach. However, it is observed that the drivers abandon their vehicle in the waiting lanes to go to the entrance to usher the oncoming passengers in an attempt to procure a savaari. At the Eastern exit the situation is more chaotic, with no formal allocation of space for the auto rickshaws and a total lack of infrastructure to handle the number of passengers that exit from this gate. Here there is a constant clash between the traffic police and the auto wallas, Be it for issues over accepting passengers from the prepaid booth, or for parking , the relationship remains strained. Almost all auto drivers at the entrance feel dissociated from the site, and have nothing to do with it apart from coming to pick up passengers of major trains like Shatabdi, Rajhdani and other trains that come from southern or central states. However, it unfolds that there is unrest among the drivers about the infrastructure and management that surrounds the station. They face harassment from the traffic police over parking and fares. They also express concerns over their weak legal representation in comparison to the extremely rigid framework that they fall under. They also continuously fight for space with private vehicles, hawkers and pedestrians at the station entries.

Hawker Space Contestation

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Over 66.7% of the total employment lies in the informal sector in Delhi. It is needless to say that the city’s economy rests on the informal sector. The hawkers form an indispensable part of this infrastructure. They operate under Section 321 on the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, which grants them with license to run informal business from temporary stalls and kiosks. However on the site, there lies a large population of hawkers who do not have a tehbazari license. These unauthorized stalls and kiosks along with long standing, licensed vendors all operate on the spines that lead to the station entries. At the northern gate the RPF denies permit to set up stalls within Station limits. The hawking starts at the end of the station limits marked by the RPF draw gate. On the eastern exit, however, there are hawkers lined up till the first step of the exit gate. The hawkers are under constant threat of eviction by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). With the recent beginnings of work on the Delhi Metro and the RRTS line, they face further threat of development. Contrary to expectations, most hawkers are optimistic about the upcoming developments. “Only after the arrival of the metro can we expect some good changes, cleanliness and nice roads” says Guruprem, a vendor who has been vending clothes on the footpaths from more than 28 years with a Tehbazaari permit. Thought the permit allows

them the right to hawk they still face extortion by local goons, and the police. More so the MCD could decide to displace them by giving them a substitute space which might not be a viable location for vending. Guruprem too was moved from the busy street side to behind a car park, which is now rarely seen by the sea of commuters that flow by. The hawkers conflict with almost all other user groups on the site with respect to space. Every stall occupies the pavement and any remaining space on the access spine. There is a critical dearth of space for vehicles pedestrians that need to be serviced by the station. Over the course of the interviews, it became evident that most hawkers aspire for permanent accommodation or at least infrastructure that would accommodate them into the scheme of proper functioning at the railways stations. With limited space and the pressure to earn a decent living forces hawkers to even contest between themselves for prime vantage spots which would attract more customers. Every hawker tries to find his space near the entry of the station which has the maximum footfall of passengers. With livelihood completely dependent of the kind of space they occupy and the amount of space they find on the streets, hawkers find themselves dependant on means that are temporary. This adds to their insecurities of being able to earn a living to ensure their survival.

Resident safety The residential areas that share a boundary wall with the station have been tremendously affected by the presence of the railways station. A burst of commercial activity was of course the first major outcome. Most of the residential areas cater to the people who service in the informal sector in and around the station, be it mainstream services like hawking or even fringe economic activities pertaining to the station. Much of the edges of the residential areas are being rent out as shops, godowns, offices or hotels. Nangli Razapur now hosts hundreds of guesthouses, and travel agencies even in the interiors of the residential colony, while Ishaq Basti caught amidst all the chaos are long term residents of Nangli Razapur, Ishaq Basti, the Sarai Kale Khan and the DDA housing colony. There is a blatant lack of infrastructure in terms of public amenities. The present infrastructure is not able to cope with the rate of increase in activity. Schools to the west of the station find themselves islanded by busy roads with no infrastructure to ensure safe crossings for children, The only way to cross the station or the tracks is to use a underpass, which despite being long and unlit, also does not host any activity, making it unsafe for the residents to use. Women in the community claim to use it during the day but never after dark, while many prefer crossing the tracks on the surface itself to avoid the long or unsafe walk through the underpass. There are no public amenities such as toilets on the east exit, Making it extremely difficult for working women to operate. This forces them to use secluded or isolated areas of the site which, apart from being unhygienic might also be dangerous owing to delinquents and drug users who dominate isolated spaces in the site.

Commuter hygiene More than 4,00,000 passengers pass through the Hazrat Nizamuddin station every day. During the interviews most commuters commented on the hygiene of the platforms itself. The moment they get off their trains they are welcomed with the smell and sights of the tracks of the platform. With passengers defecating even when the trains are halt, this waste finds itself on the tracks that are open to the platforms. Apart from the tracks even as the passengers exit into the commotion of the east entry, Most of the road is unpaved which, during the dry season, is the cause of much dust. The disarrayed hawkers have no proper or formal waste management

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किसको खिसकाऊँ?

systems. The existing structure for waste management involves a thorough sweeping of the access spine early in the morning. This gets rid of a huge mass of waste, which only goes on to get replenished through the day. Most Hawkers these days, partially out of their desire to stay clean, and partially to the insistence of many keep old tins or tubs that they use as dustbins. Daily users as well as occasional users both identified this as a major issue. The railways station being a gateway into the city, most commuters aspire to come into more pleasant conditions. The Western exit however is a better experience , with the whole place planned and paved, and the hawkers forced back to a certain setback from the entry, the commuter finds this a preferred exit, But if a passenger needs to travel towards the ring road, Noida or east Delhi, the west gate doesn’t seem viable. In this situation they are forced to take the east exit and pass through a lot of commotion before they actually leave the site. With the nearby residential areas teeming with people and facing severe overcrowding, many residential activities spill out into the open. activities that are considered part of the private realm such as bathing, grooming, relaxing, drying of clothes have become public, which causes a sense of conflict to the commuters. Most people who were interviewed felt a more active role needs to be played by the authorities in the cleaning up of the area. “logon ke upar chod denge tho kuch hoga hi nahi” (“left to the people, nothing will happen”)says Amit , a daily commuter who travels from here to Palwal every day.

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Top-heavy nature of planning in India

The planning process in India has traditionally follows a top down approach. This approach fails to recognize and respond to the needs and wants of the people at the local level as they are completely left out of the decision making process. This results in lack of public ownership of the development processes, leading to their failure. (CEPT, 2014) The underpass is a failed example of a top down intervention. Though the developing authorities realized the need for infrastructure that connects both the sides of the railway tracks, They did not respond to pedestrian movement and only designed for vehicular movement. Low ceiling height, poor lighting and lack of commercial activity makes the underpass highly unsafe for pedestrians at night. Again a top down intervention failed to recognize the need of public toilets in this area. Due to this the women are forced to used isolated spaces like empty parking lots, unused area under the Barapullah elevated road to relieve themselves. This not only makes it unsafe for women but is also a slight on their dignity. The 74th Constitution Amendment Act called for decentralization of governance, while providing for involvement and engagement of the citizens with governance at the lowest levels. This lead to the adoption of more public participatory processes like panchayats , RWAs and Local area plans. But these only partially engage the citizens. The suggestions put forwards by the citizens during the preparation of a development, may or may not be considered in the final draft of the development plan as there are no statutory clause that is binding in this regard. The LAP methodology calls for a more sustained public engagement which can be achieved through a bottom up participatory planning process. But a complete bottomup approach fails as the citizens are unable to manage the whole process due to a lack of expertise. Therefore, engagement of a group of multi-skilled professionals is essential to ensure the integration of both top down and bottom up approaches. (Roy and Ganguly, 2009) Based on our interviews it is evident that many users on the site aspire for infrastructure based on their everyday needs and requirements. Different user groups aspire for different infrastructure, it becomes the responsibility of this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;expertsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to find a suitable agreeing point where the needs of the user groups are satisfied as well as the needs of the cities are met. While solving the issue of congestion and clogged streets in the surrounding areas of the Nizamuddin Railway Station, a top down intervention resulted in the eviction of informal hawkers from the site. Because of the non involvement of the locals and the passengers who use the Railway station every day, the development authority failed to understand that informal markets a very important part of any transit oriented public space. Such markets create a more dynamic and productive atmosphere. They create economic opportunities for people at the lower end of the economic spectrum and encourage entrepreneurship. They make a safer environment for women and kids by creating more active spaces. Despite the eviction, the demand called for informal markets. With no space allocated to them, hawkers end up encroaching the footpath and roads further adding to the chaos at the entry of the station.The local market at the Barapullah bridge in contrast, is a successful example of a development process where a development authority collaborated with the local community and recognized the need of in an informal market in the area. By giving formal recognition to the market it also enabled infrastructure development.

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किसको Need for public participation खिसकाऊँ? When dominant cultures actively disrespect individuals and groups who are considered marginal, those groups can either opt out, submit, or protest. Public participation can be a way for these groups to vocalize. People are usually the best experts on their own lives. By using co-creation, we create an outcome that combines people’s own knowledge about their needs and wants with the designer’s expertise. Participation creates a sense of responsibility towards others, and influences decisions or enables individuals to have access to the decision-making process. Participatory methods help designers to decide in situations where there is a clash between an individual’s needs and a cities’ requirement. The presence of this method allows the local communities to increase their engagement, ownership and control over the development of their public spaces, and this empowers those that are normally excluded or not represented within planning and design processes. (Calderon, 2013) Also, participatory research encourages rich, creative, and divergent contributions from the public, releasing inhibitions for the designers, and opening up new thinking. Presence of feedback on existing conditions on site gives designer cues to work with, and with them being answerable for their work, encourages more responsibility for the social suitability of the environments they create. One of the key factors for public participation being fruitful is that the various stakeholders can reach a consensus. Participatory democracy and deliberative democracy are two types of participation that a proposal can incorporate. With participatory democracy, major decisions are decentralized across all sectors of society, so that all the users learn to engage the system in such a manner that they have an influence in the making of all decisions that affect them. Meanwhile, in a deliberative democracy, citizens negotiate with their representatives over community problems and let their concerns be heard. This approach recognizes that people will need representatives for their needs, but there should be a healthy back-and-forth feedback loop between each other.

Provision for public participation in the 2021 masterplan In the list of focal points for the Delhi Master plan, the following provision are made for public participation. (MPD 2021, 2007) • Decentralized local area planning by participatory approach • Performance oriented planning and development, with focus on implementation and monitoring Local Area Plans In 2007, the term Local Area Plans was included in MPD 2021, stating it as a plan for ward/subzone. Zonal Plans also stated in their preamble that indication of uses other than residential and facility corridor shall be undertaken at the stage of Local Area Plans. “Local area plan is by definition a plan based on the local needs and characteristics. Thus, it requires framing area specific objectives” (MCD, 2005). “Local Area Planning is... for addressing the unplanned and illegal urban development... By combining neighbourhood level data with stakeholder participation... to reform Delhi’s entire building byelaw system including procedural, planning and building performance components” (USAID, 2009).

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“Local area plan is by definition a plan based on the local needs and characteristics. Thus, it requires framing area specific objectives” (MCD, 2005).

Gaps between theory and practice of participation Despite the alluring ideas of participation, it faces an uphill battle to combat a variety of pitfalls that come in the way of productive participation. These may be • Falling short in involving a sufficient variety of stakeholders in process vis-à-vis the organization of including all members of a community. • Poor quality of dialogue between participants. • Giving priority to some stakeholders over others facilitation. • Favoring politicians, developers or designer preferences over local needs and values . • Time pressure and budgetary concerns for the authority involved. Probably the biggest block is the pressure of arriving at a consensus. This may inhibit the negotiate process and silence those who are marginalized or have dissenting opinions. With increase in diversity of cultures due to migration, the importance of market oriented goals in design practices, decision-making processes in public space projects have become increasingly complex and confronted by conflicts of interests, values, claims and power relations. Examples of successful participatory design programs Bhagidari, Delhi One of the major practices of participatory development is the Bhagidari program run by the Delhi government. The Bhagidari program stands on the shoulders of the developments introduced by the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2001, which gave people the right to ask questions about governance. Through the Bhagidari scheme, RWAs are made aware of local issues such as water saving, payment and collection of water bills, load shedding information and solutions on internal colony sewage systems. In essence, Bhagidari is a victory for effective communication between the users and the authorities. PRIA, Rajnandgaon and Janjgir (Chattisgarh) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), initiated a project in Chattisgarh that they intended to be a model for participatory development in India, a showcase on how to avoid the various pitfalls that have been present in the existing development procedures in India. In order to do this, they took the following steps towards capability building.

• • •

Encouraging climate – political support within and outside the implementing agency. Educational intervention – This helps in enhancing the awareness of the citizens. Skills building – This involves skills for self-management, technical skills, and collective forums, that act as mechanisms to generate and sustain citizen participation.

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किसको Conclusion खिसकाऊँ? “An existing space may outlive its original purpose and the raison d’être which determines its forms, functions, and structures; it may thus in a sense become vacant, and susceptible of being diverted, re-appropriated and put to a use quite different from its initial one.” Henri Lefebvre, The Production of Space Public Spaces keep changing as the actors using them are varied and many. If there is no formal intervention, the actors will keep modifying it to their own needs, a phenomenon known as ‘social production of space’. There comes a point when this social production needs to be assessed and made feasible by redirecting it in a direction that both the users and the authorities find satisfying. Social inclusion tends to occur along multiple axes at once, so interventions that release just one of these axes of deprivation will not unleash the grip of others. It is observed that an excluded group can internalize their recurring exclusion. Once this happens, they do not even bother to try for better outcomes. Exclusion, therefore, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. (World Bank 2013) Participation creates a sense of responsibility towards others, and influences decisions or enables individuals to have access to the decision-making process. While top down interventions are needed for implementation, bottom-up approaches give pointers on how to makes these interventions actually work. A top down approach is knowledge based, while bottom-up approaches are grounded in experience. Public participation gives us conflicts that will not be evident if a top-down approach is followed. These two approaches can be consolidated using our ability-opportunity-dignity framework, where these three factors can be a litmus test to judge the validity of the solutions that are proposed. A disparity in the kinds of solutions proposed can be observed at the Nizamuddin station. While the top-down authorities think of macro level interventions of the underpass, but they are not aware of the realities of the site which a prior research using a methodology would give them. The presence of delinquents, and the fact that there is heavy pedestrian crossing between the two sides of the station, has not been addressed sufficiently. Community-driven development (CDD) is an approach that gives community groups control over planning decisions and investment resources for local development projects. The underlying assumption of CDD projects are that communities are the best judges of how their lives and livelihoods can be improved and, if provided with adequate resources and information, they can organize themselves to provide for their immediate needs. Moreover, CDD programmes are motivated by their trust in people and hence it advocates people changing their own environment as a powerful force for development. (ADB, 2006) Amidst all this talk of public participation, the definition of participation must also be questioned. Participation can be through voicing your opinion, or it can also be maintaining your silence. Even those who don’t know that they have a platform to voice their opinion, are participating with their silence. The gamut of changes that the participatory process aims for include empowering people to mobilize their own capacities, be social actors rather than passive subjects, manage the resources, make decisions and control the acts that affect their lives. It involves people directly and actively in all stages of the management and decisionmaking process. (Uganda Project Team, 2007). With the world getting smaller by the day, in the current development context—where confluence of forces would lead to the underprivileged being juxtaposed with the very powerful—inﬂuencing change toward social inclusion will be an important piece of the puzzle of creating resilient communities. (World Bank 2013) 117

Bibliography

The World Bank. 2013. Inclusion Matters Arnold, D. 2000. Science, technology, and medicine in colonial India (New Cambr hist India v.III.5) Cohen, D., Crabtree, B. 2006. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Qualitative Research Guidelines Project.â&#x20AC;? Hsieh, H., & Shannon, S. 2005. Qualitative Research Calderon, C. 2013. Politicizing Participation, Doctoral thesis, Swedish university of agricultural sciences, Uppsala Center for urban equity, CEPT university. 2014. A methodology for local accessibility planning in Indian cities Uttam, K., & Ganguly, M. Integration of Top down & Bottom up approach in Urban and Regional Planning: West Bengal Experience of Draft Development Plans (DDP) and Beyond Uganda project team. 2007. The conservation of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity around Lake Victoria, Sango-bay region- Rakai district, Uganda Asian development bank. 2006. A Review Of Community Driven Development And Its Application To The Asian Development Bank Participatory Design <http://www.experientia.com/services/design/participatory-design> [accessed 2014] CEPA. A Guide to Participatory Action Planning and Techniques for Facilitating Groups Lefebvre, H. 1991. The Production of Space.

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Guide

Group members

Mr. Sandeep Menon

Aditya Bhardwaj Avinash Vishvakarma Kumar Abhishek Shaik Naseer Syam Kumar Gompa Varun Raja Y. Lakshmi Divya

Abstract

8.1 An Indian street

Source: Authors

The paper emphasises that streets are one of the most critical components of a city, as they are the most used open space under public domain. (8.1) The image of the city and the sense of inclusivity is hence perceived a lot through its streets. Inclusivity, also, is not analysed as just an anthropocentric concept, but a one in which the ecology has an equal right as humans on the city. The methodology of study for the paper involves observation of geometric detail of various streets and respective user behaviour, to decipher a relationship between the both. The study has two phases. In the first phase, having listed all streets of the identified zone, they are put into groups on the basis of quantitative data, namely, land-use, hierarchy, width, traffic volume, vegetation density along edges, and street edge morphology. This macro level analysis helps to identify distinctly unique streets for a further study. In the second phase, the identified unique streets are grouped as global or local based on their userbase, and then observed qualitatively to arrive at comparative degrees of democratic, cultural and ecological inclusivity in various street typologies. The global streets being an urban arterial and a primary collector, and local ones being internal streets in a high-rise residential complex, a plotted housing complex, an urban village and in a slum. Patterns are observed, such as with upward socio-economic mobility, the neighbourhoods become greener but lose out on democratic and cultural inclusivity, and hence lead to a sensory deprived public life on streets. The seminar, in conclusion, tries to prove that street design cannot be merely defined on the basis of widths, and should be only done after identifying the actors, especially the vulnerable stakeholders.

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The road Inclusivity and streets not taken Inclusivity Inclusivity is a process through which people irrespective of having unequal resources get equal opportunities to achieve their maximum potential in a particular socio-economic and socio- cultural setting. Inclusiveness as a characteristic feature of any society reflects its ability to bring about such an institutionalized mechanism that can establish an ecological development process in human society in harmony with nature as well as the distribution of natural and material resources among the masses on equitable basis without any prejudicial discrimination. To understand inclusivity it is important to develop the understanding of factors that lead to exclusivity. Exclusivity is manifested in different forms. Social, political, financial, environmental, educational, cultural, spatial exclusivity etc. are some of the important areas that affect human lives. All are interrelated and impact the other’s outcome. For example, an uneducated person is less likely to be aware of his political rights in a particular social set-up. Education is needed to understand the collective conscience of the society. In the natural ecosystem every creature gets resources of its survival from nature itself due to its regenerative capability unless it is not distorted by the externalities. Food chain is a good example of this. It is the nature’s way of inclusion of different creatures including plants, animals and human beings in the life processes on earth. Imbalance in the distribution of food resources among them is caused by overconsumption or over exploitation of a particular resource or group of resources. This affects regenerative capacity of the nature which sustains an inclusive environment for man and nature. Beyond the basic ‘roti, kapda and makaan’, sanitation, health services, education and affordable transportation, and most importantly, social inclusion are also a part of basic needs. Urban theorist Patrick Geddes travelled through India from 1914 to 1924 and proposed masterplans for cities and towns throughout the length and breadth of the country. His planning ideology followed three central themes: (8.2) • Nature: The city must be try to preserve the existing natural ecosystem, which not only includes the vegetation and animals, but the air quality, natural water systems, etc. • Democracy: the city should not discriminate among its dwellers on the basis of economic status, age, gender, physical disabilities, etc. for the share of its public resources. • Tradition: Respect religious or community traditions that one might have, in physical architectural form or as in intangible beliefs in the society. Failure of any of the three, he believed, would lead to stagnation and ultimate failure of the city.

Streets Streets form the structural backbone of any city and also drives movement and hence growth. They are the largest open space in public domain. (In Delhi, about 21% of the land is covered by streets). They are more then movement paths and commercial interfaces; they are potential community spaces. An opportunity to interact with people outside one’s socio- economic circle widens his/her horizons by exchange of ideas, which then creates social, economic and cultural equity in the society, and hence makes the neighbourhood more liveable and safer. Also streets provide opportunity to raise public voice. 121

An inclusive street would provide universal accessibility. Not just by services, but also in terms

of safety and security. It should also be taken into consideration, the landscaping along the streets. Streets being continuous stretches of open space, if designed well help to connect a larger ecosystem of birds and animals in the city using trees, which is equally critical to analyse inclusivity. The image of the city also comes from the experience of moving through the city. The spatial character and the kinaesthetic experience of travelling through a street by whichever means of transport is very critical to judge whether a city is inclusive or not. The human is the central figure of street design and the human scale is of prime importance. The sections need to be carefully detailed so as to suit the human more than the car, give importance to the public transport over private vehicles. Streets, just like cities, are dynamic and organic by nature. They may serve a variety of usage, depending on the time and surroundings. There have been attempts by the UTTIPEC in proposing guidelines in India for street design to make them more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;integratedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and user friendly, similar to the AASHTO Green7, in the United States. What must be noted is that the city does not have a uniform urban fabric, and proposing general street sections merely based on widths is hence not a solution, and thus a context based understanding is required.

8.2 Patrick Geddesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three central themes

Source: Authors

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The road Area of study not taken

8.3 Site in context of Delhi, and identified study zones (L-R)

Source: Authors

The Anand Vihar Railway Station, ISBT and the Metro station together form a landmark transit hub on the eastern edge of Delhi bordering Ghaziabad. The city of Delhi is the connecting node for all northern states and has ever increasing pressure on its interstate transit points and on its general holding capacity. The inclusivity of this region is very critical for the transient as well as permanent population to create a sense of belonging in the capital city of the country. In terms of ecology, Anand Vihar is located at the meeting point of two historically important nallahs, which are the Shahdara and the Gazipur drains. (8.3) Also the area till recently was on the city edge and had large tracts of green open spaces, which is under pressure from the exponentially increasing population. In this situation it must be understood that the streets become very critical for creating continuous stretches of nature, when there are not enough forest land/ natural open area remaining. The identified zone has a variety of roads and streets observed in very close proximity: not just in terms of surrounding land uses, but also is in terms of widths and hierarchy (from urban arterial to primary arterials, followed by primary and secondary collectors and ultimately various kinds of local streets). The traffic as well as user-based composition of vehicles and pedestrians is also highly varied through the areas. The areas also have continuous tracks of green alongside streets interconnected with the natural open spaces giving an opportunity to understand the importance of streets to the larger ecology. It includes the surrounding residential and industrial districts along with the arterial roads that define the region. The zone selected has equal areas east and west of the main Gazipur road, hence includes areas from Delhi as well as Ghaziabad. This provides for scope of studying a larger number of street typologies. The site area is defined by the major roads around Anand Vihar along with the central spine Gazipur Road, namely Master Somnath Marg, Link Road, Dr. Burman Marg, Karkari More Road, and Bharatendu Harishchandra Marg (in clockwise order starting from north). The districts whose streets are to be studied are Sahibabad Industrial Area, Kaushambi residential area and Bhuapur village (in Ghaziabad), and Patparganj Industrial area, Karkardooma urban village, Anand Vihar residential colony and Anand Vihar JJ cluster (in Delhi). The huge variety of land uses in the area would helps to see and understand various levels of inclusivity in various street types among a variety of users, with varied densities and social groups. 123

In an attempt to avoid repetitive study of similar streets, streets were studied under various layers to identify patterns of similarity in terms on quantitative data through mapping exercise. These layers are: • Land Use • Hierarchy The hierarchy specified by the Indian Road Congress being: (8.4) • Urban Arterial: National/ State Highways within city limits with proposed ROW 90m • Primary Arterial: Vehicular routes carrying heavy volumes of traffic will generally have free / stable flow conditions, connecting to urban arterials or highways with controlled access with recommended ROW 60-80 m. • Sub Arterial Roads: These include primary and secondary collector streets. • Primary Collector: These roads will connect major arterial roads and inter residential district collectors. The recommended ROW is 30-40 m. • Secondary Collector: These roads are intended to collect traffic from local streets within one residential district. The recommended ROW is 18-24 m. • Local streets: These are intended for neighbourhood (or local) use on which through traffic is to be discouraged. The suggested ROW is 12 to 20 m.

• • • •

Width: The usage hierarchy is at times seen not conforming to existing widths. Taking widths as a separate layer, a layer was generated showing hierarchy in widths, irrespective of their usage/priority hierarchy. (8.5) Traffic Volume: Primary traffic count was done by averaging traffic at various times of the day, all streets done on one particular day to arrive at the relative traffic count through the site. Vegetation Density: Generated on the basis of primary observation of relative vegetation present per unit area. (8.6) Morphology: The map below shows the heights of buildings, reflecting the effective morphology of the identified zone.

8.4 Landuse and hierarchy (L-R)

Source: Authors

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8.5 Width and traffic density (L-R)

Source: Authors

VEGETATION DENSITY

8.6 Vegetation density and morphology (L-R)

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Source: Authors

8.7 Global and local streets

Source: Authors

Analytical framework By combining all aforementioned layers together, patterns of similarity could be identified between streets. 6 unique streets were selected, having varying widths and kinaesthetic experience, and varied economic groups and socio-cultural systems. The study methodology shall not compare one street to another, but identify the actors present on every street and understand the relative degree of inclusion they have in their street. To analyse the degree of inclusion, ‘Patrick Geddes’ three pillars of democracy, tradition and ecology for an inclusive city’ was used as a basis for the study methodology. An understanding of three was defined by breaking them down into tangible and observable elements. To check democratic inclusivity; inclusivity by age, gender, economic status and the mode of transport were looked at. Other important factors were the accessibility, presence informal activity and to what extent and presence of public amenities. The understanding of cultural inclusivity takes into account the level of social interaction observed on the street, and there was an attempt to notice if there are any patterns in community or religion based customs on the streets. For the ecological inclusivity, the observable elements are the trees and birds. Birds and natural pollinators such as bees and butterflies are very strong ecological indicators, with a direct relation to the overall health of the area. Other elements to be observed were the air quality and the porosity of the road/ footpath, for rainwater seepage into the ground. The streets were studied in two categories. (8.7) • Global streets meaning streets, in which the user-base majorly does not belong to the street edge, such as arterials and collectors, which are supposed to move high volumes of traffic through them. • Local streets meaning the streets, in which the user-base belongs to the street edge, such as residential streets, which do not lead one external node to another through it.

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The road Observations and analysis not taken Gazipur road The Gazipur Road is a major urban arterial connecting NH91 TO NH24 and is also connected to Dr. Burman Marg that links Delhi to Ghaziabad. Being the Delhi Ghaziabad border, it has slightly different section on both sides of the road. With a right of way of 70m, It has service lanes on to cater to the Anand Vihar transit hub and the Kaushambi bus depot.

•

• • •

Democratic aspect: The Gazipur road at the Transit hub node is in situation of conflict at all times. The informal sector sprawls beyond the provided plinth, onto the footpath and even the service lane. This causes a chain of conflicts where every mode of transport encroaches on another, and ultimately creates a traffic jam. The pedestrian is at the biggest loss as the buses do not get into the service lanes, and people need to get on the road to take their bus, eventually affecting general traffic speed. The fault is clearly in the fact that the road width does not change with change in surrounding context. A high number of pedestrians and informal shop owners is obviously expected at a transit hub of this scale. (8.8) Safety: The lighting is not ample enough with one side of the road completely missing lamp posts. Culture: Being a public space, the street is inclusive to festivities, protests and processions, but then that becomes a threat to traffic movement. Ecological: The Gazipur nallah flows parallel to the road. There are a good number of trees alongside the nallah and also a few on the medians separating the lanes but noise and night sky pollution restricts birds.

Bharatendu Harishchandra Marg Bharatendu Harishchandra Marg is a collector road to several residential colonies but also an important bus corridor. The street edge has both commercial and residential landuses. (8.9) • Democratic aspect: Similar problem as Gazipur road, the pedestrian and the traffic are a threat to each other. Also no space for parking causes people to park their cars on the service lanes and footpaths encroaching on pedestrian space. • Safety: The street has comparatively higher sense of safety with commercial on ground floor being ‘eyes on street’. • Cultural: The road having residences on edges, is culturally active during festivals. • Ecological: There are ample number of trees on medians as well as street edges, but the pollution due to traffic restricts birds and natural pollinators.

Kaushambi High Rise Housing complex streets

127

These are the local streets of the Kaushambi high rise housing neighbourhood. These are characterised as very wide streets with footpath and trees lined along the edge. Beyond the footpath, there are fences that separate the building’s parking from the street. The building itself is far off from the street edge. Major actors on these streets are mostly cars, few pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles and a very few occasional vendors on the footpath (8.11) • Democratic aspect: These streets don’t seem like made for pedestrians. Gating causes very controlled informal vendors on the streets, and definitely these streets are not public to economically weaker sections. • Safety: Although ensuring fast smooth vehicular transport, it is very risky for pedestrians, especially for children and elders to cross if they need to go to the neighbourhood park or elsewhere. Cultural and ecological: Lacking, however the streets are lined by trees.

8.8 Gazipur road

Source: Authors

8.9 Bharatendu Harishchandra Marg

Source: Authors

8.10 Kaushambi High Rise Housing complex streets

Source: Authors

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The road not taken Anand Vihar plotted housing complex • • • •

Democratic aspect: Being gated and guarded, these streets are also not open to economical weaker sections. Also there’s controlled informal within the colony, with issuing of day-passes. Safety: It is definitely not child and elder friendly as the houses open straight onto the road. However there is a comparatively higher sense of security in this locality with ample street lighting. (8.11) Cultural: Festivities are celebrated out on the streets, but streets aren’t the general community space. People may safely interact in the parks, as the vehicular streets decrease opportunities for the occasional random chitchat. Ecological: A good number of trees are present, and the street section leaves space for groundwater recharge during rains. It attracts birds here, and the air is clean.

Karkardooma urban village •

• • •

Democratic aspect: These streets are inclusive to all by varied economic groups, age and gender. Very high formal and informal commercial activity on the streets. But the streets are inaccessible by four wheelers, although that is the reason of these streets being more pedestrian friendly. (8.12) Safety: Narrow and not well-lit, however ‘eyes on street’ keeps the streets safe. Cultural: The street is very inclusive, with a strong sense of community. People meet and speak to each other on the streets. In absence of dedicated public open spaces, streets double up as play areas as well as spaces for community gatherings. Ecological: There are absolutely no trees, the surface is completely concreted / paved, so there’s no scope for rainwater seepage.

Amar colony slum • • •

•

129

Democratic aspect: Both gender of all age groups are seen equally present on the streets at all times. Streets are inclusive to informal businesses. Also, public toilets are present, which were not seen in any other street typology. Safety: With higher densities, there is high probability of chaos and conflicts on the streets. Cultural: Dwelling sizes being low, and absence of shared open parks, makes the streets the space where the slum dwellers spend most of their day. Household chores such as washing dishes or clothes happen on the streets. There is a strong sense of community and belonging in the people. (8.13) Ecological: There are absolutely no trees, the surface is completely concreted / paved, so there’s no scope for rainwater seepage.

8.11 Anand Vihar plotted development

Source: Authors

8.12 Karkardooma village

Source: Authors

8.13 Amar colony slum

Source: Authors

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8.14 Global streets

Source: Authors

8.15 Local streets

Source: Authors

Conclusion

The intensity of colour shades in the bars denote relative inclusivity between streets, darkest being the most inclusive. Patterns can be recognised such as the streets with higher democratic and cultural inclusivity fail miserably on the ecological front, and vice versa. Although it might be just a matter of coincidence in this particular case study. Also lower income localities show higher levels of democratic and social inclusion. What must be also be considered is, lower income localities lack public open spaces such as parks, community centres or playgrounds. Also the size of the household might not permit certain activities- both of which factors makes the street a part of the extended household and the shared public open space, in that case, irrespective the section. Hence, one may argue that a particular street is inclusive by default and not by design. Another pattern observed is that the greens along streets in localities increase with increasing income. What can be possibly inferred from this is, vegetation, although a natural resource, but in general in a city is scarce. Hence, driven by market forces, green localities become accessible only to the rich in a city. This is where the concept of an ecological inclusive city comes in. Interaction with the natural ecosystem is a necessity for all individuals and to the city as a whole as well. Also on the other hand, the city belongs not just to humans but to the entire ecology. Global streets are high volume long distance movement corridors. Designated lanes such as for buses and cycles help in easing out the traffic flow of the city. It has been long established that an increase in car lanes is no solution to solving traffic, as any width allocated for cars shall be taken up in subsequent years and just aggravate the problem. (8.14)Local streets on the other hand are very different. All forms of vehicular movement within local streets should have strictly controlled access. Non-vehicular local streets not only make the neighbourhood safer but, as observed by Donald Appleyard, encourage people to have more friends in the neighbourhood and hence make it more liveable. (8.15) Streets, as mentioned, are the most used dynamic open public space in a city. For a city to be tolerant and move towards inclusivity, it is imperative for a cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s streets to be inclusive. Guarding and gating of oneself although provides a sense of exclusivity, it comes at the cost of sensory and cultural deprivation.

Bibliography Appleyard, D. (1981), Livable Streets Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Masterplan 2021 Delhi Development Authority (2009), UTTIPEC Street Design Guidelines and Pedestrian Design Guidelines Guha, R. (2011), Making South Asian Cities Habitable: A Perspective from the Past Hall, E. T. (1966), The Hidden Dimension. Anchor Books. Hough, M. (1995), Cities and Natural Process: A basis for sustainability Neighborhood Streets Project Stakeholders of Oregon (2000), Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines Pallasmaa, J. (2005), Eyes of the Skin. Wiley-Academy, a division of John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Spirn, A.W. (1965), The Granite Garden: Urban nature and Human Design Spirn, A.W. (1965), Ecological Urbanism: A Framework for the Design of Resilient Cities

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Guide

Group members

Mr. Madhav Raman

Abhinav Chaurasia Aman Sonel Monikuntala Das Palash Jaiswal Rahul Choudhury Salman Shaikh Shailendra Singh Vinayak Gupta

Abstract

Inclusivity is an ideal, utopian concept, and is deeply linked to its frame of reference: the city, neighbourhood and street. Streets are the basic elements of urban structure, a subset of movement systems; and by virtue of connecting a variety of conditions becomes true democratic space. In this paper we question the notion of a static ‘road’ in favour of a contextual, dynamic ‘street’ that optimizes on the local urban character; feeding and supporting commercial, socio-cultural and political activities that take place here. These activities, along with the built infrastructure that shape the tangible experience, have been parametricized under ‘physical’ and ‘nonphysical’ categories. These parameters allow us to quantify inclusivity in the context of Nizamuddin, an active and integral neighbourhood in South Delhi. From our analysis, the east and west approach road of Nizamuddin exhibited extremes of inclusivity and exclusivity. Extreme inlcusivity is seen when there are many stake holders but very little space to accommodate all, while the other side is exclusive due to inaccessibility and restrictions on activities. While resources being used as ‘common’ by the population sounds ideal, but it does not work such in a real world situation in an urban center. According to ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ once resources are made common it will eventually get exploited by its own consumers as no individual or a family sacrifices their interests for a common good. Also the commons, if justifiable, can be justified only under conditions of low population density. Exclusive planning ensures ease in distribution of resources but at the same time results in its inefficient consumption. Such a planning doesn’t allow sharing and layering of resources. Also an exclusive situation results in lack of interaction, thereby lowering opportunities for entrepreneurship and makes it difficult for people to align towards self-interest. We observed that the land-use on ground is a percolation of the streetuse into the land. The streets are the only elements that build a dominant characteristic of a place, which make it extremely important to have a ‘streetuse plan’ which acts as a base to designate land-uses.

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सड़क तेरे बाप Introduction की है क्या ? Inclusivity An individual’s right to express and present themselves relative to their religion, culture, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical and mental ability must be respected. Inclusivity must be promoted by reasonably adjusting procedures, activities and physical environments, by focusing on the capability of the individual or groups of individuals to serve all with sensitivity, respect and fairness. (University of Waterloo, 2012) Inclusivity of a Space can be effectively determined by the ‘Number of Collisions’ in the space. The greater the number of Collisions of the stakeholders, the greater is the Inclusivity of that particular space. (Public Places, People Spaces, Architecture Seminar, Nov 2002, SPA-D) In an urban condition with limited resource and high population density, the high number of collisions might also convert into unmanageable conflicts. The settlement of these conflicts might require numerous compromises which a citizen might not be ready to accept. This might develop a tension among the stake holders, where negotiation might seem to be the only way to coexist peacefully. To avoid such situations in such a condition an element of exclusivity might serve a better purpose. The research question: Is complete Inclusivity in streets desirable?

Streets “The people of cities understand the symbolic, ceremonial, social and political roles of streets, not just those of movement and access. Streets are almost always public: owned by the public, and when we speak of the public realm we are speaking in large measure of streets. The interplay of human activity with the physical place has enormous amount to do with the greatness of the streets.” (Allan B. Jacobs) Speaking broadly, the most prominent parameters to decide the inclusivity of a street are access and territoriality. Access to a street is governed by space and design. On the other hand, territoriality can be further divided into physical and notional or non physical. Physical: • Right Of Way or the ROW shall throw light on the spatial utilization of streets and its abutting land. This shall be discussed further on Figure Ground Maps, distinguishing arterial, primary, secondary and tertiary roads, junctions and intersections. • Elevations of Streets shall build an interest in the public interface of the built forms, which combine to develop an impression of the precinct. The homogeneity and visual connectivity of the streets shall be mustered through one point perspective images and 3D visuals. • Sections of Streets shall build an understanding of the changing widths of spaces allocated to the various users of the streets. This shall determine which activity of the users the street is prioritizing. Notionally or non-physically, Activity plays an important criterion in determining the street’s Nature of Inclusivity. The various types of activities that a street can withhold and tolerate as well as the amenities added to the street shall lead to the formation of activity clusters which are mutually exclusive or symbiotic.

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Site and zones

9.1 Zones and street hierarchies (L-R)

Source: Authors

9.2 Building heights and landuse (L-R)

Source: Authors

The Nizamuddin area houses people from a varied culture, economics, social and religious backgrounds along with a wide spread distribution of historical monuments over the area. The Humayunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tomb, the Ring road, the Mathura road, the Barapullah drain, the Lala Lajpat Rai Marg and the railway line are the major precinct markers which divide the area in sub parts having different characteristics. (9.1) (9.2) Seven different zones have been identified in the area, namely; Nangli razapur Nangli Razapur is a residential cum commercial unplanned colony located adjacent to the Nizamuddin Railway Station on the eastern side. The network geometry of the streets is vertebral with branches. (9.3) Ishaq Basti A Gujjar village, Ishaq Basti is a residential cum commercial unplanned colony located adjacent to the Nizamuddin railway station on the South-Eastern area below the main spine. The network geometry of the streets is branched with dead-end ghettos. (9.3)

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सड़क तेरे बाप की है क्या ? Nizamuddin East Nizamuddin East is an upscale residential area. It is located on Mathura Road and is home to Humayun’s Tomb, as well as that of Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana. It is considered to be one of New Delhi’s greenest and most peaceful residential colonies. Network geometry is peripheral and branched. (9.4) Nizamuddin West It is a middle class residential colony with very little commercial activity. The bungalows are situated along the axis of the Mathura road and the remaining areas consist of rental apartments and houses. The network geometry of the street is linear with undeviating streets running along the nullah intersecting the Mathura road. (9.4) Nizamuddin Basti The area has evolved over a period of time and such an organic development is seen in the network geometry of the area. The streets branch from one major road, the Ghalib road, to various different types with varying widths, functions and sections. Some of the streets are also covered, a result of the extension of the houses on the above floors. The site is on a contoured area and it is reflected in the streets. For example the approach road to the dargah steps down. The ground floor is primitively commercial across the major roads. This is a result of the existence of the dargah, its users and the high density residential population in the area. Streets are the links to the various activities across the area. A large number of activities can be found on the streets over the day. Restaurants, grocery shops, travel agents, chai wallas, religious items and every other kind of vendors can be found on the streets of the area, catering completely to the residents and the visitors. A vast plethora of people are seen on the streets engaged in different activities. (9.5) Bhogal Bhogal along with Lajpat Nagar provided cheap housing to refugees. Located opposite the Jangpura colony it serves residential and commercial activities both. The ground floor in the main streets serves commercial activities whereas the tertiary streets are filled with residents. Secondary streets are a mix of commercial as well as residential activities. The streets are linear in geometry and the whole network is in rectangular grid with secondary and tertiary streets intersecting the main street alternatively. (9.5) Jangpura Jangpura is bordered by the Mathura Road, Ring Railway line and the Barapulla Nullah. It is mostly residential (rental). The roads are linear running along nullah and the Mathura road. (9.6)

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9.3 Nangli Razapur and Ishaq Basti (L-R)

Source: Authors

9.4 Nizamuddin east and west (L-R)

Source: Authors

9.5 Nizamuddin basti and Bhogal (L-R)

Source: Authors

9.6 Jangpura

Source: Authors

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सड़क तेरे बाप Inferences and conclusions की है क्या ? East side station approach road (Ring road) Accessibility This street as we see allows access to every kind of user of the station and also to the population from both neighboring settlements of Nangli Razapur and Ishaq Basti. Activity There are no controls on activity on-street, and therefore hosts a multitude of activities. This scenario is shown in the activity wheel, where almost every activity is happening with substantial amount of people participation. (9.7) Characteristics • This street being an approach road to the station has a high and continuous vehicular and pedestrian movement. • There is a continuous stretch of illegal hawkers from one end to the other on both the edges of the street. Their existence is obviously a result of demand, and hence cannot be denied. • These hawkers occupy space on the foot-path and create disturbance to the pedestrian as well as to the vehicular movement which leads to a continuous congestion. (9.9) • Due to lack of public facilities like public toilets, people urinate on the edges of the street. • There is no organised system for public transport, which leads to parking problems and movement of vehicles adding to the congestion. • The complete influx and outflux of both Nangli Razapur and Ishaq Basti happens through this same street. • The noisy and chaotic nature of the street is very unsuitable for the abutting residential buildings and guest houses. (9.10)

West side station approach road (Mathura road) Accessibility The access to these gated colonies are controlled by security guards which prevent vendors and hawkers to come inside. Activity The activity wheel of this area suggests us that there are very few activities happening on the streets here, also very few number of people participate in them. Due to the very few numbers and variety of stakeholders, the possibility of collisions decreases substantially, resulting in a poor social interaction. (9.7) Characteristics • There is non-optimum utilization of spaces. Such exclusive planning ensures ease in distribution of resources but at the same time results in its inefficient consumption. • People isolate themselves within the boundaries of their plots which make them ignorant about cultures, ideas or people outside their own experience. The poor social interaction in this precinct decreases the potential of vibrancy in culture.

Desirability and inclusivity 139

The east approach road is ‘inclusive’ according to our definition (free access and activity). From the analysis we know that on this street there are many stake holders but very little space to

9.7 East approach road and west approach road activity wheels (L-R)

Source: Authors

9.8 East approach road and west approach road street elevations (L-R)

Source: Authors

9.9 East approach road and west approach road street sections (L-R)

Source: Authors

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सड़क तेरे बाप की है क्या ?

9.10 East approach road and west approach road street plans (T-D)

Source: Authors

accommodate all. This has led to unmanageable conflicts between the stakeholders, resulting in the exploitation of civic value this street. In contrast, the west approach road is exclusive due to inaccessibility and restrictions on activities, and being extremely exclusive, is not desirable. (9.10) It sounds quite impressive to imagine a situation where resources are used as ‘common’ by the population, but it does not work such in a real world situation in an urban center. According to ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ once resources are made common it will eventually get exploited by its own consumers as no individual or a family sacrifices their interests for a common good. Also the commons, if justifiable, can be justified only under conditions of low population density. From our study of streets of varied character in our primary audit, exclusive planning ensures ease in distribution of resources but at the same time results in its inefficient consumption. Such a planning doesn’t allow sharing and layering of resources. Also an exclusive situation results in lack of interaction, thereby lowering opportunities for entrepreneurship and makes it difficult for people to align towards self-interest. Therefore we can clearly state extremely exclusive streets or spaces in a city are not desirable.

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Let us assume an urban street of which there are A-Z stake holders, and the street has all the (finite) resources that caters to various activities on it, supposing a completely inclusive situation which primarily makes the street democratic and provides freedom of access and

activity. But the distribution of our finite resources to our numerous stake holders will turn to be inadequate for them to perform their activities at full liberty, therefore resulting in collisions and conflicts amongst them. Thus, again in an urban situation of imbalance between resource and users extreme inclusivity generates conflicts making it undesirable. Now, we know that extremely exclusive or inclusive streets are not desirable. So if we can provide a street that is a perfect mixture of both, which makes it viable for the stake holders to negotiate on their conflicts, then it will definitely turn out to be a better street. We call this perfect mixture to be a balance between inclusivity and exclusivity. This balance is not a constant, but varies and will be relative to a specific street according to its dominant nature. This balance is a tenuous, wafer-thin lamina between the two extremes. While the “Extreme Exclusive” is prone to paranoia and insularity, the “Extreme Inclusive” suffers the “tragedy of the commons”.

The case for ‘street plan’ The master plan has nine landuses for plots, but streets are all under the same layer. The planning process should take into account the effect the street plays on the surrounding plots; how street activities encourage certain communities, certain social structures, and certain economic groups to come together and customize it. The street activities here are sympathetic to each other, which is one activity helping or allowing other activity or activities to co-exist; and so the use of the street defines the land-use from being strictly single-use to mixed-use. In conclusion, the land-use on ground is a percolation of the street-use into the land, in other words the land-use on ground is caused by the nature of the street. Therefore the idea of a precinct being inclusive or exclusive or combined is based on its streets and not on its assigned land-use. The streets are the only elements that build a dominant characteristic of a place, which make it extremely important to have a ‘street-use plan’ which acts as a base to designate land-uses. Hence Streets should not be looked as just a transitition space, rather we should be centering the streets as a fundamental in the planning process.

Bibliography Ashutosh Varshney, B. U. (2012, February 29). East Asia Forum. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from The Wonder of Indian Democracy: http:// www.eastasiaforum.org/2012/02/29/the-wonder-of-indian-democracy/ Jacobs, J. (1961). In The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House. Singh, D. V. (2007). Introduction. In Master Plan for Delhi - 2021. Delhi: Rupa and Co. Singh, D. V. (2007). Population and Employment. In Master Plan for Delhi - 2021. Delhi: Rupa and Co. Sitte, C. (1889). In Art of Building Cities. Reinhold Publishing Corporation. Tibbalds, F. (1992). In Making People Friendly Towns. Harlow, Essex: Longman. Ashutosh Varshney, B. U. (2012, February 29). East Asia Forum. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from The Wonder of Indian Democracy: http:// www.eastasiaforum.org/2012/02/29/the-wonder-of-indian-democracy/ Singh, D. V. (2007). Introduction. In Master Plan for Delhi - 2021. Delhi: Rupa and Co. Singh, D. V. (2007). Population and Employment. In Master Plan for Delhi - 2021. Delhi: Rupa and Co. University of Waterloo. (2012). Retrieved September 18, 2014, from Principles of Inclusivity: https://uwaterloo.ca/organizational-humandevelopment/sites/ca.organizational-human-development/files/uploads/files/Principles_Small_Handout_2012.pdf Kevin Lynch, Image of the city,1998 Indian streets as social public spaces, Snehamandhan, MIT Thinking Beyond the land, K . S. Sharma Author Unknown,www.pps.org,2004 www.wonobo.com, maps, 2014

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Guide

Group members

Ms. Poonam Prakash

Abhinaya K. Akrisht Pandey Gyanendita Shailly Himanshu Yogi Minakshi Mohanta Parul Suthar Prashi Malik Vatsalya Sharma

Abstract

A transport system is inclusive when everybody works with social cohesion, employing smart governance, which creates equitable opportunities to encourage accessibility and mobility, and is an affordable mode of conveyance. The transport system was judged by two parameters - accessibility and mobility. We observed for four vulnerable user groups, namely women, economically weaker sections, elderly and the differently abled. Accessibility is largely dependent on the infrastructure of the transport and supporting systems whereas mobility depends upon the service and user experience. These include issues of walkable distance between destination and transport nodes, comfort, security, street lighting at night, usable signage, fare, shaded walkways and conducive design for special needs. According to our analysis of the transport system in New Delhi Railway Station area, accessibility is rated at 52% and ease of mobility at 57%. The difference is only 5%. hence both parameters are of equal significance in a complementary manner. To address this problem, designers or policy makers are not the only ones responsible. for the layman, there is a need for a mentality shift. One not only needs to exercise infrastructural change, but also should possess the ability to accept others as they are. Only then is a holistic and inclusive transport system achieved. This is the thinking that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;transdelhiriumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; urges us to adopt.

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Trans Introduction Delhirium To address the topic of Inclusivity, we must start with the concept of city in itself. As per the most common demographic definition, the city has four major characteristics, namely permanence, a large population size, high density of population and social heterogeneity. In new Delhi, exclusion is more apparent than Inclusion. The poor, differently-abled and women are considered to be the weaker section of society and many of them feel that they are not getting what they deserve. If we have to make them feel included in the realm of a city, we need changes not only in the tangible aspects but also the intangible ones. Transport plays a huge role in affecting such changes. Since a city is mainly economy centric in today’s age, transport not only affects the huge number of city dwellers but also the economy of the state. Broadly classifying the concept of Inclusivity are as below: (10.2) • Social cohesion: Society should participate in building the city itself. The people should become the urban fabric of the city. This can only be achieved once people gain a sense of belonging towards the city. • Smart Governance: Governance that does not create barriers between the politics and the city profile. It should have representative voices from every strata of the society. • Equity: To aim at equity over equality is to address the specific needs of all the user groups of a public transport system, rather than giving the same opportunities and facilities to all, disregarding their ability or individual usage. • Adaptive built spaces: Spaces that are dynamic and have the capability to metamorphose according to usage and the users. • Affordability: The services to be within his/her financial needs.

Area of Study The area of study will be the parameters that define an Inclusive City. These parameters will eventually be applied to an existing city, New Delhi. We will be analyzing transport planning and design which is based on equitable usage by all residents of Delhi. We will try to understand the broader concept of a city and its planning principles. The sociology that influences city planning. Also, the economic policies that affects the transport planning in the city and the derivatives of Inclusivity. The plan shows the New Delhi railway station precinct. It is one of the major transport hub of the city. Located at the border of Shahjahanabad and Lutyen’s Delhi, surrounded by Paharganj on the west, Ajmeri Gate on the north and Connaught Place on the south, it not only has a strong historical context but also acts as a buffer between the two parts of the city. While the road network towards north is more organic, the central and southern part is planned and follows a linear pattern. (10.1)

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10.1 Site plan

Source: Authors

10.2 Social cohesion, Smart governance, Equity, Adaptive built spaces, affordability (L-R)

Source: Authors

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Trans Parameters Delhirium Accessibility Largely dependent on the infrastructure of the transport and supporting systems. • Accessibility is the ability of the user to be able to reach to and from his residence or workplace to a transport node.

•

The comfort factor for the vulnerable people is also a huge key point of inclusivity. Factors include the design of roads and vehicles; and their planning.

•

Economy generated and spent during travel. Money spent in travelling both regular and irregularly affects the lower section of the society.

•

Design aspects of the transport systems that are conducive to the public. Pedestrian friendliness, adequate shade and the presence of public toilets can be factors. It can also be provision of resting spaces for auto rickshaw pullers in their parking areas.

•

Equity not equality. Transportation confers benefits and imposes costs, and affects people’s opportunities to access goods, services and activities. Most transportation policy decisions are evaluated with regard to equity impacts, and equity is often a primary goal of particular transport policies and projects. Types of equity • Horizontal Equity: Horizontal equity implies that consumers should “get what they pay for and pay for what they get,” unless there is a specific reason to do otherwise. This is concerned with the fairness of cost and benefit allocation between individuals and groups who are considered comparable in wealth and ability.

•

Vertical Equity With Regard to Income and Social Class: This focuses on the allocation of costs between income and social classes. According to this definition, transport is most equitable if it provides the greatest benefit at the least cost to disadvantaged groups, therefore compensating for overall social inequity. This definition is often used to support transport subsidies and oppose price increases.

•

Vertical Equity With Regard to Mobility Need and Ability: This is a measure of how well an individual’s transport needs are met compared with others in their community. It assumes that everyone should enjoy at least a basic level of access, even if people with special needs require extra resources. Applying this concept can be difficult because there are no universally accepted standards for transport need, nor a consistent way to measure access. Vertical equity by need/ability tends to focus on two issues: access for physically disabled people and support for transit and special mobility services.

There are often conflicts between these different types of equity. For example, vertical equity often justifies subsidies to benefit a disadvantaged group (such as discounted transit fares for student and elderly riders, and special mobility services for people who are physically disabled) which contradicts horizontal equity objectives.

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Mobility Largely dependent on the service and user experience. • Special attention to senior citizens, differently abled and women: This can be providing special services catering the old people where bus conductors are helpers who actually help old people board or get a seat. It can also be buses that are better designed to suit differently abled or pregnant women etc.

•

Security: Since the recent crimes against women have come into the news, people have become more aware of the role of transport system in it. Most of the crimes have occurred while they were travelling.

•

Fare: Money that one can spend to use a transport service is dependent on the user profile. Hence provision of subsidized fare for poorer section of the society or students can be conducive to mobility.

•

Public transport oriented development: Such measures might include BRT corridors or more number of lanes for public transport and less for car transport.

•

Circulation: Transport circulation that overlaps and reaches all remote points of the city. No one in a city should feel encumbered while using a transport system. Circulation of all kinds of services should reach everybody within a suitable distance.

•

Experience: A person’s experience and his values generally affect their perspective of equity in transport. While these physical elements of accessibility are no doubt extremely important, the psychosocial issues involved are equally, perhaps even more, important. If aiming to achieve a truly inclusive and fully accessible journey ‘experience’, a ‘mentality shift’ in prioritizing psychosocial issues is needed. For example, Bus service proves to be the single most powerful transport tool in terms of inclusivity and equality potential and provision in a mega-city like Delhi. Buses, for many years has been the main and only form of public transport that can be accessible to almost everyone. There have been great improvements in terms of making buses fully accessible. In Delhi, buses are now lowfloor vehicles and have a space for one wheelchair. However, an ‘accessible bus’ does not necessarily guarantee an ‘accessible bus service’. An accessible bus service requires not only an accessible bus and an accessible bus stop but also an empathic well-trained driver and a user-friendly environment.

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Trans User groups Delhirium In order to understand the success or failure of our transport system, we have listed out the needs of a common person as a benchmark. The vulnerable groups have special requirements. To have a concise pattern of study, we have studied the inclusive transport based on the users. Hence our parameter study has been done as follows: • General public • Differently abled • Women • Senior citizens • Economically weaker section

General public The accessibility needs are: • Efficient Lighting design, Proper shading and landscaping, Street furniture • Barrier free Foot path, No boundary wall alongside footpath • Proper signage, Rapid and comfortable modal transfers, Modern signal system • Activities- hawkers, kiosks, NMV, Toilets and drinking water • Segregated traffic lanes And the mobility needs are: • Safety, Comfort, Hygiene, Hospitality • Fast travel, Affordability, Reliability

Differently abled persons Census 2001 has revealed that over 21 million people in India as suffering from one or the otherkind of disability. This is equivalent to 2.1% of the population. Among the total disabled in the country, 12.6 million are males and 9.3 million are females. (Census India, 2001) Public transportation can affect the quality of life. The attitude and driving behavior of drivers, as well as overcrowding, are major barriers to their use by differently abled people. Sidewalks that are unpaved, poorly maintained, or crowded by vendors are common across the cities studied, and limit pedestrian mobility. The accessibility needs are: The few well laid pavements around New Delhi railway station are still inaccessible. And are not tactile-friendly as pavements in cities around the world - they are blocked by bollards through which a wheelchair can’t pass. In between pavement street light or lamp posts also crowd the space.For a height of one metre the ramps should be 18 metres long (1:18 gradient). But the ramps are built on a 1:12 gradient and are steep. Moreover, they also do not provide a landing after every five metrers. Various standards for making transport universally accessible are already in place. Implementation is the biggest hurdle.

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Walking Distances Walking distances is an important aspect. It has been researched by DDA in 1980s.Based on their research the following can be stated. Comfortable walking distances between resting points, transport access points are easy intervention and makes it universally accessible. It not only pertains to differently abled people but can also help children, pregnant women, old people etc. Standing is difficult and painful for some disabled people, particularly those with arthritis, rheumatism and back problems. In

the same study as that mentioned above, nine per cent of the survey respondents could only stand for less than a minute without discomfort, 24 per cent could manage between one and five minutes and a further 22 per cent could stand for up to ten minutes. Hence the points between the above distances intervals should be adequately designed providing resting areas and seating. In commonly used pedestrian areas, and transport interchanges and stations, seats should be provided at intervals of no more 50 metres. Wherever possible seats should also be provided at bus stops and shelters. Seating should be placed adjacent to, but not obstructing, the pedestrian route and should be picked out in contrasting colors to help people with visual impairment. Pedestrian route and should be picked out in contrasting colors to help people with visual impairment. Street Works Many guidelines advocate the use of color / tonal contrasted marking to identify street furniture, railing or boarding around street works, scaffolding, tactile paving surfaces and so on .The main purpose of using contrasted marking is to help partially sighted people avoid obstacles that they might walk into or trip over. The dimensions and placing of color contrasted bands on poles and similar obstructions are a minimum depth of 150mm placed with the lower edge of the band between 1400mm and 1600mm above ground level. Some guidelines advocate deeper bands (300mm) or more than one band (three dark, two light bands each 100mm deep), but the single band, minimum 150mm, is considered satisfactory by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). Color contrast is also necessary on structures other than poles and guardrails, for example on glass doors and on bus shelters. Further detailed information on the use of color and contrast can be found in a design guide for the use of color and contrast. Platforms: rail services Passenger platforms should be built on a straight section of track so that the gap between platform and rail carriage is minimized. If they have to be on a curve, it is recommended that the smallest radius of curvature should be 600 metres, and that if possible at least part of the platform should be on a straight section of track.. Where a station is on a curve, announcements should be made to alert passengers to the gap between platform and carriage. The surface of platforms should comply with all aspects of good practice associated with flooring: even, slip resistant and non-reflective. Any cross-falls needed for drainage purposes should slope down from the front edge to the rear edge of the platform. Drainage gullies should if possible be avoided on platforms as they can cause problems for wheelchair users. Where they have to be provided they should be covered. (DDA, 2011) The mobility needs are: Lack of access to transport can also result in an inability to participate in existing education, training, health or social services, which would otherwise be available. When operated in a highly unsafe manner, public transportation may cause far more than 10-12% of the population to â&#x20AC;&#x153; become disabled â&#x20AC;&#x153; in terms of the ability of older persons, children, many pregnant women, and all those with even the most modest mobility concerns to safely board, ride and alight from buses, railways, and other transport vehicles. (Qureshi, 2007)

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Trans Delhirium Women Safe public transit for women is reliable, easy to use, and flexible. As primary members of the informal and formal labor force, women’s movement through the city is different from men’s movement. One trip of woman could involve multiple places and destinations for diverse purposes. As a result, women’s movement through the city has been described as trip-chaining. This means that women tend to combine the various activities that they must complete in a day. These trips also have the potential to be less safe since many women must walk through, or wait in, unsafe areas in order to access public transit. Moreover, at odd times of day and in isolated places, public transit may be unreliable. In the courses of a day, women in rural areas often have to travel long distances – by foot, by non-motorized modes of transport and/or by public transit. (Tiwari, 2014) The accessibility needs are: Poorly considered land-use zoning policy separates residential areas from employment locations, with a greater impact on women’s mobility. Women make more complex journeys than men, often travelling to childcare, school, work, and shops. More than twice as many women as men are responsible for escorting children to school. Poor public transport and lack of caring facilities and shopping outlets near employment locations restrict women’s access to the labor market. Women feel less safe than men being out alone after dark, especially in the inner city, or social housing complexes. The mobility needs are: Are urban design and standards (stations, pavements, design of transport interchanges, waiting areas, and park -and-ride facilities) adapted to both genders? In Delhi, the studies conducted by Jagori between (2005-10) have revealed that the entire public transport system, including government and private buses, Delhi Metro Rail, auto-rickshaws, local trains, Gramin seva, Rapid Transport vehicle are extremely unsafe for women. While commuting or waiting women becomes victims of sexual harassment and violence. Over half of the women respondents in the last survey (concluded in 2009) reported public transport as being the most unsafe place for women. Over 40% said that waiting for public transport was equally risky. Similar responses were also obtained from men and common witnesses. Around 51.4% women reported that they faced harassment using public transport while 49% men and 41% common witnesses reported that they have witnessed women being harassed. In general, improving public transport from a viewpoint of safety, especially women’s safety, requires a long term vision and sustained efforts, which combine sensitization, capacity-building, as well as punitive measures. (Anon., 2012)

Senior citizens Meeting the mobility needs of older people is critical to ensuring they do not become socially excluded. Adequate and appropriate transport options enable older people to continue to be active participants in their communities, to access services, and to maintain social connections. Given access to adequate transport options, older people are also better able to maintain their independence, and to remain in their own homes. Conversely research has found that without access to appropriate transport, older people will become isolated, and at risk of loneliness, poor health, and economic hardship.

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The mobility needs are: Bus: The bus service is one of the most powerful transport tool in terms of inclusivity and equality potential and provision in a mega-city like Delhi. There have been great improvements

in terms of making buses fully accessible. In Delhi, many of the buses are now low-floor vehicles and have a space for one wheelchair. However for an elderly, does an ‘accessible bus’ necessarily guarantee an ‘accessible bus service‘? Railway: For the city’s elderly and the infirm, train journeys begin with pain and humiliationat the railway station. In the absence of ramps or lifts, those incapable of walking have to be carried up foot over bridges on way to the platform in the arms of their kin or wheeled through routes meant for transportation of goods. Over the years, for the elderly, this debasing experience hasn’t changed. Clearly, while railway authorities say they have made arrangements for wheelchairs and golf carts at some stations, most passengers haven’t heard about it yet. Those who have, find it impractical and use it only as a last resort. Of the major railway stations in Delhi, only Anand Vihar has been designed with a functional ramp to take the wheelchair-bound across the platforms. At Hazrat Nizamuddin, Old Delhi or New Delhi stations, the disabled have to be ferried to the end of a platform where goods are ferried on hand carts, and stand in queue with cart-loaders waiting for passing trains to give way in order to change platforms. Auto-rickshaw: While many are aware of the recent spate in crimes against the elderly, for most senior citizens, even everyday travel is a huge hassle. The major problem is auto rickshaw drivers, who refuse to ply to nearby locations and sometimes even to hospitals. Elders find it difficult to live with such a hostile attitude in the city.

Economically weaker section of society 35% of the population uses “walking” as their mode of transportation in Delhi. Not all, but most of these people are the ones who either have a short trip length or the ones who cannot afford to spend on transport. For 35% people walking and 4% people cycling to their work places, Delhi road sections are definitely not conducive enough to make for a comfortable trip. (10.3) The transportation planning in Delhi often forgets taking into account the needs of the poor, either in practice, planning or implementation. “It seems that all the modes favourable to the poor (walking, cycling, shared auto rickshaw, public bus) are either not being planned for or implemented properly. The sections of the population who are unable to ‘access the city’ are not only ‘disadvantaged commuters’, but are also ‘disadvantaged citizens’.” (UNEP, 2012). The accessibility needs are: The fare system of the public transport in Delhi needs to be innovated. The metro is not affordable for the poor, with its minimum fare being seven rupees. A person who earns five thousand rupees per month and supports a family of four, will not be able to afford four hundred and twenty rupees on basic conveyance in metro, even if the metro is extremely accessible. The minimum bus fare in Delhi is five rupees or a hundred rupees bus pass. Even the subsidized costs for the poor in transport are not affordable for them. The only transport subsidy made available is under “Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana” for the transportation of goods. Certain restraints on informal transport sector makes affordable transport systems inaccessible to them. The mobility needs are: A poor person cannot afford internet services. He cannot check the timings and buses on a route on the internet. The only way he/she can know of the buses and their timings is by proper display charts on the bus stops. So, if she /he is literate, they can check it for themselves, or else

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Trans Delhirium at least ask someone to read the displayed information. That would be empowering and hence inclusive. The truth is that the Delhi poor is not aware of their rights, pro-poor government policies and basic empowering information. The same applies within the transport systems. The information that reaches the poor is more often than not through local slum goons or the kedaars, who will filter only that information towards the slum dwellers which can ultimately benefit themselves. The transport system in Delhi is based on a dominance for motorized transport, while the Delhi poor is mostly not involved in using motorized transport due to its unaffordability. (10.4) The latest National Urban Transport Policy (JNNURM) does aim at giving emphasis to nonmotorized.

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10.3 Modal share

Source: UTTIPEC

10.4 Modal share vs. travel distances

Source: UTTIPEC

Analysis Accessibility issues Analysis of Ajmeri gate side Barrier free footpath with Slip resistant and tactile material: Minto road and D.B Gupta road have adequate footpath with proper design strategies for differently abled, while Bhavbhuti Marg has a somewhat less differently abled friendly footpath. There is little or no access from Bhavbhuti Marg to the station building for pedestrians. (10.5) Efficient Lighting: Minto road has sufficient street lamps to laminate the street at night, while there is inadequate lighting for Bhavbhuti marg. The entry to the station is not lit at all during the night. Appropriate Shading: Apart from area around Shivaji Park, the site lacks sufficient shading for pedestrian, with almost no shading at the entrance point. Toilets: The only toilets available on the site are on the north side and toilets for women are only provided nearer to the station and there are only open urinals for men on D.B. Gupta Marg.

Analysis of paharganj side Barrier free footpath with Slip resistant and Tactile material: There is a lack of proper footpaths in the area. The only adequate pedestrian walkways are nearer to Connaught Place and disappear just before the station entry. (10.6) Efficient Lighting: There is an adequate amount of street light in the area.The are not sufficient lighting inside Pahadganj, but that is compromised by large amount of street activity providing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eyes on the streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Appropriate Shading: There is a lack of any kind of shading in the area. A shade is provided for auto rickshaw drivers to rest, but its close proximity to a garbage dump renders it useless. Toilets: Public restrooms are available throughout the site, but they are still not sufficient.

Good

Male

Satisfactory

Female

Fair Bad

10.5 Ajmeri gate side Barrier free movement, efficient lighting, appropriate shading, toilets (L-R)

10.6 Paharganj side Barrier free movement, efficient lighting, appropriate shading, toilets (L-R)

Source: Authors

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Yes No N/A

10.7 Ajmeri gate and Paharganj side Accessibility analysis matrix (L-R)

Source: Authors

Mobility issues We surveyed differently abled people, women, elderly and economically weaker people. Based on the survey the major mobility issues that seemed to plague them were overcrowding, hostile attitude of drivers and other passengers, reliability, uncomfortable modal transfer Safety issues, uncertainties, comfort factors, high fares, inefficient transport services, Improper traffic management, hygiene concerns. (10.8)

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10.8 Mobility inferences matrix

Source: Authors

Conclusion

According to our analysis the transport system in New Delhi railway station area is 52% accessible and 57% has an ease of mobility. One can observe that the difference is just 5%. Accessibility and mobility are both linked. Together, they make the system inclusive. Both of them are of equal significance, yet we see that the concerns for accessibility issues are higher than the mobility issues. Unless both the issues are seen together, the system cannot work efficiently and will tend to lose as a whole. Even though architects, designers, planners, policy makers and students are aware of these issues, they tend to undermine them. When it comes to norms, policies, standards, etc, a lack of enforcement is seen. Ones needs to understand it is more complex than just a design exercise. Assessing the real scenario and considering the needs of people like Insaan Singh and his family, one needs to be more innovative in our approach and be the catalyst to the change. The designers or the policy makers are not the only one who are responsible. For the common men, there is the need for a mentality shift. One not only needs to exercise infrastructural change but also should possess the ability to accept others as they are. Treat them as equals. Then only, a holistic and inclusive transport system is achieved. Hence this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Trans-delhiriumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will urge one to think what it means to be inclusive and what one can achieve as an inclusive society?

Bibliography Anon., 2012. Jagori Safe Delhi Compaign. [Online] Available at: http://www.safedelhi.in/public-transport.html [Accessed 15 9 2014]. Censusindia, 2001. Disabled Population, s.l.: censusindia.gov.in. CensusIndia, 2001. Government of India, Ministry of Home affairs. [Online] Available at: http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/disabled_ population.aspx [Accessed 18 september 2014]. DDA, 2011. Inclusive Mobility. Fox, R. G., 1977. Urban Anthropology: Cities in their cultural settings. s.l.:Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. Hanlon, S., 1996. Where Do Women Feature In Public Transport, TransAdelaide, Australia: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/womens/chap34.pdf. IANS, 2014. One India News. [Online] Available at: http://news.oneindia.in/india/delhi-s-public-transport-a-hurdle-for-the-disabled- 1475051. html [Accessed 18 September 2014]. Qureshi, A., 2007. DIIR Disability India Information Resources. [Online] Available at: http://www.disabilityindia.com/html/ArticlesMay1.html [Accessed 18 september 2014]. Tiwari, G., 2014. Planning and Designing Transport Systems To Ensure Safe Travel For Women, s.l.: International Transport forum. UTTIPEC, 2012. Modal Share, New Delhi: s.n. Viswanath, K., July 2011. BUILDING SAFE AND INCLUSIVE, New Delhi: Jagori. Wirth, L., 1938. Urbanism as a way of life. 156

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