Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

India: Maharashtra state India is the largest country in Southern Asia and the seventh largest in the world by area. The country has the status of the largest democratic nation, with a population of over 1.3 billion people, second only to China’s but expected to overtake it in 2028. It is a diverse country, with vast differences in geography, climate, culture, language and ethnicity across its 29 states and seven union territories. During the past 70 years, India achieved socio-economic progress and became self-sufficient in agriculture production. It is now one of the top industrialized countries in southern Asia and an important regional power, but is also facing huge social, economic and environmental problems.

Maharashtra, the country’s most industrialized state, attracts industrial investments from domestic and foreign institutions. Thus, the state emerged as the leading automobile production and a major Information Technology (IT) growth center (India Brand Equity Foundation [IBEF], 2017) and is also a pioneer in small scale industries. Mumbai, the state’s capital, is the most populous city in India. It is a commercial, financial, and entertainment hub and one of the world’s top ten centres of commerce in positions of global financial flow (according to Times of India).

Map 1. India and location of Maharashtra

Pune, the state’s second largest city, is situated 150 km south-east of Mumbai, and the two cities are linked through an express highway. It is both an industrial and educational hub, attracting migrants from all over the world. Although the city has acquired a cosmopolitan identity in the past decades, its core still preserves a lot of its history and traditions. As a secondary city growing at a fast rate, Pune is facing several problems that demand focus and attention from urban planners (Krishnamurthy, Mishra & Desouza, 2016). This report presents the results of a two-month fieldwork that took place in Pune. Two workgroups analyzed and made proposals for Raviwar Peth, one of the oldest commercial areas in the city. It is organized in a way that, first, Pune’s historical background will be presented, followed by an overview of its present situation and challenges. Then, a summary of Raviwar Peth’s history and a general situation analysis will be given. After that, each of the two groups responsible for this report will present their specific work areas in detail, as well as a proposal for urban intervention.

Historical background: from City of Peths towards attaining megacity status. A peth, in Marathi language, means a locality or an area, and Pune was once known as the “City of Peths”. Although there are no historical records about the origins of the city, it is known to have existed since 937 AD and that it started in Kasba Peth, which was formed by three villages of fishermen and farmers. The town grew as new peths were settled outside of Kasba. In 1610, four peths constituted the town: Malkapur (now Raviwar Peth); Murtazabad (Shaniwar Peth); Shahpura (Somwar Peth); and the original Kasba Peth (Diddee & Gupta, 2000). During the 18th century, the Peshwa family made the city the administrative center of their territories and Pune became politically influential in India. By then, the country faced a major urbanization phase. Pune followed this trend and reached both its economic and cultural development peak for this period, with a total of 18 peths. To set up a peth, the ruler would issue a permission to an individual delegating rights and duties, such as building roads, dividing plots, inviting settlers and initiating economic activity. Although there was an overall planning, peths grew organically and the building of houses was free and improvised. The leftover spaces between them became lanes and by-lanes, and community spaces were created according to the settlers’ will. During the Peshwa period, old peths were also revitalized. Even though each peth had its own composition and identity, the way they were organized created an unified town fabric. There was also a reasonable amount of heterogeneity in their demographic composition, with a mixture of different castes, classes and professions. In 1818, this organic growth of the city was interrupted by the British conquest and a different form of urban development began. The city acquired a dual identity: the core, formed by the peths and their narrow lanes and innumerous houses, shops and temples; and the British Poona, with a grid pattern layout and sophisticated buildings (Diddee & Gupta, 2000). Under the British rule, authority transfer of the city began and