People and Place

Social

Despite rends to convert residential buildings into commercial use, Panaji is considered the diverse cultural hub of Goa. Those raised in Panaji recall ‘Panjim’ as was previously called as a ‘’place where grand colonial-era buildings and tree-lined boulevards rub shoulders with old-school cafes and backstreet bars… a place where total strangers engage in elaborate exchanges and where tiny crumbly-walled bakeries serve up an astonishing array of cakes, croissants, and snacks” (Pal 2018).

The people of Panaji pride themselves on a vibrant culture of history, religion, and family lineage. Described by a resident as the place, “with the most religious harmony;” Panaji is a community for everyone. Hindu, Christian, and Islamic holidays are celebrated by nearly all residents. Meals are shared between families and faiths. People are safe to worship as they please. A lot of religious events are celebrated in the public space allowing others to participate. Religious groups provide an extended network of contacts for the residents of the area.

Another definite advantage of the CBD is the sense of safety. While no city is crime-free, Panaji stands out as a city where a female shopkeeper is able to “walk freely at night.” A multitude of police checkpoints and community surveillance allows streets to be active as the night falls, providing numerous social and economic benefits.

As Panaji continues to grow and low-density IndioPortuguese architecture is replaced by multi-story mixed-use modern buildings, the CBD community is also changed. Residents fondly recall the times when neighbors knew who lived next to them. While these times are not wholly lost, the thinning out and isolation of residents from the CBD is in effect. Where commercial activity is growing, families are growing more isolated from their neighbors and each other. Rates of elderly that live on their own are increasing. There are more people leaving to pursue career opportunities. The Immaculate Conception Church has taken note and taken steps. They implemented Family Prayer groups where multiple families are assigned to get together once a month to share in fun activities and prayer.

Fig. C.6: Three Results From Activity Mapping 11:00 am

01:00 pm

06:00 pm

MEN WOMEN CHILDREN

85

Environmental

As the CBD continues to modernize, there is an apparent un-learning of ecological thinking. In a country that has excellent climate change awareness rates (Smith 2019), the action of protecting the local ecosystem and the services it provides is lacking. Many people who live and work in the CBD recount more frequent flooding in streets, citing two reasons. The first is the lack of maintenance and cleaning of stormwater infrastructure. The second is the disappearance of permeable surfaces. These two actions combine to create an environmental hazard for any occupant or property owner in the CBD.

On the same note as disappearing permeable surfaces, the urban forest is now a few sparse trees. While there have been some efforts to bring back the shade of trees, many sidewalks can only hope to be shaded by building overhangs and covered colonnades. While Imagine Panaji is trying to increase the awareness of mangroves, there are continued developments across the city that are covering up wetlands such as the building of the New CBD.

“the new generatIon know too lIttle of nature and our relatIonshIp wIth It” - resIdent

“the portuguese buIlt wIth care . we buIld wIth capItal Interests.” - resIdent

Panaji is historically a city designed by the Portuguese with a planning ethos sympathetic to the specific environmental context. The city’s historic name, Ponji, is said to mean “land that never gets flooded” (Haravi 133). Over time such an approach has been subject to significant degradation. This aligns with Goa’s incorporation as a union territory by the Indian Government when population density dramatically increased. Our research informed us of many areas of the city that were previously wetlands or carefully planned stormwater management channels being disrupted by more recent developments to accommodate the urban densification.

During interviews, residents spoke fondly of a time that they were able to utilize water from their private wells. While private wells are illegal, many homes are said to have deep wells still; however, the harvesting of such water has been severely compromised in the past two decades. Many surrounding water bodies are also reported as increasingly polluted. Recent trends have contributed to the groundwater table drying up despite the lengthy monsoon period that the region experiences in June through August.

Research also informed us of changes in weather behavior that have seen more sporadic rainfall leading to the insecurity of water. Upon the commencement of our fieldwork, there were reports of parts of Panaji requiring water rations for a period of two weeks in August. Some residents informed us that they no longer trust the PWD water supply and have taken to acquiring water tanks to have their own private back up supply.

“It Is very hard for small busInesses to start In panajI” - world trade center, goa offIce, staff

During an interview with a CCP employee, we touched upon the intricacies of waste management and the reforms within the past decade. These have included the pre-separation of dry and wet waste and discontinuing the dumping solid waste with neighboring villages to transportingthiswastetobeburiedatamineinKarnataka.

Economic

The CBD, and Panaji as a whole, faces many of the same challenges as cities across the world, including global markets, transitions to second and third-tier economies, and an increasingly mobile population. As long-term families and new residents continue bolstering Panaji’s population count, the CBD finds itself at a crossroads between economic vitality and hollowing itself out.

Residents new and old iterate how the real estate prices within the CBD are climbing too high. As land values continue to increase, this gives “greater scope to convert the residential buildings into commercial centers” (Haravi 2010, p. 163). Of the few residents there are still around Jardim Garcia D’Orta, are those who inherited the land and building. There is little chance for a newcomer to find suitable housing in the CBD. Even the commercial spaces that line the streets with shops and restaurants are held in tight hands by those who obtained the real

estate decades ago. With the CBD saturated with small shops and restaurants and an environment of high real estate prices, new businesses face two massive barriers.

Looking at the street of the CBD, any spectator can see vacancy and dilapidation play a starring role. Predominately found on the first level of heritage buildings, these vacant spaces eat up valuable real estate. As real estate prices soar, these properties are either tied up in the courts with property disputes, or the owner has decided reinvestment doesn’t give a sufficient return.

“panajI has been a mInIng Industry for many years. thIs Industry has stopped 20 years ago, the government has saId It was to protect the InhabItant’s health. “ - resIdent

One cannot look at the economy of the CBD without looking at the casinos. Seen as a necessary evil, some residents of the community believe that the casinos have been forced on Panaji to make up for the lack of GDP from the banning of the mining industries in the state of Goa. However, others believe that the existing culture attracted the casinos. During a speech this year by the Finance Minister of Goa, he stated that his council recommended the State create, “an autonomous Gaming Commission to regulate the Casinos in the state (Kamat p. 57). The State seems open to the notion as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant commented that the “appointment of a Gaming Commission to oversee offshore and onshore casinos is under examination” (Team 2019).

Fig. C.7: Government Structure *Importance Indicated By Size