G-SEN TROPHY 2015 -16
THE BACKDROP With the current political climate fostering developmental growth, the declaration of the ‘SMART CITY’ was only expected. For the select few, the phrase ‘SMART CITY’ has conjured up a rush of wild imagination particularly, among the hungry (for power) and thirsty (for liquid cash). At the bottom of the pyramid, (if ideas do percolate to the base), there would be the eternal promise of employment and therefore the hope of satisfying the hungry (for food) and the thirsty (forwater). Be that as it may, no two words, in the recent past have generated as much scorn, applause, disgust, appreciation, revulsion, hope, abhorrence, expectations, confusion, aspirations, criticism, anticipation (emotional responses change depending on the typology of the peoples). The governmental machinery is whirring at break-neck speed to actualize the idea and to materialize the dream.Arguably, the problem as always has been our lack of vision in not recognizing contextual realities and thereby blindly embracing Western models which have created climatically and socially unfavorable environments in our current cities. These provisions aspirationally modeled on the lines of American cities remain inequitably accessed and the idea of an inclusive city is far from being realized. Policy makers keep undermining our own essentials ,which is at the root of and is the primary reason, why glitzy images of shining new cities with glazed multistory towers are being sold aggressively (besides of course the acquisition of humungous amount of wealth for developers and other vested interests). The efforts here are in trying to see if one could reinterpret the meaning of ‘SMART’ and thereby establish a wholly new paradigm.
How do we apply ourselves by critical thinking to our own existence through the understanding of the evolutionary process?
Please refer to the link below, but see if you can read between the lines in the light of the above perspective. http://smartcities.gov.in/ http://smartcitieschallenge.in/ https://smartcity.win2biz.com/static/content/en/0/smartcity.html
National Association of Students of Architecture G-SEN trophy 2015 - 16 (Re)evolution