City Observer- Volume 6 Issue 1- June 2020

Volume 6 | Issue 1| June 2020

CITY OBSERVER A BIANNUAL JOURNAL ON CITIES PUBLISHED BY URBAN DESIGN COLLECTIVE

INSIDE

TOWARDS THE RIGHT TO A GENDERED CITY

POST PANDEMIC INDIAN URBANISM

GETTING LOST IN FOUND PLACES

CITY OBSERVER

Volume 6 | Issue 1 | June 2020 Free Publication City Observer is a biannual journal which aims to create a conversation on cities and to collaboratively interrogate our urban world.

City Observer is published by the Urban Design Collective.

Urban Design Collective (UDC) is a collaborative platform for architects, urban designers and planners to create livable cities through participatory planning. www.urbandesigncollective.org info@urbandesigncollective.org

EDITORIAL TEAM Neha Krishnan Shruti Shankar Sunjana Thirumala Sridhar Vidhya Mohankumar

COVER ILLUSTRATION Abinaya Rajavelu

LAYOUT DESIGN Noora Yasmin Shruti Shankar Vidhya Venkatesan Vidhya Mohankumar

Copyrights of images lie with the person/party mentioned in the image caption.

The opinions expressed in this journal are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of UDC or its members.

This magazine cannot be republished or reproduced without the permission of the publisher.

TO CITIES AND PEOPLE

8

Editorial Vidhya Mohankumar

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Feature Article TOWARDS THE RIGHT TO A GENDERED CITY Swapnil Saxena

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Community Engagement BASA: A REVIVAL OF LOCAL VALUE Vedanti Agarwal

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Mobility and the City NORTHEAST OHIO: DEATH BY CAR Dominic Mathew

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Feature Article POST PANDEMIC INDIAN URBANISM Khushali Haji

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On Location EXPLORING YONSEI-RO: A PEDESTRIAN-FIRST CULTURE IN SEOUL Vaishnavi L Narashimhan

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98

Feature Article EXPLORING VITALITY IN URBAN FORM THROUGH TIME Nawin Saravanan

116

City Trails EKAMRA KSHETRA HERITAGE WALK Seema Misra

128

Art in the City HOW SENSIBILITY FOR THE ARTS IS TAKING OVER INDIAN CITIES Shruti Hussain

138

Motion Captured GETTING LOST IN FOUND PLACES Aakash Selvan

152

Feature Article SCHRODINGER’S URBANISM : IS THE CITY DEAD OR ALIVE? Naveen Mahantesh

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Teaching Urban Design REMEDIATE MADURAI 2030 Siva Subramanian and Jinu Louishidha Kitchley

Learning from Cities 10 URBAN DESIGN LESSONS FROM SYDNEY

196

Abinaya Rajavelu & Anjani Rao Gandra

Viswa Dharani

Closing Scene

CONTENTS

CITY OBSERVER

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NE Ohio

Delft New York City Newark St.Louis

Juarez

Dublin Loire Valley Porto Madrid Barcelona

New Orleans

Kumasi

Rio de Janeiro

CITIES PROFILED THUS FAR...

Current Issue

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Helsinki

Moscow

Berlin Dessau Tirana

Bursa Cairo Kisumu

Seoul

Istanbul

Chandigarh Delhi Selรงuk Baghdad Gaza Mathura Udaipur Ahmedabad Tehran Surat Sharjah Mumbai Goa Hampi Bangalore Kochi

Khirsu Darjeeling Thimpu

Osaka Guangzhou Hong Kong

Hyderabad Bhubaneswar Hanoi Chennai Singapore Pondicherry Madurai Tirunelveli

Suva

Trivandrum Sydney Johannesburg

Wellington

EDITORIAL

Yes, I’m afraid I’m going to have to write about it. A conversation these days is hardly worth it without bringing this up at least once. And with each passing day, the need to acknowledge it and respond to it becomes more urgent. Not a single day passes without the news being deplorable and triggering combinations of fear, anger and despair. I’m talking about the need for systemic change in the way we have been planning, designing and governing our cities.

The virus, by the way, is only the messenger.

And the message is clear. We fucked up.

The sheer number of infographics that we have been subjected to in the last 6 months should serve as a clear indicator of the need to focus on data going forward - generating, collating, spatializing and analysing data for better planning and response.

Investments in public health infrastructure need to be prioritized as it became evident that with excessive privatization of healthcare, not everyone can ‘afford to fall sick’. This has got to be the last time we overwork public sector health professionals for the lack of plan B. Education is another sector that threw up a lot of challenging yet important questions that need urgent answers. Is rote learning the means and the end? What is the purpose of education? Is there a better way to meet this purpose? Is the future of education digital? Is it self-taught? How do we overcome the digital divide when education must reach low income communities?

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Low income communities and specifically the safeguards for the challenges faced by them economically, spatially and health-wise are always the elephant in the room. The ugly expose came with the realization that it is through the exploitation of their vulnerabilities that our economies thrive. Is redressal even on the cards? Can we really continue to rely on charities and social capital to address these challenges?

The post-covid world will be an unsettling moment for architects, urban designers and planners. New typologies of the built and unbuilt, density as a driver of urban form, the need to rethink minimums, the future of mobility, the case for quality and quantity of public spaces, the use of technology, the consumption of resources – no pressure at all but this must be an exemplary era of innovation particularly from the perspective of building urban resilience on all these fronts.

More than ever, we need to abandon the optics of city branding which is currently driving planning and development in our cities and focus on the things that truly ensure vitality from the lenses of health, equity, inclusivity, climate change and resilience. Without a solid framework that is centred on these lenses, the position that technology can offer solutions is also fundamentally flawed. A solution is only as worthy as the challenge that it is trying to address.

And lastly, to hell with post-truth politics and its ensemble of imposters.

To hell with fascism fuelled by greed and corruption. To hell with brutality rooted in bias. To hell with bias. To hell with unbridled forces that are destroying the environment. And finally, even though we’re only halfway through, to hell with 2020.

But we will continue doing what we do – making livable cities and supporting each other in this endeavour - because that’s the good fight and the only way we take it back from them.

In solidarity with resistance.

Vidhya Mohankumar On behalf of the Editorial Team

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FEATURE ARTICLE

TOWARDS THE RIGHT TO A GENDERED CITY SWAPNIL SAXENA

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

– Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Jane Jacobs’ is one of the most enduring voices in urbanism. Her writings are intrinsically related to the idea that cities thrive on diversity — economically, socially and culturally – and it means both the diversity of decision makers and of the people, who make our cities what they are. Though the prevalence of women’s voices in the city planning processes has been on the rise, women remain either excluded or seemingly consigned to supporting roles in the urbanism of Indian cities today.

Women’s navigation patterns are shaped by city design.

Image source: Sofia Cangiano, Unsplash

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Historically, cities have been designed following and perpetuating gender roles, which in turn plays a significant part in shaping behaviour and relations in cities. This article investigates the ways in which cities are gendered. It explores the intersections of behaviour and environment to reinforce how social norms and navigation patterns are shaped by the design of our cities and offers insights into city planning approaches from across the world to tackle the massive challenge of urban re-appropriation and gender mainstreaming.

A quiet sequence in the 2006 French anthology film titled ‘Paris, je t’aime’ features a day in the life of a young immigrant woman. Her day starts with singing a Spanish lullaby to her baby before leaving her in day care.

She then takes an extremely long commute, using multiple modes of transportation to reach a house in an affluent neighbourhood where she works as a nanny and sings the same lullaby to her employers’ baby. This is a heart wrenching portrayal of not just her life but is the reality of lives of many women in cities today. [1]

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

All around the world women depend more on public transport than men. Image credit: Mircea Iancu from Pixabay

Women use and experience cities in ways unlike men. Their work often involves multiple responsibilities inside as well as outside the house, making their travel behaviour typically more complex and varied compared to men’s. Public space should allow all genders, especially women, to exercise their fundamental rights, including the right to work, healthcare, education, AND their right to the city. Yet, women are repeatedly forced to develop ‘survival strategies’

in their own cities by conforming their gender identities to social standards.

They are expected to be vigilant, which includes avoiding going to certain places, using certain modes of transportation, and also adapt clothing for fear of sexist behaviours.

Often governments proclaim that ensuring safety in the city – the most common manifestation of this is the installation of cameras - will enable women to own the urban space.

However, safety is just one of the many

factors that impact a woman’s life in the city. Traditionally, urban planning has been considered a gender-neutral field, meaning that the way of designing different spaces neither benefited nor harmed a particular person or group. In reality, what is ‘gender-neutral’ usually has a male perspective. Women’s active involvement in household and community work gives them insight, awareness of real issues faced by society, and perspective which can be instrumental in engendering long-term change.

Trip chaining – Trips made by women are short, multi-modal and frequent. Image credit: Life of Pix, Pexels.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

As urbanization transforms the world

have different gendered experiences

and our cities change, adapt, and

based on their ethnicity, class, age,

grow, so do the challenges. What is

or sexuality [2]. Understanding the

overlooked however is that the negative consequences of urbanization are disproportionately borne by poor working women and men, the young and the old.

Furthering this fragmentation is the fact that urban experience is not uniform across genders. Here it is important to recognize that the city is gendered

intersection of these identities, and recognising that these identities are complex, overlapping and evolving across time and context is key to inclusive planning. This calls for an intersectional approach to gender equality by taking the Right to the City forward and interpreting

not through the binary of men and

it as the Right to a Gendered City if

women, but through multiple actions and

we are to ensure equal protection and

experiences of its inhabitants, who may

realisation of women’s human rights.

Safe Public Spaces ensure realisation of the Right to the City. Image source: https://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/ images/women_cities_placemaking.jpg.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

“Understanding the intersection of these identities, and recognising that these identities are complex, overlapping and evolving across time and context is key to inclusive planning.”

‘The Right to the City’ is the title of a sociological work written by Henri Lefebvre during the 1960s - a period of prolonged civil unrest and movement for greater economic justice. This global reference defines the right to the city

as the equitable use of cities based on concepts of sustainability, democracy, equity and social justice and which are to be demonstrated through three overarching principles as shown in the diagram here -

1

2

3

ENSURING DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY

FULL EXERCISE OF CITIZENSHIP

ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF URBAN PROPERTY AND THE CITY

Adequate representation and participation across all levels of government

Participation in active citizenship

Equal and safe access to public goods and services and public space

Participation in city planning

Realization of multiple human rights

Participation in control of resource and expenditure

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FEATURE ARTICLE

While cities around the world have taken up several measures to address the three broad issues of gender inequality, basic service access and economic development, initiatives that connect all three issues are fairly limited. The five case studies presented in the following spreads represent a sample of relevant programs that display different levels of gender responsiveness from different geographical regions of the world – but mainly, all in the context of the principles laid down in Lefebvre’s Right to the City approach.

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Colombia Interprofessional Programming for Women’s Safety, Bogotá,

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

London Gender Equity in Transport: London’s Action on Equality Vienna City Planning For and By Women

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2

3

Spain Adequate Women Representation and Participation in Governance, Spain through the ‘Berdinsarea’ and ‘Basqueskola’ projects.

India Ensuring Safe Access through Data and Technology, Safetipin

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Case example 1 ENSURING ADEQUATE WOMEN REPRESENTATION AND PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNANCE, SPAIN In Spain, the Basque Institute for Women (Emakunde) has been tackling under representation of women with a combination of bottom up and top down approaches. ‘Berdinsarea’, a network of municipalities consisting of technical experts who work with women organizations (covering 75 percent of the Basque population) assesses local policies, programmes and services in favour of equality and the prevention of violence against women. ‘Basqueskola’ is a Basque network of women local elected representatives that offers opportunities for the collective and individual empowerment of women in local politics. The ‘Welcome Manual for Women Elected Officials’ [4] looks at new ways of decision-making and doing politics that move away from the traditional norm and redefine the way politics can be practised.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Welcome Manual for Women Elected Officials – To teach right ways of doing politics.

Image source: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/ view/55880100/politics

Case example 2 CITY PLANNING FOR AND BY WOMEN, VIENNA Vienna has been pioneering gender mainstreaming for over thirty years. By institutionalising gender differentiated analysis as a necessary consideration in city plans, the city has improved urban design through efficient street lighting, made parks more accessible for young girls, widened pavements, and designed social housing as well as new neighbourhoods keeping in mind the needs of women.

By 2028 when it will be completed, Aspern (also New Vienna) will a 240 hectare neighbourhood that will be home to 20,000 people with workplaces for another 20,000. It is an explicitly familyoriented design with every street and public space named after women - a symbolic yet major step to reaffirm that the design has accounted for women’s needs.

Aspern Township, Vienna. Image source: Daniel Hawelka for Seestadt

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Frauen-Werk-Stadt Housing, Vienna. Image credit: OpenIDEO

The gender movement in city design

improve the quality of women’s everyday

in Vienna was pioneered by Eva

lives. This was the first project to have

Kail, a renowned expert in gender

ever invited only women architects to

mainstreaming and strategic planning.

propose designs and that resulted in

She discovered that while men

integrating women’s perspectives at

accounted for two out of three car

every level: unit designs being cognisant

journeys in the city, women were making

of details such as providing pram

up two-thirds of the city’s foot traffic. To

storage on every floor; wide stairwells

put her ideas into action, Kail approved

to encourage neighbourly interactions;

the building of Frauen-Werk-Stadt

flexible flat layouts with high-quality

(Women-Work-City) [5] in 1992 - a 357-

secondary rooms; and building heights

unit complex designed specifically to

that ensured ‘eyes upon the street.’

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Case example 3 ENSURING SAFE ACCESS THROUGH DATA AND TECHNOLOGY, SAFETIPIN, INDIA In 2013, SafetiPin— a map based mobile phone application [6] designed to make communities and cities safer by providing information related to safety in public spaces was launched in India.

The information is crowdsourced through its users and vetted by trained auditors.

At the core of the app is the Women’s Safety Audit (WSA), a participatory tool for collecting and assessing information about perceptions of urban safety in public spaces based on nine parameters including level of lighting, visibility and availability of public transport.

Currently SafetiPin is collecting data in 28 cities across ten countries. The night time pictures serve as valuable data for urban planners, police and transportation authorities. In Delhi, more than 60,000 safety audits have been conducted, covering more than 6000 km of roads in the city [7]. The application has been used in many cities such as Bogotá, Colombia, Manila, Philippines and Mexico City [8].

Safetipin app interface. Image credit: Author

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Case example 4 INTERPROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR WOMEN’S SAFETY, BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA Inspired by over 40 years of community work and feminist activism, Bogotá institutionalised a program that aims at ensuring women’s safety in the city.

The program builds partnerships with public and private institutions to study and review safety seeking behaviours of women in public spaces during the night in Bogotá. Data collection is done using Safetipin, described in the previous case example. The Committee for Safe Cities in Bogotá is an autonomous government body dedicated to develop

gender sensitive policies and has overseen the ‘Safe Bus Stops for Women’ project. A local security council works with community organisations to raise awareness about violence against women and girls (VAWG) in public and private spaces. Such measures have resulted in physical upgrades to unsafe public places, inter-agency collaboration to create awareness on the issue and also strengthening of institutional capacity to address and eliminate VAWG in homes [9].

Addressing diverse nature of roles women play while planning transport is key to inclusive and universal design. Image source: Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Case example 5 GENDER EQUITY IN TRANSPORT: LONDON’S ACTION ON EQUALITY In London, women make up over fifty one

clear, measurable goals on improving

percent of the population and use public

opportunities for staff and transit users.

transport more than men. Transport for London is perhaps the most forwardthinking agency in implementing gender mainstreaming measures. It has been studying the travel patterns of women

To address employment in the transport sector, “Action on Equality” (2016– 2020) promotes increased access to transport services for women and equal

and other groups of riders for years

employment opportunities. Initiatives

and annually releases a summary of

like the Single Equality scheme (2012–

its data [10]. It has also adopted a

2015), for example, included accessible

policy on equality and inclusion with

bus stops, clearer maps, real-time

Real time information on bus infrastructure – a critical component of London’s Action on Equality measures in transport. Image source: David Geib, Pexels.com.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

information on buses as well as equal employment opportunities. Other initiatives under this action plan are safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists,

faster customer service, improved lighting around bus stops, and priority seating.

As cities experience a demographic shift, the need for age-friendly design is becoming ever more critical.

Image credit: Mircea Iancu from Pixabay.

IN CONCLUSION

REFERENCES:

Examples from around the world show how initiatives developed in consultation with women provide nuanced solutions for urban concerns and also demonstrate ways to anchor actions towards gender equality in cities. Any intervention in the built environment must be through active co-creation to include all by addressing the diversity and intersectionality of identities as advocated by Jane Jacobs.

1. Segment Loin du 16e of Paris, je t’aime.

Available here on YouTube. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=_Q8pwwA0_q4

Likewise, recognising the expertise and perspectives that women’s networks and gender experts can bring to the table across policy areas is a fundamental requirement for gender sensitive policy making.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

2. Doan, P. L. (2015). Why plan for the LGBTQ community? In P. L. Doan (Ed.), Planning and LGBTQ communities: The need for inclusive queer spaces (pp. 1–15). New York, NY: Routledge. Available at: https:// www.routledge.com/Planning-and-LGBTQCommunities-The-Need-for-Inclusive-QueerSpaces/Doan/p/book/9781138798168 3. Read more about the Basque Institute of Women here: https://www.emakunde. euskadi.eus/ingles/-/informacion/englishabout-us/ 4. Virginia Woolf Basqueskola (2015), published by EUDEL and EMAKUNDE, ‘Thinking about politics: welcome manual

for women elected officials’, available at: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/ view/55880100/politics 5. Frauen-Werk-Stadt (Women-Work-City): A Township Designed for Women in Vienna, Austria. Read more here: https://challenges. openideo.com/challenge/womens-safety/ research/frauen-werk-stadt-women-workcity-a-township-designed-for-women-invienna-austria 6. Safetipin Mobile Application. Access here: http://safetipin.com/community/news/9/ safetipin-a-new-mobile-app-for-womensafety/ 7. SafetiPin: A Tool to Build Safer Cities for Women, May 11, 2016, By Kalpana Viswanath. Available at: https:// asiafoundation.org/2016/05/11/safetipintool-build-safer-cities-women/ 8. Shah, Sonal, Kalpana Viswanath, Sonali Vyas, and Shreya Gadepalli.

“Women and Transport in Indian Cities.”

ITDP and Safetipin, New Delhi Photo Credits Cover: Luc Nadal, ITDP Page i: Santhosh Loganaathan, ITDP India (2017): 10-11. Available at: https://www. researchgate.net/profile/Sonal_Shah11/ publication/322330719_Women_ and_Transport_in_Indian_Cities/ links/5b7f9f134585151fd12e7a0d/ Women-and-Transport-in-Indian-Cities.pdf 9. New Study from Bogotá Shows How Women Experience Transport Differently. By José Segundo López, Natalia Lleras and Claudia Adriazola-Steil , The City Fix, 8 March 2020.

Available at: https://thecityfix.com/blog/ new-study-bogota-shows-women-experiencetransport-differently-jose-segundo-lopeznatalia-lleras-claudia-adriazola-steil/ 10. Travel in London: Understanding our diverse communities 2019, A summary of existing research, Transport for London.

Available at: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/ travel-in-london-understanding-our-diversecommunities-2019.pdf

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Swapnil Saxena is an architect and urban planner specializing in housing who is driven by her deep passion for building environmentally sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities. In her current role as Program Officer at National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), India, she works directly with urban local governments to support development challenges in 12 cities through innovative, integrated, and sustainable solutions. Prior to joining NIUA, Swapnil worked at Housing and Land Rights Network, India, where she conducted research, training, and capacity building interventions focussing on the Right to Adequate Housing and Land among low-income communities in Delhi. She has been elected as a Local Pathways Fellow of the 2020 cohort by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth Initiative (SDSN Youth) - a global network of young thought leaders, activists, and innovators to help advance SDGs in cities they represent. Her research interests focus on urban development and policy in the context of housing and urban poverty, informality, livelihood and gender as lived experiences in the city.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

BASA: A REVIVAL OF LOCAL VALUE

VEDANTI AGARWAL

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

According to the recent government report ‘Uttarakhand Vision 2030’, unemployment and migration from the hills to plains, score as the major challenges faced by the region, alongside lack of education and healthcare facilities. Though the state has seen an overall rise in their economic growth, most of it has been concentrated in towns like Haridwar and Dehradun, while the villages on hills ‘suffer heavily’.

Most of the blame for this is vested on the government and its plain-centric development model which provides majority of its capital to the plains, neglecting the excess infrastructure and capital benefits required in the hills to overcome their topographical challenges.

Even though the neo-liberal government could have initiated the stunted employment and heavy migration in hilly districts of Uttarakhand, there is now a deeper cause which underlies these issues. Without recognising this cause of the diminishing sense of belonging and value amongst locals for their land and resources, no amount of pumping government capital can revive the hills.

Community Kitchenl, Basa Tourism Centre Image credit: St+art India Foundation

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Of the thirteen districts in Uttarakhand, the three plain districts, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and parts of Dehradun and Nainital, have had obvious effects of urbanisation in depleting population from the hilly districts. Urban-rural imbalance is not drastically visible in the croppingup of informal settlements in the state’s cities, but it has steeped deep into people’s lifestyle and will have visible effects in the near future if not redressed urgently.

Divisions of Uttarakhand Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Kumaon_Garhwal.jpg

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Uttarakhand, being a Himalayan state with hill stations, wildlife parks, religious pilgrimages, and trekking routes, is a famous tourist destination. However, rampant tourism has led to inequity and insensitive construction activities. Local materials like stone and wood are not as easily accessible as concrete, which has resulted into a dangerous increase of rapid concrete and steel construction, mostly carried out by unskilled contractors without professional supervision. Many new structures have failed owing to the earthquake and landslide-prone zone, further adding to the precarity of the landscape, while slowly transforming the fabric to resemble an urban slum aesthetic.

Apart from effects in construction, tourism and industrial growth have attracted human capital from hilly districts like Pauri, which does not have any major tourist attractions. Pauri district observes the highest rate of migration, with its youth moving to towns or cities for the ‘easy income’ it provides.

Most of the old folk resort to living off the income received from their families in cities and towns, instead of toiling in the farms which now face menacing issues of monkeys and water shortage.

Gwad village close to Khirsu in Pauri district. Image credit: Adrian Casa

Hence, there is a growing disconnect to agriculture and local husbandry practices which require intensive labour and is wrought with a gripping insecurity.

Despite farming subsidies and initiatives like the greenhouse chambers provided by the Uttarakhand district office, which can be easily availed, the village folk,

especially men, have surrendered to lethargy. A lack of a sense of value and ownership amongst the locals for their resources, makes the region extremely vulnerable to haphazard construction and development, threatening a permanent loss of biodiversity and local livelihood.

District wise decadal (2001-11) Population growth rate Image credit: Uttarakhand Statistical diary, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Planning, GoU, Dehradun

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Basa Tourism Centre - Site Plan

BASA TOURISM CENTRE In February 2019, the BASA tourism centre in Khirsu village, Pauri district, was initiated with the intent of providing earthquake resilient building solutions; but it then evolved to encompass larger objectives of participation and livelihood generation in the village. The initial building proposal was presented to the District Magistrate of Pauri as an earthquake resilient structure employing

which offered flexibility in case of an earthquake. The design addressed challenges of thermal comfort, material transportation in hills and quick stone construction. After a back-and-forth of design discussions with the District office, the project was sanctioned under promotion of community tourism in villages. Khirsu village was chosen as a site for implementation, and so the

local materials like stone and wood for

program and approach towards the

construction to enhance local building

tourism centre was conceptualised over

construction techniques. The design was

a series of discussions with the village

articulated as gabion stone walls and a

heads and locals, and by understanding

timber portal frame structure

the people and context.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Basa Tourism Centre - Sections

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Basa logo.

But Basa’s institutional model remains incomplete without participatory models to encourage a long-lasting sense of ownership in the locals not just for the building but their resources. People’s participation was strategised through the following processes:

Basa which means ‘a one night’s stay’ in the local language, was developed to include accommodation for tourists, a community kitchen which served local food, a local produce packaging and processing unit as well as an exhibition space to display local practices and biodiversity. Together the programme presented a model of eco-tourism which helped small-scale livelihood generation Ain managing the tourism centre, and large-scale livelihood generation in providing a direct network for local agricultural produce. Basa was also envisioned as a centre to manage and support other home-stays dispersed across the village in people’s houses.

Thus, the model aimed to instigate a value for local resources and traditions by weaving activities around them which would attract tourists. At the same time, the building promoted sensitive construction practices using local materials and effective strategies for structural stability.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

ACTIVATING A GROUP OF LOCAL LEADERS The project was approached by identifying and activating a group of local leaders who could spread the spirit of value in local practices, promoted through the tourism centre. In Khirsu village, the women were found to be the hard workers in every house.

They laboured in the hills to acquire essentials, cooked, cleaned, and also sewed to earn money for resources, while men usually resorted to earning easy daily wages which were spent on their alcohol consumption. The women’s selfhelp group working for the state was thus approached in early stages of the project for collaboration. Ten women from different castes in Khirsu were collected and empowered by the self-help group, Unnati, to manage the tourism centre as local leaders

ENCOURAGING INDIVIDUALS IN HOUSEHOLDS In Khirsu and its neighbouring villages, a handful households were found to be working on small scale production of haldi (turmeric), mushroom, mandva, burange (rhododendron), and other seasonal crops. The Basa food network was then set up to encourage

Packaging and branding logo

these households to continue their engagement with agriculture and horticulture activities. Alongside, locals were encouraged to set-up home-stays within their houses and oriented to become local guides of their culture to tourists. These activities would initiate a gradual seepage of local value and pride within the community.

Discussions with women’s self-help group

All small scale produce, burange, grains and mushrooms

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

She, documenting women of Khirsu

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Handmade workshop with participants and masons

BUILDING THROUGH PARTICIPATION The building was constructed through a ‘hands-on’ construction workshop, Handmade, organised in parts for local masons, people, and twenty other participants with a background in architecture and its allied professional fields. The workshop module was introduced to revive value in local

construction materials and encourage adoption of earthquake resilient building techniques for the construction of selfbuild homes by locals. The synergy generated while working hands-on would instigate a knowledge transfer across professionals, masons, and locals, all participating in the workshop.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Mud plaster training workshop with locals

Handmade workshop with participants and masons.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

SPREADING AWARENESS ON LOCAL VALUE The second one-week workshop, Rural Narratives, was organised to document and generate discussion around the value of local resources within and around the village. This workshop involved participants from the field of conservation, visual communication, and exhibition design, who were continuously conversing with the locals on their agricultural practices, house forms, types of flora and fauna and the overall topography. These conversations were to be recorded and then displayed as an exhibition in the tourism centre for both locals and visitors.

All these processes germinated seeds for the locals to take forward. Though not many villagers participated in ‘shram dan’ or voluntary service in construction, the two workshops created a positive energy around local materials and resources, captured in the building of Basa. The eight-month long process of discussions and construction continuously kept the locals inquisitive. Though many locals initially saw the group of women managing Basa as the real beneficiaries of the project, after three months of project handover, this sense is slowly diminishing. Multiple people’s participatory processes for kindling a sense of pride and unity towards local preservation and growth is the only long-term remedy for sustainable development and equal distribution. Issues of migration and livelihood generation are long standing problems and will require a patient engagement from the government or any kind of intervener with the intent of reviving ownership to see positive changes.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

PRODUCE MAP Exhibition panels – local produce map

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Exhibition panels – local produce map

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Rural Narrative workshop, documenting local stories

Final building

40 41

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Basa Tourism Centre

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LEARNINGS TO TAKE FORWARD WHILE WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RURAL LIVELIHOODS 1. The social politics of the rural regions is extremely deepseated, and interventions need to either be sensitive or cut through the local politics, to ensure equitable development.

2. All rural interventions require interveners to develop a process of trust-building with the locals before executing any project. Ensuring a sustainable development needs people’s participation from initiation, as a central solution.

3. A long-lasting impact can only take place if innovative ways of engaging the youth of the region are experimented and implemented.

REFERENCES: • Chopra, Ravi. Uttarakhand: Development and Ecological Sustainability. New Delhi: Oxam India, 2014.

• Development, Institute for Human. “Uttarakhand Vision 2030.” 2018.

• All photographs, drawings and logos are by Compartment S4 • Project is executed by Compartment S4 • More information about the project can be viewed at www.compartments4.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vedanti Agarwal is an architect graduated from CEPT University in Ahmedabad, through her academic journey she also studied at the TU Delft University, Netherlands for a semester and interned at Hundredhands in Bangalore. She is now practicing at Compartment S4, a design collaborative co-founded by her and seven of her colleagues from CEPT. The firm works with a strong rigour towards providing sophisticated design solution from a participatory perspective in both the formal and informal sectors of rural and urban India. Their practice covers a range of initiatives including private and government projects, furniture design, construction workshops and curated publications and discussions. Vedanti is also an independent content writer and has worked with Matter, an editorial covering the trajectory of the architectural discourse, on a number of articles analysing contemporary architectural practices, their process and ways of drawing.

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MOBILITY AND THE CITY

NORTHEAST OHIO: DEATH BY CAR

DOMINIC MATHEW

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Cleveland. Lorain. Akron. Youngstown. Canton. These names may sound unfamiliar, but in their heyday, these cities of Northeast Ohio were part of the industrial powerhouse of Midwestern America. A population of nearly five million and a rich industrial past are what is left of Northeast Ohio’s former self [1]. The region follows a no growth-sprawl development pattern and struggles to look beyond its reliance on the automobile. This hurts those who cannot afford it, majorly communities of colour and those who are low-income. This article looks at Northeast Ohio’s outward expansion and the consequences of this planning.

Clevelnad, Ohio Image Courtesy: Ken Redding, Corbis/ Getty Images

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MOBILITY AND THE CITY

RISE OF NORTHEAST OHIO The incorporation of the major cities in Northeast Ohio happened between the early and mid-1800s. Following the start of shipping on the Great Lakes, the region soon established itself as a transportation and industrial hub.

The construction of the Ohio and Eerie canal in 1832 and the railroads in the 1850s cemented this status for a century. The location by Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River fueled the region’s rise, connecting the booming steel, coal and iron ore industry with automobile centers in Detroit (Michigan), steel mills in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), and the grains and steel industries in Buffalo (New York).

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

A map of landuse zoning in Northeast Ohio Image Courtesy: Prepared by the Stark County Regional Commission in March 2013. This was developed as part of the Vibrant NEO 2040 initiative by the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium Initiative

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MOBILITY AND THE CITY

Cleveland stood out for its economic transition. In the 1920s, it was the nation’s fifth largest city, attracting migrants from the rural South and immigrants from Europe looking for better economic opportunities [2][3]. It also produced many wealthy residents.

John D. Rockefeller, considered the wealthiest American of all time,

established his oil refining empire in Cleveland. Fellow businessmen like Frank Sieberling (Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company), Marcus Hanna (oil, iron and coal mining, and shipbuilding), Amasa Stone and the Van Sweringen brothers (railroads) amassed their fortunes in this region.

The Cleveland Arcade (1890) was one of the earliest indoor shopping malls in the US, reflecting the wealth and status of Cleveland. Image Courtesy: Author, 2019 Facing page; Top: The Flats is a mixed use industrial, recreational and residential area in Cleveland, Ohio that serves as ane entrance to the Cuyahoga River from Lake Erie Image Courtesy: Author, 2020 Facing page; Bottom: One of four Guardians of Transportation carved into the pylons on the Hope-Memorial bridge in Cleveland. These signify the importance of transportation to the region’s economy. Image Courtesy: Author, 2020

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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MOBILITY AND THE CITY

TRANSPORTATION TRANSFORMATION A key infrastructure for this wealth creation included transportation on land and water. The popularity of the water routes as a mode of passenger transportation was overtaken by the interurban electric railway system in 1884. These systems operated well in thickly populated areas with a constant supply of electricity and ran both express inter-city and local routes at affordable rates [4]. High operating costs and private competing interests ultimately led to the demise of the interurbans in the late 1920s. Electric rail companies replaced their street cars with buses, a more flexible and profitable option, which was a precursor to the rise of the car.

The transition to a car-dependent economy, aligned with the region’s de-industrialization, highway system development and segregationist policies [5]. The result? Wealthier white populations moved to racially homogeneous suburbs, while poorer communities of colour had no choice, but remain in the urban cores. This outward expansion without the accompanying population or economic growth led to Northeast Ohio perfecting a no growthsprawl development pattern. In the past

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

two decades, despite the population remaining constant, the total vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) increased by 21% [6].

Map showing the high reliance of public transportation among non-white users and their concentrations in Northeast Ohio. (low density represents 0 – 30% and high density is 30%+). Image credit: Author.

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MOBILITY AND THE CITY

EFFECTS OF SPRAWL Today, residents of Northeast Ohio spend more time commuting to jobs than they did in the past. Those without cars, take bus commutes that can be three hours long with multiple transfers, to get to work every day. Transit systems stretch themselves thin, trying to serve urban and suburban populations equally at unchanged funding levels. More than one-third of public transit commutes in Northeast Ohio take at least 60 minutes, compared to auto commutes in the

region that take less than 30 minutes [7]. This movement of jobs further away from where people live, pulls on existing infrastructure and makes it harder, especially for low-wage and frontline workers who rely on transit to get to jobs.

A Brookings Institution report in 2015, captured this outward-expansion trend, ranking 96 metropolitan areas in the US by the number of jobs proximate to where people live [8]. All Northeast Ohio metros ranked at the bottom, with the Cleveland metro coming in last.

Parking figures as a central theme for many business districts in Northeast Ohio. Housing is razed to provide for more surface parking. Image credit: Author, 2019.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Northeast Ohio’s sprawl is clear from the expenditure of its residents, who spend upto one-third of their income on transportation, mainly commuting to work [9]. This is sizeable considering the region’s inequities. Black residents in the Cleveland metro earn half the income of their white counterparts, are almost twice as likely to live in poverty and work in low-wage occupations [10]. The double blow of earning a minimum wage and a lengthy commute negatively impacts the upward mobility rates of these individuals and their families.

And, while this region has a rich history of public transportation, investment in these networks do not match the sprawl.

The share of public transit trips is only 3%, in sharp contrast, 84% of all trips are made by people driving alone [11]. This outsized representation of auto-users dictates the design of built infrastructure with the car as reference. The clamour for more parking infrastructure or street designs that favor higher speeds repeatedly reinforces the notion of the car as the sole path to mobility.

That is not to say that the path to carownership is easy. It is restrictive for individuals with poor credit ratings, lack of banking relationships and high

insurance premiums. Those buying used cars, over time, spend more in aggregate on constant repairs, fuel and insurance, compared to new car owners.

The poverty of the car-less is real since it locks people out of the economy. Even the arrival of new forms of mobility; ridesharing, bike and scooter companies, have kept up the spatial and racial divides, sometimes individually enforced or digitally determined. My experiences requesting rides on ridesharing apps, while being in minority or low-income neighborhoods have always resulted in higher wait times due to lack of ‘perceived’ demand in these areas or drivers who won’t pick up fares in these neighborhoods and cancel.

As the effects of this unsustainable development come to head, Northeast Ohio has embarked on creating strategies to counter the sprawl and encourage better land use, housing and transportation policies. A consortium of public, private and civic stakeholders developed a framework and vision to bring about this change by 2040 [12]. Several mobility and workforce initiatives aim to reduce the barriers that communities of colour face accessing and retaining jobs.

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MOBILITY AND THE CITY

CONCLUSION

Great Migration.” Cleveland Restoration

From a land-use and mobility perspective, Northeast Ohio is an example of what to avoid when regions develop. It serves as a reminder of the externalities that came with the rise of suburbia in the post-war era, undermining the economic competitiveness of places. The overbuilt environment that favors the car, keeps the most vulnerable populations from sustained economic development and

Society. Accessed May 3, 2020. https://

opportunities. If the operations of the interurbans were an indicator, strategies that foster densely populated areas with good transit and access to well-paying jobs will promote equitable growth for our current and future cities.

www.clevelandrestoration.org/projects/theafrican-american-experience-in-cleveland/ the-great-migration 3. Keating, William Dennis, Norman Krumholz, and David C. Perry. Cleveland: A Metropolitan Reader. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1995.

4. Fehlmann, Alfred Benjamin. “The History of the Interurban Railways of Ohio.” The Ohio State University, 1948.

5. Segregation policies included redlining; racially and ethnically identifying areas that formed the basis of institutionalizing discrimination in access to financial services, housing and land. Urban renewal projects; aimed at clearing blight in cities

REFERENCES:

and replace it with new development that at

1. U.S. Census Bureau; American Community

times removed entire neighborhoods. Gross,

Survey, 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table DP05; generated

by Dominic Mathew; using data.census.gov; https://data.census.gov/cedsci/; (3 May 2020).

2. The movement from the rural South was part of The Great Migration (1916-1970) that saw more than six million blacks move to the North, Midwest and West, for gainful employment in environments that were more accepting of different races. “The

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Terry. “A ‘Forgotten History’ Of How the U.S. Government Segregated America.” National Public Radio. NPR, May 3, 2017. https:// www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/aforgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-governmentsegregated-america.

6. Vibrant NEO 2040: A Vision, Framework and Action Products for Our Future. Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, 2014, p. 115.

7. Barkley, Brett, and Alexandre Gomes-

Pereira. “A Long Ride to Work: Job Access and Public Transportation in Northeast Ohio.” Website, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 23 Nov. 2015.

8. Kneebone, Elizabeth, and Natalie Holmes. The Growing Distance between People and Jobs in Metropolitan America. The Brookings Institution, 2015.

9. Housing and Transportation Affordability Index that provides both costs as a percentage of income at the neighborhood level, https:// htaindex.cnt.org/ 10. Warren, Kate. “How Can Cleveland Close Its Racial Income and Wealth Gap?” The Center for Community Solutions, 8 July 2019, www.communitysolutions.com/can-cleveland-close-racial-incomewealth-gap/ 11. Vibrant NEO 2040: A Vision, Framework and Action Products for Our Future. Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, 2014, p. 115.

12. Vibrant NEO 2040: A Vision, Framework and Action Products for Our Future. Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, 2014

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dominic Mathew is an architect-planner who works on addressing mobility and job-access challenges in Northeast Ohio with an economic development collaborative, the Fund for Our Economic Future. He manages The Paradox Prize, that invests $1 million workforce mobility pilots and aims to eradicate the transportation paradox of ‘no car, no job; no job, no car’.

Previously, he was part of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy’s (ITDP) India office. He has a Bachelor of Architecture from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India and a Master’s in Regional Planning with a focus on Environmental Finance and Impact Investing from Cornell University, Ithaca, USA.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

POST PANDEMIC INDIAN URBANISM Thoughts on Urban Planning, Policy and Design

KHUSHALI HAJI

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Within a situation of isolation and confusion, questions are on everyone’s mind: How is the economy going to cope with the crisis? Are masks going to become a fashion statement?

How sustainable are lockdowns? Was that sneeze I heard random or something more worrisome? Between these apparent life and death questions, one thought is particularly is predominant: Change is coming our way.

History has shown a strong co-dependence and connection between urban systems, pandemics and political contexts, be it the Black Death and the eventual end of feudalism, the Spanish flu and the surge of anti-British sentiment in colonial India, or the Cholera epidemics and the sanitation revolution.

What would then emerge as a result of the current pandemic?

Planetary Urbanism. Image courtesy of the author.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

THE INDIAN COVID CONTEXT In recent years, there has been a gradual push to create global ‘world class’ city-regions, which can attract foreign investment, especially in the reign of the Modi government. Consequently, expansion in agro-industrial export and resource extraction is transforming rural land use. Transport infrastructure like peri-urban airports and inter-state canals are booming across administrative

Moreover, capitalistic/political ventures that plunder the environment could easily lead us to another crisis. Arbitrarily given environmental clearance, building dams in the Himalayas without environmental studies for political competition [2] or using wildlife protected areas for cultivation, is dangerously exposing untouched landscapes, and increasing the likelihood of epidemics.

limits. Quite significantly, migration networks in India are dramatically

For tourist towns or pilgrimage sites,

altering connections between villages,

and regions bigger than Delhi NCR [3],

towns and urban centres. We now live

dependent on large tourism and foreign

in increasingly globalised, polarized

investment, such emergencies can

geographies that interweave even the

make a brutal dent in their economic

most isolated areas within a ‘planetary

sustainability. More alarming is that, if

urbanism’[1]. The concerns of such a

their economic systems collapse, the

perspective in times of pandemic are

cascading impact on their already fragile

manifold – especially in urban planning

healthcare or social systems will be

and policy.

catastrophic.

These ‘world class’ cities and their

In the Indian context, it is clear we are

services can only be afforded by a

battling something much larger than an

‘world class citizen’. Technocratic fixes

invisible enemy. Economic recession,

like ‘smart cities’ or ‘eco cities’ cannot

unemployment of millions of daily wage

do away with issues of rising inequality

earners, a lack of good public healthcare,

across class, caste, region and gender.

an ongoing water crisis, politics that

In times of a pandemic, such inequalities

use the pandemic to foster communal

become increasingly apparent.

tension, a sudden increase in reported

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

cases of domestic violence, and a lack of sanitation systems, among other concerns are attacking a fragile ecosystem. It isn’t merely the virus.

India fighting COVID 19.

Image courtesy of the author

The country, like the rest of the world, was not prepared for it.

And the repercussions of it are more often than not faced by those who can least afford the consequences.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

A SYSTEM OF PARTS There is greater worry yet that our biggest test is yet to come: climate change. This is where we will truly see the resilience of our networks. That then calls for a new plan of action. Here are a few speculations/suggestions in the realm of urban planning, policy and design at three scales: Inter-regional Scale With the notion of ‘planetary urbanism’, this scale becomes important to recognize. One distinct example is the current migration crisis, which has taught us to look beyond administrative citystate boundaries. Local impact comes from much larger networks like migrant populations, and is usually riddled with loopholes of central schemes at ground level.

A central scheme, the LPG scheme that provides cylinders to 8 crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana, involving deposits that are directed into accounts of the beneficiaries. But there are instances where people don’t receive payment in their accounts or are unable to sign up for it [4]. Likewise, the Public Distribution System (ration) notoriously CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

lacks supervision and accountability [5], and moreover cannot be availed by migrant populations in most states outside their home states. This calls for a distribution system that is universal, and can be accessed from any part of the country with a possible digital transition to aid transparency.

In a time when the GDP was already slowing down, the middle class too has been severely hit. One move could be to empower the MSMEs to support their labourers /employees. Post pandemic could also result in a boom of extraction and production to make up for lost time.

Provisions need to be made now to prevent exploitation of labourers. Much of the increase in inequality since 1991 has been a result of policies skewed in favour of capital and the privileged. For facilitating social welfare, provisions need to be made to protect people, not the market.

The Directive Principles of State Policy emphasized the achievement of justicesocial, economic and political. Article 38, directs the state “to secure and protect a social order which stands for the welfare of the people”. Some of these refer to: securing adequate means of livelihood to

A system of parts. Image courtesy: Shourya Dubey

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FEATURE ARTICLE

all citizens; the protection of the strength and health of the workers; to secure the right to work, education and public assistance in cases sickness; to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, especially the scheduled castes and tribes.

At an inter-regional scale, there seems to be a lack of direction in social welfare now, whether you look at the new labour reform laws (or lack of) [6] or the pitiable 1% expenditure of the GDP on public health [7] or the miserable proportion of students who have access to higher education. [8] We need educational reforms in schools that teach youth how to deal such crises, especially with climate change along the way.

There is a dire need to grow social infrastructure. But with increased migration of many income groups, it becomes important to do this in way that can be accessed inter-regionally with an acknowledgment of implementation gaps.

City/Town/Village A country like India is unfortunately too large to only have one set of CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

concerns. While the North-East will tackle annual floods, the Southern states will face water scarcity, and the North still handicapped in the midst of political unrest. Rural areas may need to focus on, amongst other areas, agricultural production while urban centres strengthen their ability to provide services. Empowered local bodies can quickly react to external shocks. This makes the city/ town/village level very important.

Urban centres usually provide more economic security than their rural counterparts, a reason why people throng to metropolises. Though rural areas employ 50% of the labour workforce, they contribute about 17% of the GDP. [9] Times like these make it urgent to strengthen rural areas, economically and socially, with urban rural synergies. For this purpose, jobs and educational opportunities must be created in rural settlements, regional centres, and small and medium sized cities.

It is also important to acknowledge that the new economy might not generate lots of low-skilled jobs. Automation, robotics and machine learning will replace labour

even as manufacturing shrinks and the

Neighbourhood

services sector takes over. Therefore,

Neighbourhood level now becomes

a new responsibility for the city/town/ village emerges, not one where jobs are created, but where those who cannot find jobs are protected too and taken care of, with consideration of the informal sector that employs 80% of the workforce. [10]

the most important scale to address and support effective implementation, from healthcare to education to food distribution. In times of systematic shocks or social distancing, the closer you can avail basic amenities, the more contact and supply disruption can

One proposition is ‘urban-rural

be avoided. The idea of a 15 minute

consolidated cities’ to integrate urban

neighbourhood is slowly gaining huge

and rural areas, policies that stimulate

popularity. In our neighbourhoods, we

interchanges between urban and rural

might already have some pieces in place.

areas, and support the endogenous development of underdeveloped areas. Revitalization projects, livable community projects that emphasize the volunteerism, creativity, and cooperation can go a long way to improve a foundation for local developments, improvement of the quality of lives, financial support for the vulnerable social groups and job creation. Within this prospect of decentralization and local regeneration, we need to form networks that are symbiotic but not co-dependent.

We need systems of connectivity that can support themselves in larger networks but as easily shift into isolated mode, like public spaces that can double up

The local kirana shops, much less glamorous than supermarkets, have played a large role as smaller, decentralised spots that distribute food and basic necessities. Another interesting piece could be decentralised E-Mitra kiosks, an initiative by the Rajasthan Government, in urban as well as rural settlements. These counters aim to provide services related to various departments in an integrated and easily accessible manner without any need for running around in government offices and guide people through digital mediums.

as shelters or distribution areas for the homeless and migrants.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Some other pieces though, need to be brought in place. A focus on social welfare in policy and design can be seen through at this scale, with healthcare that is affordable and available, decentralised at a neighbourhood level, (which will hopefully should be a priority after the pandemic). Moreover, these situations propagate fear and erratic behaviour, even long after they are over.

[11] Mental health clinics could also be distributed like anganwadis across neighbourhoods.

With the predication of greater workfrom-home jobs, neighbourhoods can have community work spaces with productive work/study environments, in the form of community libraries or discussion rooms. Community gardening could also be encouraged in times of food chain disruption.

Strengthening this scale in a way could facilitate dialogue between communities through such spaces. As a nation that always boasts of its various cultures and sub contexts, it’s about time we started to empower them.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Now that we’re past the purpose of a lockdown, to flatten the curve and buy more time, we need to move to more contemplative questions. How do we protect economic networks after the country opens? Have we reached a peak of that urban density, of concepts like ‘triangulation’ and chance encounters that once drove urban design thinking?

Does medical safety necessitate hampering public rights to the city by isolating urban areas and designing them to control and impede movement?

How do we safely grow out of a period of authoritarian control?

This piece may seem like a patchwork of strewn ideas, but it primarily aims to stir discussion and imagination. It’s a long way to go before mass vaccination starts.

And as history shows, pandemics have the capacity to bring about huge change.

We need to think of these changes now and the implications they bring.

In times of stagnation and recession, we need empathetic leaders that not just inspire, but encourage innovation and responsibility, both. We need the propellers and doomsayers, the idealists that don’t sit back and say, let’s see how things work. Because then we very well may keep sitting there.

Fortunately, we are Indians: and by tradition, we hardly let anything go to waste, not even pandemics. Whether our response afterwards will be a new pan-Indian festival of banging pots and pans or forming urban systems of greater resilience, is to be speculated, diligently and responsibly.

afford refills’. Business Standard. April 20, 2019 5. Mahalingam, B & .D.P, Akash. (2016). Major Drawbacks of Public Distribution System in India-A Review. 4. 2321-613.

6. Roychowdhury, Anamitra. ‘Labour rights are in free fall’. The Hindu. March 18, 2020 7. ‘Domestic general government health expenditure (% of GDP)’. World Bank.

REFERENCES: 1. Brenner, Neil & Schmid, Christian.

(2015). ‘Towards a new epistemology of the urban?’. City: analysis of urban trends. 172 – 175. DOI: 19.

10.1080/13604813.2015.1014712.

2. Rahman, Mirza Zulfiqur. ‘China and India’s race to dam the Brahmaputra River puts the Himalayas at risk’. The Conversation.

September 26, 2016 3. Allirajan, M. ‘Delhi NCR overtakes Maharashtra as India’s top FDI destination’.

The Times of India. March 4, 2019 4. Yadavar, Swagata. ‘The poor get LPG

8. Shariff, Abusaleh. (2013). Inter-Regional and Inter-Generational Differentials in Education in India.

9. Sunder, Sushruth. ‘India economic survey 2018: Farmers gain as agriculture mechanisation speeds up, but more R&D needed’. Financial Express. January 29, 2018.

10. ‘Informal economy in South Asia’.

International Labour Organisation. Accessed May 18, 2020.

11. Moukaddam, Nidal. ‘Fears, Outbreaks, and Pandemics: Lessons Learned’. Psychiatric Times. November 15, 2019

cylinders under Modi’s PMYU but they can’t

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Khushali Haji is student of urban design at CEPT University, Ahmedabad. She is interested in writing about environmental and social issues, and understanding a frustratingly layered context of politics, socio-economic vulnerabilities, stories and cultures. She infrequently updates her blog at https://alturbanate.wordpress.com/. For discussion over this piece, you can mail her at khushali.haji.bud16@cept.ac.in

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ON LOCATION

EXPLORING YONSEI-RO: A PEDESTRIANFIRST CULTURE IN SEOUL VAISHNAVI L NARASIMHAN

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Image credit: Seoul Metropolitan Government, accessed from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/seoulwins-lee-kuan-yew-world-city-prize

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ON LOCATION

Beautiful beaches, thriving cities, ancient temples, remarkable natural settings reflecting the varied beauty of all the four seasons add to people’s friendly counterpoint to South Korea’s natural charms. The Korean war, known as the “forgotten conflict”, which ended in 1953 helped shape the modern world of South Korea that it is now. Its landscape is dotted with high-speed rails and towering skyscrapers, and the country is a global leader in broadband and officially ranked as the safest country to travel with very less crime rate. Recently, it gathered global attention for the famous Oscar win of its movie “Parasite” showcasing that there is more to South Korea and its culture beyond what we know.

South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, located at the heart of the Korean Peninsula, is currently a hub of action and energy with a 600-year strong historical foothold.

Seoul has boomed in the last 50 years to become the world’s 10th-most economically powerful city and secondlargest metropolis[1]. Blazing night lights, the dazzling k- pop and k-dramas, mouth-watering street food and a beautiful natural landscape have further turned it into a creative and engaging city.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

BACKGROUND In the past, just as in any other fast urbanising city falling prey to rapid globalisation and consequent suburbanisation, Seoul built a transportation system that was automobile oriented, with an increase in registered automobiles including single occupancy vehicles that led to severe traffic congestion, scarcity of parking space, poor urban linkages and other social concerns such as air pollution and high travel time, and high accident rates. In the early 2000’s the government started reforming Seoul’s public transportation system and prioritizing pedestrian rights and efficient use of road networks. In 2006 the transportation affairs department announced its very first plan and opened discussions on the introduction of a “transit mall” as a solution to strengthen transportation demand management, enhance the public transit experience, and improve the pedestrian movement in congested areas of the city – an urban decongestion technique experimented since the 1960s and 1970s in European and North American cities[2]. By 2012 the Seoul Comprehensive Plan for Transit Malls came up with a new vision called, “Walk-Friendly Seoul”, and

proposed a transit mall suiting the City’s transportation policies, after a lot of research and study from its top research organisations[3]. Seoul has envisioned and implemented transportation policies that make an easily accessible and enjoyable Seoul, with interesting placemaking ideas.

the first “transit-mall” in Yonsei-ro. A program committee was organized to communicate with local residents, shopkeepers and the interested parties and float a detailed design to create an interesting public realm. Subsequently, following frequent public hearings and orientations, combined inputs were gathered from varied user groups -

After thorough and circumspect analysis of its land use, floating population, public

• Shop owners

transit users and traffic congestion, the city selected 10 areas and initiated

• Students

• Street vendors • The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

Location of Yonsei ro. Image credit: Chang Yi, (2014) “Urban transformation through citizen participation in Seoul “

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The involved parties had varied opinions on transit malls as it may lead to travel inconveniences, revenue reduction and slowing down of business of local parties.

The program employed consistent communications to convince the residents and parties involved, as well as drafting legal documents and resolutions to resolve conflicting ideas[3]. In January 2014 Yonsei-ro was opened, closing one of the busiest and most traffic prone zones for private cars and allowing only pedestrians and few public transport systems like trams, buses, light rails.

It follows the classic definition of a transit mall – a street or set of streets and their streetscape in a city or town in which movement of automobile is prohibited or restricted to a great extent and only public transit systems, bicycles, and pedestrians are permitted. The program involved an urban stretch of 550 metres on Yonsei-ro between the very famous Yonsei university and the Sinchon subway station and another stretch of 450 metres of Myeongmul street, a popular hangout spot amongst the university students also known for its very happening nightlife[3]. The objective of the city was to make this place a secure and buzzing space for the students and pedestrians.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

MY EVERYDAY AT YONSEI-RO I have gotten to experience Yonsei-ro every day for more than a year now as I study in Yonsei university and I commute using public transport. I commute on the Seoul Metro and get down at Sinchon station and instantly feel the complete transition from the other side of Seoul.

I enjoy every moment as I walk through this pedestrian friendly environment every day to my university. I see my fellow mates enjoying their e-bike and bicycle rides happily here, not worried about the private vehicles. Further to ensure safety of pedestrians the movement of public transport is limited to a speed of 30km/ hr or less[4]. Taxis are not counted as public transport and so they are only allowed between midnight to 4am before the public transport commences. Those necessary vehicles for the commercial stores are allowed from 10AM to 11AM and 3PM to 4PM in a day. The space transforms into a completely pedestrian zone on weekends, from 2 pm on Saturdays to 10 pm on Sunday, all the public buses passing through Yonsei-ro detour around the area making the zone free for all the fun filled activities and weekend events[4].

THE DESIGN OF YONSEI-RO

“Get the design right and people will walk in almost any climate.” – Jeff Speck

View towards Yonsei University from Yonsei-ro. Image credit: Author

Walkability Leaving aside private cars, Yonsei-ro street is well connected streetscape with avenue of trees that creates a shaded green environment in the summer and colourful flower-loaded trees in spring and autumn with blooms of cherry blossom. The street lights are also designed in an innovative manner with hanging planters. Yonsei-ro’s narrowed

two-way lane and 8 metre wide sidewalks were planned based on the movements and patterns of pedestrian flow by identifying the congested points like the subway entrance, pedestrian crossings etc. and the design was implemented with varied widths of sidewalks[5]. These are indeed barrier free, comfortable wheelchair access and follow the norms of universal design and with tactile

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The wide sidewalks of Yonsei-ro. Image credit: Author

Bus stops at Yonsei-ro. Image credit: Author CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

pavement throughout for the visually challenged. The two bus stops on either side of the street can be easily accessed from the sidewalks as they are of the same level. The electrical distribution boxes are all relocated[3]. The street kiosks all have a standard size and design and they are located in appropriate pockets. Yonsei -ro is a perfect example of a healthy, sustainable urban environment in Seoul city.

Street kiosks of Yonsei-ro.

Image credit: Author

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THE MIXED-USE CULTURAL HUB Yonsei-ro now transforms to a plaza with strong urban character used by students, artists and performers for stage events and festivals. During festivals, and events on weekends the streets are decked up and have a festive spirit, attracting large crowds and creating interesting interactive pockets of space. This friendly and safe street is the concept behind a creative and new cultural expression to Sinchon that creates a strong sense of place[3]. The stretch gives you a medley of shopping experiences from clothing, shoes, K-beauty, K-pop souvenirs, eat outs like street food stalls, pop-ups, food trucks etc. Even the tourists and foreigners are attracted to this place as it hosts restaurants that cater all possible international cuisines.

“Cities were created to bring things together.”

– Jeff Speck Additionally, seating spaces and street planters work as markers in the

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

demarcation of the boundary between the road and sidewalks. People here use the seating spaces for a multitude of activities such as • for talking with friends and interaction • as waiting space • eating pockets • resting spaces etc.

Street seating is provided close to the food stalls with trash bins at required intervals ensuring the street is clean in spite of all these hubs of activities. The city in turn provides separate trash bins for recyclable waste.

BENEFITS OF YONSEI-RO TRANSIT MALL In addition to successful implementation of wide sidewalks, walkability improvements and traffic control, the revival of the campus culture is considered as a landmark step. With Yonsei-ro’s designation as a transit mall, Sinchon, the larger urban district, is showing signs of going back to its image as a place representing the youth of the time, with lesser pollution and

Top: Performance zone of Yonsei ro Middle: Street View of Yonsei ro Bottom: Seating spaces near the performance zone Image credit: Author

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Yonsei-ro, before and after.

Image credit (before) - http://english.seoul.go.kr/enjoy-leisurely-stroll-around-sinchon/ Image credit (after) - Author CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Street performance. Image credit: Author

greater interaction. The transit mall has translated itself into a public gathering space and its establishment as a space to express opinions, hold peaceful demonstrations and friendly discussions in turn has attracted more people and a healthy development of revenue[3].

CONCLUSION The success of Yonsei-ro is proof that uninterrupted walkability, a strong imageability and a successful pedestrian- friendly urban setting can create vibrant places for people and that we need to look beyond the architecture of buildings and look down upon the streetscape, placemaking and rhythm of people, reflecting the sentiments of Jane Jacobs’ ‘Eyes on the street’. However, as is the case 76 77

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when any new system is instituted, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, particularly in the early phases of a project. Making it a pedestrian friendly zone with minimal buses sometimes

does make it a bit hassle for transit drivers as the pedestrians cross the street at all locations, even though dedicated pedestrian crosswalks have been provided at required intervals.

Statistics indicate the success of Yonsei-ro. Image credit: Chang Yi, (2016). Walkable and Bikeable citiesLessons from Seoul and Singapore.

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“Whatever good things we build, end up building us” - Jim Rohn Further enforcement of the transit mall rules and etiquettes are necessary to avoid excessive jaywalking or drivers entering Yonsei-ro illegally. There should also be more efforts to analyse these issues to achieve the real goal of transit malls – that is, to improve urban functions and the quality of the peoples’ lives. Expectations are high for the transit mall system to bring about a meaningful change to our society.

REFERENCES 1. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/50reasons-why-seoul-worlds-greatest-city/index. html 2.Chang Yi, (2014) “Urban transformation

through citizen participation in Seoul” , 37.

Retrieved from https://library.krihs.re.kr/ dl_image2/IMG/06/000000026756/ SERVICE/000000026756_01.PDF. 3.Joon-Ho Ko, (2015) “Development Program for Yonsei-ro Transit Mall” Retrieved from https:// seoulsolution.kr/en/content/developmentprogram-yonsei-ro-transit-mall 4. Chang Yi, (2016). Walkable and Bikeable cities- Lessons from Seoul and Singapore.

Centre for Liveable cities, Singapore and the Seoul Institute. (pp 38-45).

5. Jon,K.K., Lee,H ., & Samey ,W. (2020) Seoul, republic of Korea: rejuvenating neighbourhoods by creatively repurposing urban infrastructure and buildings. In Kim.S.S., Lee.K.Y., Lim.J., & taehoon (Ed.), The hidden wealth of cities (pp.341-347). Washington, DC 20433: The World Bank

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vaishnavi L Narasimhan is a young architect and urban designer with over 8 years of professional and academic experience in India and currently pursuing her Masters in Architectural Research in Yonsei University, South Korea. She is one among the few Indian woman architects based in Korea. She is pursuing research on ageing in place for elderly and the influence of biophilic design in human psychology.Her professional experience and research work comprise various areas such as architectural and interior design of homes, schools, hospitals and old age homes and works on urban design like pedestrian friendly public spaces, cultural heritage and tourism. She is also a freelancer who works on gardening, green - recycled decor. As an urban enthusiast, she records her day to day life in South Korea with a researcher’s and photographer’s eye. This article is also an outcome of her travel research regarding pedestrianisation and cultural tourism in Seoul and most importantly the first-hand experience of a foreigner in a public transport and walk - observe - travel mode.

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10 URBAN DESIGN LESSONS FROM SYDNEY

ABINAYA RAJAVELU AND ANJANI RAO GANDRA

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

The opera house, the harbour bridge and Bondi beach - this is what Sydney is to everyone at a first glance. What Sydney has to offer however goes beyond these destinations on a tourist map and the city is proving time and again to be one of the most liveable places in the world.

It is a global hotspot with a thriving economy, home to one of the most culturally diverse populations. This has been the result of many years of meticulous planning, strategy, design, and implementation to create a city that is not only great for business but one that is also cherished by its residents.

Although how Sydney was established through the dispossession of the indigenous community is far from ideal, there are great lessons to be learnt from what the city has come to be View from Rose bay towards CBD. Source: Sydney.com

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1

MAKE NATURE ACCESSIBLE

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken” - Leo Tolstoy Sydney has tirelessly worked towards not only maintaining this link but continuously strengthening it. Nature trails and coastal walks connect many kilometres of the city providing seamless access to the city’s countless beaches and national reserves.

Continuous shaded pathways, rest stops, seating, drinking water dispensers and clean public toilets dot these trails; consistent signage makes it easy to enjoy the walk without having to be glued to your phone to follow directions.

Recent developments have also prioritised foreshore public access in the form of promenades with entertainment venues along the shoreline. Projects like The Bays Precinct and Barangaroo Reserve are proving to be successful waterfront transformations of former industrial lands into vibrant mixed-use places.

Coastal walk. Source: lonelyplanet CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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2

PUBLIC SPACES THAT GO FROM XS TO XL

Public space forms the core of life in every city. The importance of abundant and high-quality public spaces in making happy, inclusive, and healthy cities is becoming more evident during the Covid-19 lockdown. One of Sydney’s successes in delivering great places is providing open spaces at various scales equitably distributed throughout the city.

These open spaces range from pocket parks, local parks and off-leash dog parks, to large citywide parks that measure up to 190 hectares and attract daily users from a regional catchment.

The city also has hardscaped public plazas amidst skyscraper offices that become stages for socialising by office-goers.

Large outdoor public plazas are provided in shopping precincts to take a break in between a shopping spree, sit down and watch the performance of a busker.

The varied typology, scale and deliberate programming of these open spaces ensure that there is a space for every age, gender and ethnic group in the City. It also offers an array of experiences while travelling through the suburbs of Sydney.

Facing page, Top: Rose terrace, Paddington. Source: dijones.com.au Bottom: Centennial park, Sydney. Source: www. centennialparklands.com.au

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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3

TRAVEL LESS AND ENJOY MORE, OR EVEN BETTER MAKE TRAVEL ENJOYABLE

Sydney’s recent urban strategies put great emphasis on creating a wellconnected city, where people have better access to jobs, shops and services within 30 minutes of their homes. To make this 30-minute city a reality, the city is investing in making public transport more efficient including the addition of fast metro lines, above grade light rails and optimised bus routes that integrate with a network of walking and cycling routes.

Sydney also encourages sustainable transport connections and promotes active transport by improving the pedestrian environment and making traveling by foot and cycle something to look forward to. City strategies such as ‘the green grid’ focus on integrating active transport grids with high quality open spaces to facilitate joyful travel, increase access to public spaces, and promote biodiversity.

We were born to move—not merely to be transported.

- Charles Montgomery, Happy City 2013

Bike path and bike infrastructure in Sydney. Image credit: Cameron Spencer/ getty images

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Walking routes. Source: meritonsuites.com.au

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LISTEN TO YOUR COMMUNITY - PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Sydney is one of the world’s most cosmopolitan metropolises which people of varied ethnic backgrounds call their home. To make the city equitable for its diverse residents and to promote social cohesivity, Sydney delivers a community strategic plan (CSP) every ten years where people set the vision, short, and long term goals for their place. This CSP then becomes the highest level of planning adopted by all the councils in the city, and all other strategies follow in this path laid out by the community.

Apart from the overarching CSP, every large scale project undertakes extensive

consultation with the local and regional community to ensure the delivery of successful places.

Sydney’s immigrant population is growing rapidly - In 2019, the net overseas migration contributed to 62.5% of the Australian annual population growth [1] and this continuing trend will make Australian cities home to the most diverse population in the world. In order to make Sydney work for the past, present and future population, multilevel measures are taken to ensure the making of an inclusive city.

Community consultation for Sydney 2050. Source: Cred Consulting

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Tertiary planning degrees in the city encourage students to address the relationship between Indigenous people, their deep connection to land, their practices and urban planning. In order to future-proof the city, Sydney undertakes

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independent studies to understand the place-based needs and aspirations of diverse communities and how they use urban spaces. These collective learnings contribute to how the city is shaped and governed.

THE CITY ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO BE MORE HEALTHY AND VICE VERSA

One of the first things you will notice as a visitor to Sydney is the vast number of people working out on the streets and in public spaces. Sydneysiders are obsessed with personal fitness and the city facilitates this lifestyle by providing continuous walking trails, running paths

and outdoor fitness equipment. To encourage recreational fitness, the City is investing in a network of walking/ running paths, dedicated cycleways, and open spaces along rivers, creek corridors and foreshore promenades.

Bay run, Iron Cove. Source: timeout.com

Outdoor gym in Bronte. Source: timeout.com

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

6

NEW WAYS TO MAKE THE OLD THRIVE

Buildings with historical significance are valued assets in Sydney. Strategies such as the ‘Heritage floor space’ scheme by the City council offer incentives to conserve and restore. With relevant planning and development controls, new design in old settings and adaptive re-use are common approaches to maintain the value of these buildings.

Many examples in Sydney prove that preserving heritage and making it relevant to current needs provide long-term social, environmental, and economic viability. Historic lanes of the Rocks host some of Sydney’s oldest bars, elite hotels and cosy cafes thereby significantly contributing to the city’s visitor economy.

Heritage building adapted into restaurants, the Rocks, Sydney. Source: sydney.com

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In addition to the physical built environment, the State Heritage register recognises important landscapes and natural features that provide links to the indigenous culture. Councils encourage conservation programs that allow Aboriginal populations to take part in planning and decision-making processes to protect places and elements they connect with. Natural reserves,

botanical gardens, waterways, and rock engravings are preserved to allow tourists and citizens to interpret their culture. Furthermore the city provides cultural education by substantially investing in public art installations that pay homage to the past while highlighting its integration with new developments.

Aboriginal art along Parramatta River Walk. Source: Ryan Tracey, flickr.com CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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A HAPPENING CITY IS A HAPPY CITY

Sydney hosts a plethora of arts and cultural events throughout the year that enrich the souls of its people. The City actively improves access to forms of creative expression by encouraging art in public places and supporting free art and cultural events. Sydney’s enthusiasm for self-expression is key to it becoming one of the world’s famous spots for ‘Mardi gras’, an event that screams inclusivity, equality and

diversity. Events like ‘Vivid Sydney’ transform the entire city, its buildings, streets and iconic structures into canvases for art and music. Annual events like ‘Sculptures by the sea’ temporarily convert a portion of Sydney’s coastline into a month-long art exhibition that encourage people to take a walk along the beaches and engage with art in a natural setting.

Mardi Gras 2020. Source: outofoffice.com

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Public art is a great tool to activate a place and promote social connections through it. To take full advantage of this during this Covid-era where people’s safety take the front seat, Sydney has recently announced the ‘Streets as shared spaces’ grant to help facilitate temporary activation of streets to

promote safe travel for all modes of transport. The grant encourages the use of public art as a tool in transforming urban streets. Integrating art and culture with the city in creative ways helps mitigate old and new urban challenges and builds long-term resilience within the community.

Sculptures by the sea, 2019. Source: qantas.com Facing page: Vivid Sydney, 2019. Source: blackofhearts.com.au CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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8

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE MATTERS

Social infrastructure is essential for the health, social-wellbeing and economic prosperity of communities[2]. The social infrastructure provided by Sydney goes beyond essential services like education and healthcare. It includes facilities such as libraries, community centres, participatory arts & cultural spaces, theatres & entertainment venues, open spaces, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces within a walkable catchment of every home. This ensures that every person has an array of choices in how they use their city based on their personal interests and once again contributes towards higher standards of living.

Sydney is also constantly inventing ways to provide more such infrastructure to future-proof its neighbourhoods in lieu of the growing population. Some of these recent approaches include providing incentives for developers to integrate social infrastructure as part of their developments; integrating social infrastructure as part of key redevelopment projects in key areas and co-locating them as part of upcoming infrastructure like Metro stations; and enhancing and improving access to existing infrastructure through public private partnership models.

New Darling Square library. Source: https://news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/ CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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ONE CITY CAN HAVE MORE CITIES IN IT

Globally, cities are experiencing growing rapidly and expanding in size. This is likely to create challenges such as increased congestion due to people traveling to the city centre for jobs and services, inequitable provision of infrastructure and facilities, etc.

Sydney’s population is forecast to swell by 80% by 2054[3] and this potentially means massive growth in the physical fabric of the city. To mitigate this, the Greater Sydney Commission has developed the ‘Metropolis of three

cities’ strategy that presents the vision and actions for creating three centres or cities within the Greater Sydney region. This ensures controlled growth while still providing improved transport infrastructure, affordable and inclusive housing, increasing economic growth and creating great places for its locals.

This decentralised approach presents great opportunities in paving the way forward in creating liveable cities without curbing growth or expansion.

Source: Metropolis of three cities strategy

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10

VIEWS, VISTAS AND FOCAL POINTS

If you are an architect, planner or urban designer, chances are you have read Kevin Lynch’s book ‘The image of the city’, where he talks about how a city’s identity and inherent sense of navigation is strongly connected to its focal points, views and vistas. It is safe to say that Lynch was right considering that Sydney’s sweeping views of the harbour and beaches, jacaranda-lined avenues, landmark structures such as the Queen

Pyrmont walking bridge. Image credit: Richard F. Ebert CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Victoria building impart a specific character to each place, thereby making it easy to move around the city.

Strategies such as ‘Better Placed’ guide the look, feel and function of every public project in the city holistically shaping it into a grid of well-designed high functioning spaces.

Central park, Sydney. Source: arcspace.com

Darling harbour. Source: darlingquarter.com

REFERENCES: 1. 3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Sep 2019 2. Clarence Valley Cultural and Community Facilities Plan 3. Sydney green grid, Central District spatial framework ABOUT THE AUTHORS Abinaya Rajavelu is an architect and urban planner with professional experience in India, Australia, France, and The Netherlands. Her passion is building people-centric cities with a focus on creating happy and healthy communities through participatory planning and innovative engagement methods. Abinaya currently works at Cred Consulting in Sydney as an Urban Strategist at the intersection of social planning, community strategy, and placemaking.

Before joining Cred, Abinaya worked with Urban Design Collective, India, and as a ‘Jane Jacobs fellow’ with The Centre for Living City, New York.

Anjani Rao Gandra is a young architect and urbanist with experience in India and Australia.

During her study at The University of Sydney, she proposed to city councils - a strategic plan for Sydney’s second CBD and an urban regeneration plan for industrial lands. Research topics that interest her include public space typologies and wayfinding. Having worked simultaneously as an architectural assistant at Vision Group Architects, Anjani’s experience allows her to understand user needs and design built environments at different scales. She is well travelled across many cities in the USA, India, New Zealand and Australia, and enjoys taking note of their design and infrastructure. Currently based in India, she is keen to explore her passion to create successful interventions through approaches of research, design thinking and stakeholder engagement.

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EXPLORING VITALITY IN URBAN FORM THROUGH TIME NAWIN SARAVANAN

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Engagements with ancient cities are challenging because what we witness today is a narrative which has evolved over generations. Such cities derive their character from the patterns of myriad activities that unfold in spaces - both public and private. This evolution of character however is not merely something that is to be appreciated through a sense of nostalgia or revisited as if on a time machine; it also forms the DNA and more often than not can be read as a guidebook to handling many of that issues that challenge our cities today. Unfortunately though, instead of learning from the past, rapid urbanization of the 21st century has many a times created conflict between the past and the future. A rich past is not a guarantee for a better future but rather it calls for an intervention in the present on the lines of what it should transform to be in the future. In other words, respecting the past yet bringing in new dimensions for the future.

Tirunelveli from the sky. Image credits: Puhaipadam Babu

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Tirunelveli in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India is an ancient city on the banks of the river Thamirabarani and is believed to be more than 2000 years old. The city has nine distinct zones, each developed at various time periods by different rulers and each catering to a specific need/ function. As a result, each zone has its own unique character derived from its function and yet all of them are mutually dependent when viewed at the city scale.

The oldest part of Tirunelveli is called ‘The Town’. The Nainarkulam lake which is an indispensable element of an irrigation system, the Nellaippar temple on its bank constantly reminding everyone about the city’s origin and the car streets abutting this temple’s perimeter which functions as the city’s primary economic driver – this is the quintessential mental image of Tirunelveli town. This mental image draws its character from the physical, economic and social synergies between these three entities – a lake, a temple and a perimeter road.

Tirunelveli’s nine character areas.

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“Unlike many old cities such as Madurai, where the first settlement is along the banks of a river, the first settlement of Tirunelveli is on the banks of a lake. And the natives were very clever about it. Tirunelveli was never a city built with a political statutory

1

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The feeding canal and the exit canal have a filtration point to collect the solid waste before the water reaches the irrigation fields.

The canal at the north bund is a crucial element of the local ecosystem providing shelter for various migratory birds and wetland species.

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A part of the western bund is inaccessible due to encroachment and weeds growing along the edge.

The southern edge is used for parking by visitors to the temple and car streets. It is also used as a temporary storage area for goods arriving to the nearby shops.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

but with an ecological statutory – protecting a water body which is an indispensable part of a robust irrigation system. Building the Nellaippar Shiva Temple along the banks of Nainarkulam ensured the survival of the irrigation chain for several centuries.�

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The canal is the source of water for irrigation as well as for the livelihoods of the nearby settlements.

Despite being part of the Central Business District, the site still retains its rural character.

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Previous efforts to activate the lakefront have failed since they did not respond to the various activities already happening around the lake.

The eastern edge is used as a dumping ground by the users of the market and the godowns.

View of the lake and the city from the northern edge.

Agriculture is still the major occupation in the settlements along the lake edge.

Map of the Town area showing local markers and tourist markers.

Numbers correlate to views capturing local character on the facing page.

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‘The temple based economy, the economy-based place making, the place-based activities and the associations these activities have generated through time is what makes the car streets.’

However, the post-independence era

An unfortunate consequence of all

brought in a shift in power structures

these changes is the severance of

and Tirunelveli’s Town began to see

connect between the city and the lake;

transformations in favour of economic

Nainarkulam moved from being the city’s

gains. The car streets which once

lifeline to just another water body in the

hosted the royal family members and

city. The sudden boom in commerce

priests became homes for merchants.

in the post liberalization era had every

The vernacular typology of houses

one scurrying to make the best use

slowly vanished into cashboxes and

of the opportunities that opened up.

the administrative capital became the

A wholesale market was built along

Central Business District for the city.

the eastern edge of the lakefront by the merchants from the neighbouring

On the other hand, Nellaippar temple,

areas. Its strategic positioning at the

with its strong identity has managed

entry point to the city made this market

to retain its character despite all the

the gateway for all agricultural produce

changes around it. While the car streets

into the city. Being a massive wholesale

still accommodate the various festivals

enterprise, there is no civilian footprint

associated with the temple, over a

in the zone and this further deepened

period of time, the diminishing sphere

the disconnect between the lake and

of influence of the temple led to several

its residents on the eastern end. With

built structures of heritage value such

no reason for Tirunelveli residents to

as the mani mandapams and entry

visit the lakefront, it became the new

gopurams in the car streets being

dumping zone for market waste and a

commercialized and modified.

garage space for incoming trucks.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Nainarkulam is not just another water body in an irrigation system. It supports a wetland ecosystem comprising of several indigenous flora and fauna.

About 100 species of birds visit the lake annually. Solid waste dumping near the wetland, open defecation, sewage discharges and other impacts of urbanization are slowly disturbing this ecosystem, apart from of course, damaging the indispensable irrigation network itself.

Monsoon rains / Courtallam season July -August

End of Monsoon September-October

Nainarkulam’s annual water cycle

The city’s past glory as well as the Nellaippar temple’s draw has in some ways aggravated the situation too. The car streets despite their conversion from residential to commercial use continue to burst at its seams. There isn’t enough infrastructure to cater the pilgrims, many of whom come from faraway places in cars now which need to be parked somewhere too. The inadequacies in infrastructure and urban services management is leading to the dumping of waste into Nainarkulam is impacting both the lake ecosystem and the larger irrigation system. In short, the Nainarkulam lakefront became the backyard for the market and the town area further alienating the citizens from this space; a vicious cycle had set in.

Rainy days of Tirunelveli November -January

Depletion of water February -March

Agni natchatram April -June

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CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Nainarkulam lake edge conditions.

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Since the parked vehicles act as an visual barrier, the embankment is used for defecation and drinking.

Transects through Town area to the south of the lake

East-west transect through the northern part of the lake

East-west transect through the southern part of the lake CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

During festivals, pilgrims park their vehicles along the lake edge and use the embankment for cooking, dining and sleeping.

With residences built till the lake edge, the lake is accessible only through the backyard of these residence. The water from the lake and the canal is indispensable for their livelihood.

Over the years, the embankment near the garages have evolved into private owned space of the mechanics. They use it to dump the waste and for defecation.

Since the lake edge is both physically and visually inaccessible, people from the neighbourhood use it as a dump yard.

Since there are no proper facilities inside the market complex for the load men, temporary food stalls can be seen along the lake edge. Also load men use the embankment for defecation

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‘Cityscapes have to be put through periodical evaluations to allow healthy evolution and growth.’

Over the years, several proposals have been made to address this deteriorating situation such as the development of the Nainarkulam lakefront in 2005 and Kudils for pilgrims in 2010 but with no success. Even the Smart City proposal which has the Town area labelled under its Area Based Development component appears to be lacking in soul and identity; it does not evoke the character, form and vitality of this area. As someone who was born and raised in this city, I strongly felt the need to reinstate the city’s urban form as an ecological statute. For this, a critical approach that would lead to a multi-pronged response to the context is considered prerequisite.

The responses spread across 6 phases of development are presented here.

To re-establish the connect between the city and lake, it was evident that the key is to make the lakefront a part of the city’s everyday activity cycle. The reason everyone avoids the lakefront is the presence of the market. The market

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

was built on its present site for three reasons- first was its close proximity to the landmark Nellaippar temple; second was its proximity to the neighbourhood where the commission brokers and load men who own and operate the market reside in; and third, its strategic location which allows it to be accessed by all the truck routes without entering the core city area. Over the years, the market’s contribution to the city’s economy has become crucial and it has also become a landmark by itself. Therefore, negating the first reason for its current location while being cognizant of the other two reasons allows for the relocation of the market to a parcel of land to the north of the lake. This in turn allows the opening up of the lakefront in the southern part of the lake near the Town area to multiple possibilities.

The car streets around the Nellaippar temple bear the entire weight of the city’s CBD. Besides this they also function as the pilgrim zone for the temple, the

public realm for the neighbourhood and sometimes even as the kitchen and dining hall (Annathaanam hall) for the temple. The commercial establishments on the car streets are an ecosystem of their own - with large enterprises at the top of the chain and small shops and vendors at the bottom. These large enterprises, similar to the market, were established in the car streets for their proximity to the temple. Moving them to the lakefront to the current location of the market would lighten the load on the car streets without disturbing the economy. It would also allow the small businesses and vendors to thrive better by drawing on the temple crowd.

Another key issue is the lack of infrastructure for the pilgrims. A pilgrim hub comprising of Annathaanam halls, a performance area and accommodation for the pilgrims will complement the commercial hub. Having such an important building associated with the temple along the lakefront will ensure proper maintenance by the authorities. It also brings in a new identity and activity to the lakefront.

With new additions along the lakefront, there is a need to check encroachments

of these activities onto the lake as has been the case in the past with the market. Currently, an organization called Agathya is working with citizens to raise awareness about the significance of Nainarkulam and engaging them in several activities such as bird watching, alternate agriculture practices and conserving the lake’s bund. An institute to monitor the lake and to educate the locals about the lake, its history and significance can go a long way to ensure that the ecosystem is conserved. The northern bund which is the only bund which left untouched is conserved as an ecological park, housing the regions’ indigenous and almost extinct flora and fauna. The institute will offer courses on ornithology, alternate agriculture practice and ecology to the locals as well as other interested individuals.

A trail is set along the lake which narrates the lakefronts’ multiple characteristics and its evolution through ages. The lake edge closer to the city will have promenades, food kiosks, parks and play areas to create a recreational neighbourhood space. This part of the lakefront will be flexible and open to accommodating various temporal needs of the city.

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A PROPOSAL TO REINSTATE LOST CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE LAKE AND THE CITY IN DIMENSIONS OF SPACE AND TIME

The vision for our urban form is the vision for our lives.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Agathya is a NGO operating in the region. Its major function is to survey the migratory birds in the regions around the lake. They also educate the local people about their ecosystem and teach them the means of conserving it through their way of living.

This building acts both as an administrative block as well as an institution to learn about the birds and indigenous agriculture techniques. Agathya holds responsibility for the entire lakefront – it’s maintenance and monitoring.

The commercial activities in the car streets are relocated to the old market site. The commercial hub comprises of flagship stores, retail stores, hawker modules, food courts, recreational parks, promenade and a temple complex.

This commercial hub activates the lakefront and ensures its survival. Also, this reduces the traffic flow and crowding in the car street thereby opening it up for further activation.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

The temple complex has an Annathaanam hall, a performance centre, an exhibit area, accommodation blocks and the temple’s administration wing.

In its ground floor, the Annathaanam hall has a kitchen and resting hall, where volunteers and pilgrims can rest.

The first floor has the dining area. The Annathaanam hall is crucial as it is the major crowd magnet to the complex.

In a larger urban context, the role of architecture in isolation might seem insignificant but the impact generated by a single building conceived out of a larger vision can be much bigger.

The lack of macro-level planning and growth predictions causes our cities to run in a constant state of lag with regard to the delivery of infrastructure and services and/ or conflict with

regard to their relationship with the environment. It would be worthwhile for our city planning agendas to start focusing on creating active public spaces where the contextual connections are both acknowledged and strengthened.

Cityscapes have to be put through periodical evaluations to allow healthy evolution and growth. The vision for our urban form is the vision for our lives.

All images courtesy the author unless otherwise mentioned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nawin Saravanan is an architect with a great love for streetscapes and a keen interest in creating walkable cities. Not surprisingly, he enjoys wandering around the city, tasting street food and discovering new trails. He strongly believes that only a city which respects its green and blue networks will sustain and that education is the first step towards creating a better city. Apart from work, he loves creating posters for the movies he saw the previous day. Nawin has an undergraduate degree in architecture from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai and currently holds an associate position at Urban Design Collective.

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EKAMRA KSHETRA HERITAGE WALK An Illustrated Guide SEEMA MISRA

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

In ancient Hindu scriptures, the temple city of Bhubaneswar was referred to as the Ekamra Kshetra, which translates to ‘The land of one mango tree.’ Today Ekamra Kshetra refers to the ‘Old Town’ area of Bhubaneswar. Dotted with centuriesold temples, heritage ponds, cubbyhole shops, faded vintage houses, and criss-crossed with ancient, narrow, winding lanes, Ekamra Kshetra seems to have frozen in time. While the rest of the city has moved on and urbanized, Ekamra Kshetra has tenaciously clung to its old-world charm.

Mukteshwar Temple Archway I llustration credit: Author

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Steeped in history, this magically layered Ekamra Kshetra area is slowly garnering attention – localities and visitors alike are looking at this space with renewed interest. The beauty and splendour of its ancient temples and the rejuvenating possibilities of its numerous water tanks is re-capturing imaginations. For the spiritually inclined, this place is of special value, as it is the ‘Guptkashi’ - meaning the holy place, where legends claim when the Pandavas were searching for a glimpse of Shiva, Shiva first concealed himself in Gupt Kashi but later fled from them further up the valley to Kedarnath.

I have grown up in Bhubaneswar, with temples always dotting the horizon.

However, they faded into the background, and evoked a feeling similar to viewing many shops adorning the curbs. Many years later, a love for urban sketching urged me to take a second look at this city of my birth and appreciate the beauty of its intricately carved temples.

I would often leisurely walk through this ‘Old Town’ soaking-in its unique aura and pausing frequently to sketch a broken temple, or a small pond hidden beyond a sharp-turn of the road. To me, every stone seemed like a poem in

Ancient, narrow, winding lanes of Ekamra Kshetra. llustration credit: Author CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

India’s Best Kept Secret: Ekamra Kshetra llustration credit: Author

praise of Lord Shiva! Every faded façade and tumbledown building - a story in making! And I felt the urge to share this marvellous feeling. So, here in a nutshell, is a short sketch of how you too can experience this magic.

7000 temples built here over the years of which only 350 survive today. Spanning from 3rd to 15th century AD, the temples here are a testament to the journey of Kalinga architecture and its evolution.

WALKING TRAIL – A TO-DO ACTIVITY

EKAMRA KSHETRA – A BRIEF INTRO The mandala patterned ancient city was built around the Bindu Sagar tank which is said to have been constructed in the 7th century. Once upon a time, this area was comprised of 45 villages and divided into asta-ayatana or eight sacred precincts [1]. There were about

Take a trail through this historical area based on the Ekamra Heritage Walk [2] itinerary. This guided walk is organised every Sunday morning. It is an initiative of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Odisha Tourism and Bhubaneswar Development Authority.

Route: Mukteshwar Temple → Parsurameswar Temple → Bindusagar Lake → Ananta Basudev Temple → Dharmashala → Ratha Danda → Curzon Mandap → Lingaraj Temple 118 119

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Mukteshwar Temple Complex. llustration credit: Author

Mukteshwar Temple Start at the Mukteshwar Temple. It is said to have been built in 970 AD [3].

Here you’ll get to see Lord Shiva in the form of Mukta – the Lord of Salvation. A divinely sculpted archway leads into the temple courtyard. Stop to appreciate the intricate carvings on this archway

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

– they exhibit a distinct Buddhist influence. Google ‘Sanchi Stupa’ and compare the architecture style!While circumambulating the temple, stop to notice the Marichi Kund. Legend has it that bathing in this tank can cure infertility.

Parsurameswar Temple A short walk up the road will take you to the Parsurameswar Temple. Built in the 7th century, this is among the oldest temples in India. Look for the unique Linga sculpture outside. The uniqueness of this Linga stems from the fact that it has 1008 smaller Lingas carved on it. Pay special attention to carvings on the temple walls. These carvings depict Mahari dancers and devdasis who

As you walk through the temples look out for the Kirthimukha sculpture – a recurring theme across Indian temples. Meaning the glorious face, the ‘Kirthimukha’ sculpture depicts a fierce monster face with a gaping mouth and huge fangs.

performed for the Lord.

Kirthimukha sculpture llustration credit: Author

Linga sculpture llustration credit: Author

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Bindusagar Lake From here, a winding trail flanked by red walled houses leads you to the Bindusagar lake, which is believed to have been built around the 7th to 8th century AD [4].

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Bindusagar Lake llustration credit: Author

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Ananta Basudev Temple The Ananta Basudev temple is one of the few Vishnu temples in this area. It faces the Bindusagar lake. This temple boasts of the second oldest temple community kitchen in Odisha, the first being at the Sri Jagannath Temple, in Puri.

The kitchen has been operating since the 13th century. Cooking starts as early as 5 am. The temple cooks come from about 200 families living here.

There is a separate kitchen building for each dish manned by a family of priests. Food is cooked in earthen pots on woodfire. Each item is cooked as per the age-old, traditional recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation and use indigenously grown ingredients. All the pots are virgin clay pots, used just once. And after the food is cooked and served the pots are broken. In a day about 5000 pots are used.

Watch ancient culinary traditions unfolding before you. A truly surreal experience.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Temple kitchen of Ananta Basudev Temple llustration credit: Author

Dharmashala Walking up the road, brings you to an ancient building with a wide arched gateway ‌ through which you’ll glimpse a red-coloured colonial building.

This is called the Dharamshala. The Dharamshala has been providing accommodations to pilgrims from around the world since time immemorial. Spare some time to explore this colonial building and get a feel of what living quarters were like in days gone by

Laidback vibes of Ratha Danda llustration credit: Author

Ratha Danda From the Dharmashala walk along the Ratha Danda, so named because of the Rukuna Ratha Yatra. In this Yatra, Lord Lingaraj travels in a multicoloured chariot down the Ratha Danda. Flanked by local shops and by lanes leading to more temples and houses this is the ideal place to shop for souvenirs and try out Oriya sweets and snacks. A must eat

is the Kora Khai – a caramelized coconut sweet offered to Lord Lingaraj. Stroll along slowly to feel the rhythm of the place.

While walking around this area you’ll notice that many of the temple boundary walls are made of long dark Laterite stones; colloquially known as the Mankara Pathara (Monkey Stone).

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Lingaraj Temple glimpsed from the Curzon Mandap llustration credit: Author

Curzon Mandap

Lingaraj Temple

Before entering into the Lingaraj Temple, walk to an elevated viewing tower called the Curzon Mandap located along the temple boundary wall near the North Gate. It is said that Lord Curzon on being denied entry into the temple complex (which allows only Hindus) got this viewing tower constructed for himself.

As photography is prohibited inside the temple, this makes the best spot for some selfies and birds eye shots of the temple complex.

After taking a sneak peek from the Curzon Mandap, it is time to step into the magnificent 1000 years old complex of the Lingaraj temple. The mukhya dwar or gate of the temple is flanked on either side by two huge carvings of a lion crushing an elephant. Inside you’ll find a multitude of minor shrines in varying sizes. The main deity worshipped here is ‘Tribhubanesvara’ from whom the city derives its name. You can’t miss the imposing 180-feet tall main temple, the temple of temples in Bhubaneswar. Do not be in a hurry while exploring it. Check every nook, every corner and understand

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

the rituals and traditions. After exploring the temples, you can buy small metal snakes as memento from the market outside.

BHUBANESWAR – THE INTRIGUING SMART CITY The Orissa government is focused today on making Bhubaneswar a smart city.

Simultaneously, the efforts of INTACH REFERENCES: 1. Source: Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO. ‘Ekamra Kshetra – The Temple City, Bhubaneswar, 2014’. Available at: < https://whc.unesco.org/en/ tentativelists/5916/ > 2. Source: Ekamra Walks, 2020. Available at: <https://www.ekamrawalks.com/heritagewalk-old-town > [Accessed 21 April 2020].

3. Source: Smith, W., 1994. The Muktesvara Temple In Bhubaneswar. 1st ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass Publishers Private Limited, p.20.

and conservationists has led to a fresh investment in beautifying and preserving these monuments. It is essential for city dwellers and travellers to engage meaningfully with the culture and heritage of historical cities. Community initiatives such as heritage walks and conversations are the best to keep the ancient stories alive in the tapestry of urban city living.

4. Source: Prothi Khanna, Nupur. 2018.

‘Forward Together: A Culture-Nature Journey Towards More Effective Conservation in a Changing World’. Paper, US/ICOMOS Symposium, San Francisco, California.

Available at: <http://openarchive.icomos. org/2297/1/Prothi-Khanna-2019-USICOMOS-Proceedings-.pdf> 5. Source: Kumar Das, Manas. 2017. History Of Odisha (From Earliest Times To 1434 A.D.) Available at: < https://ddceutkal.ac.in/ Syllabus/MA_history/Paper-16.pdf>

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Seema Misra is an artist and writer who is most inspired by nature, architecture, and people.

She has been a part of the communications industry for over nine years, and currently works with a Maldivian hospitality company, Atmosphere Hotels and Resorts. She also takes up freelance children’s book illustration and graphic design gig in her free time. To unwind, she watches world cinema or travels across it. She talks to her plants and sometimes people as well. But more often than not, you will find her curled up in her favourite corner reading a book while sipping strong coffee.

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ART AND THE CITY

HOW SENSIBILITY FOR THE ARTS IS TAKING OVER INDIAN CITIES

SHRUTI HUSSAIN

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Singapore artist Yip Yew Chongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interactive wall art for the Lodhi Art Festival.

Image credit: St+art India Foundation

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Indian cities have long been venues for the theatre of life performed with maximum energy. With a lack of adequate breakout spaces in our cities, a typical Indian will always find him/herself in a crowd, jostling into another soul constantly.

The marked lack of unfettered access to open spaces in Indian cities implies there is lesser scope for art to flourish in the public realm, instead positioning it as an elitist affair. For the longest time, to experience art in the city was to admire colonial or traditional architecture, sculptures of historical and/or political figures depicting their heyday. Now, however, artists, are steadily taking over, infusing art in cities and introducing people to art expression and its therapeutic effects.

A small experiment to alter the perception of art as pricey, incomprehensible and non-essential, is called the Art Mandai held in Pune. The Marathi word ‘mandai’ translates to vegetable market. Participating artists sit alongside vegetable vendors in the central market of the city called the Mahatma Phule Mandai - a colonial structure, and sell their work at nominal prices. “The experience is akin to buying vegetables by the lay person in a public space, thereby taking art to people who have not been exposed to it all”, says founding member and artist Sujata Dharap.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Local artists show and sell their art at the annual Art Mandai event in Pune like how vegetable vendors would sell their produce in a bid to make art as easily accessible as vegetables to the general public and to increase their affinity to art. Image credit: Shirish Ghate, Art Mandai

Art when situated in a hyper social milieu, where thousands of people can experience it is what would constitute art in the City. Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lodhi Colony is one such example replete with splendid artworks and murals on its walls by Indian and international artists, each

with a different theme and story. These interventions have been initiated by the St+art India Foundation, an NGO that believes in making democratizing art.

The area was declared Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first public art district by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in 2019. Other 130 131

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examples, though temporary are art

or a cheerful wall in their vicinity. But

events like Biennales. “Those are some

as Mumbai artist and social worker

instances where art is viscerally in the

Rouble Nagi’s initiative demonstrates,

public and the common mass connects

art can used as a media to connect

with it and truly owns it. If you visit the

people and further causes such as

city during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale you will be surprised to see the energy there,” says Sculptor Indranil Garai, joint director of the Pune Biennale Foundation that focuses on public art projects.

children’s education, imparting skill to women, public hygiene, etc. She begins by painting the hutment walls in bright colours. As the residents around grow curious about the project, they begin interacting with her, opening up about their real problems. Problems which span

Art aside, it is quite understandable that

from why they are unable to send their

those living in the country’s slums would

kids to schools despite free education

be more vexed about livelihood issues

or the lack of avenues for women to

rather than having an attractive sculpture

improve their skills. Addressing this Nagi

The striking mural by transgender women from Delhi with the Aravani Art Project.

Image credit: St+art India Foundation CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Nepali artist H11235 uses photorealism and bold stokes to talk about river pollution in Delhi’s Lodhi colony. Image credit: St+art India Foundation

focusses on sit down sessions with the

that is seen from the iconic Bandra-

parents to understand better, and deeper

Worli Sealink. Taking ownership of one’s

their issues. Essentially, it is about

built environment is a sign of an evolved

changing mindsets in these slums

society, of people who refuse squalor and take living with dignity seriously. Giulia

Videos on Nagi’s Foundation website depict happy residents, pleased with

Ambrogi, Italian Art Curator and one of co-founders of St+art India states, “The

the facelift of their otherwise decrepit

awareness of your public space and the

surrounds. One sprightly girl talks about

pleasure of interacting with it changes

how residents now feel responsible

completely. The sense of belonging and

for the upkeep of their neighbourhood

pride generates a completely different

and desist from littering. A couple of

attitude toward maintenance of public

boys express their pride in living in the

space.” What she observed is that these

brightly painted ‘basti’ or settlement

places feel more secure because people 132 133

ART AND THE CITY

Wall art by the Pune Biennale Foundation for the D. P. Road street design project in Pune.

Sculptures made from junk by the Pune Biennale Foundation for the D. P. Road street design project in Pune Image credit: Author.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

now notice their surrounding, open their

scraps are tied to the shops around. For

eyes, and have a sense of belonging to

example, a mother and child near a baby

a space that was previously ignored. .

supplies store, a robot in front of a toy

There is an indirect and valuable sense

shop etc. The aesthetics connect with

of empowerment that comes with it.

the human senses instantly, encouraging exchanges of words or smiles between

A city is not smart simply if it has good transportation or Wi-Fi or better accessibility for a larger number of its citizens, but truly when a city becomes valuable in itself, to its inhabitants.

While culture can be an intangible concept, through art, it becomes tangible because people can look at the results of art and expression in a more direct manner instead of having Wi-Fi every where claims Ambrogi. That

strangers and promoting a society connected physically and in real time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an emotion elusive due to the current situation brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the flip-side of these invigorated areas also means that gentrification is a looming eventuality.

If in private hands, street art can make the rents go higher as it becomes a more friendly, community oriented and hip area to live in.

is a reason why many of the Smart City Corporations founded under the

Cities are associated with chaos, crowds

governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 Smart City Mission

and ironically, loneliness in the middle

have paid close attention to how art can

of this crowd. People begin feeling

help them become achieve their goals.

alienated, thus giving rise to mental

When Pune designed the pilot street

health issues. Ambrogi explains how

design, that has been much lauded, art

graffiti art originated as people began

played a significant role. It can be seen

appropriating the public space. With the

in the pleasing landscape and also in

very fabric of the city being sociologically

art installations by the Pune Biennale

disconnected, he justifies his presence

Foundation.

by putting his name out there.

Garai explains how the various themes

Sujata Dharap, echoing Ambrogiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

of sculptures made from junkyard

perspective, claims that Art in the city 134 135

ART AND THE CITY

is cathartic. The entire art experience is obscure; one can’t measure it and at the same time one can’t say nothing is happening. But sometimes cities go overboard. ‘Visual cacophony” as Dharap calls it can be equally disturbing. There will be a change in direction if a body of artists, architects, designers is appointed in every city, she feels. Artists have also called for stricter regulations by governing bodies so that projects allocate some part of their budgets for art and not pay just lip service to the idea.

Though India does not have a welldefined art movement, there is a surge in public art practitioners and a wave of interest and recognition for public art. Art, according to Nagi serves as a springboard for confronting issues that continue to face the human race today.

“What does art do for people – art gives you happiness which is above every other happiness”,says Dharap. It is a process, an evolution in the city. And it happens slowly with the Lodhi Colony housewife who takes a different route every day to buy vegetable so that she passes by new murals, the collegians who are proud that their colony now shows up on Google

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

maps, the school girl from the painted Mumbai slums who is now a champion for cleanliness and the surprised western tourist on Pune’s pilot street design project who couldn’t believe he was in India, art is touching a chord with city dwellers and becoming an intrinsic part of their lives.

Artisits Yok and Sheryoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wall in Lodhi Colony with characters inspired from Indian streets. Image credit: St+art India Foundation

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shruti Hussain is a Pune based Architect, Journalist and Independent Researcher. She covers urban issues and has worked on EU and DAAD projects with the University of Pune and has also been the Executive Editor of Quality Edge, an Architecture and Construction magazine.

Shruti has been associated with FailedArchitecture.com, BBC South Asia Bureau, CNBC TV18 and Sakal Media House. Having studied Architecture from University of Pune and Mass Communication from Symbiosis International University, her interest lies in the intersection of Urbanism, Social Sciences and Media.

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MOTION CAPTURED

GETTING LOST IN FOUND PLACES

AAKASH SELVAN

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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MOTION CAPTURED

Imagine you are a city and that you would need to choose a favourite place. It shouldn’t be what people consider their favourite or that is popular but something that the city personally would hold close to its heart. Now put that place before you.

What do you see?

I found a place that connects two parts of a city.

A place that so many different people used in their own accord. A place that didn’t hold just one meaning but represented a city in its entirety. I found a place that could essentially be deemed as the city itself. In fact, you couldn’t call it a place as it was too small an area, only accessible by foot. It was as if you did not have your feet on the city but a few feet above it. Sometimes when the wind was too much, you could hear the waves splash and it felt like you were sailing. There was something about this place that even when so many different routes were available people wanted to pass through this particular “place”.

If Udaipur could tell you its favourite place it would be this bridge. The Daiji footbridge.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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MOTION CAPTURED

city CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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MOTION CAPTURED

pla CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

ace 144 145

MOTION CAPTURED

thres CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

shold 146 147

MOTION CAPTURED

peop CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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MOTION CAPTURED

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ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER Aakash Selvan is an avid story teller who likes to explore the relationship between people and their environment through his lens. He is based in Coimbatore and not uncannily chooses images over words as a preferred mode of communication. Follow his stories on Instagram @thoduvanam

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FEATURE ARTICLE

SCHRODINGERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S URBANISM : IS THE CITY DEAD OR ALIVE? NAVEEN MAHANTESH

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Nazca lines in Nazca Desert, Peru

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FEATURE ARTICLE

NOTHING IN BIOLOGY MAKES SENSE EXCEPT IN THE LIGHT OF EVOLUTION[1] The Nazca lines are large geoglyphs in the Nazca desert, Peru, which cover around 50 sq km of land area. Some shapes are single line forms that run

A similar morphology of expansive white lines on a flat land is seen as an operational tool to organise and operate ground traffic in airport yards. This is the

up to 350m long. They are made visible

simplest tool for organising program and

by definite morphologies of shallow

dividing space without having any built

incisions made in the soil sometime

form, IF the lines are gamified [3] . The

between 500 BCE and 500 CE [2] , and

rules, sometimes implied or otherwise

are mostly visible from a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view.

mandated with the system of white

The lines do not offer any purpose or

lines can propose civic conduct. Large

context, yet display intent.

parking lots are often organised by white

Wellington international Airport, New Zealand. Image source: holding-pattern.tumblr.com CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

The stain of the film Dogville. Image credit: Lars von Trier

lines arrayed on the ground. A layout of hopscotch, when overlaid over a zebra crossing, might result in some people hop, skip and jumping across the road.

The film Dogville provides its characters with a simple rule of recognising white lines on the ground as definite opaque boundaries. This displaces the viewer, who is outside this particular frame of reference. As the narrative unfolds within a stage of white lines, the viewer is witness to a surreal urban environment of overlapping complex programs and social situations.

As the Lockdown1.0 began in India on 25th March 2020, the rules of social distancing were still fragmented. The city witnessed the arrival of white boxes in places of essential transaction to enable ‘social distancing’.

“The last time I had seen such ‘social distancing’ in a public space was at Juhu Beach in 2012. The beach has a grid of light poles and the circle of light beneath each light pole would not intersect with the adjacent one. It would create just enough space for a couple to site within the private unlit place between two circles of light. A layout of light poles informed a layout of couples on the beach.”

While the layout of light poles on a beach allows an organic organising principle to unfold in a public place, the white boxes on the ground follow the rules of a children’s colouring book. Is this the unit of a new urban form that arrays each pixel of urban congestion at 6 ‘distance from each other?

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Social distancing circles at Domino park, New York. Image credit: Marcella Winograd

Homeless shelter with social distancing at Las Vegas. Image credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Nothing in Urbanism makes sense except in the light of social congestion, triggered by an aspiration to occupy an environment that is completely manmade. ‘Hustling and bustling cities’, like New York, London, Mumbai, are seen as model urban centres, because of their ability to nurture congestion. ‘Culture of congestion’, ‘programmatic collisions’, ‘gentrification’, ‘social intercourse’ are desired metaphors of such urban environments. Decongestion in cities is mostly for traffic and slums, to further enable planned and consumable congestion. It is hard to imagine the urbanism of social distancing that does not look apocalyptic or abandoned. So, have we arrived there?

come back from Germany and had tested positive for Covid-19. The neighbourhood was getting used to being in a lockdown and now it was sealed down with a four-hour notice. Our street was in the containment zone, along with the ‘red’-ioactive house. The case had in fact been detected a few weeks back, and until the day of the announcement everyone in the neighbourhood was going about their business quite normally. People were coming out for their morning walks, vehicles were plying as usual. Until there was a map. Suddenly, all boundaries seemed radioactive[6]. The streets, the sidewalks and the rangolis that adorned them. All turned radioactive. The map had deemed them so.

“CONTAINMENT” OR “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE MAPPED?”

I’d shared the location of my house on the Google map with anyone who has ever visited my house since I’ve moved there a couple of years back. And every delivery aggregator knew the location of my house. I’ve been a voluntary data point among a field of data points within this city. But this time, it was different.

Our house was mapped to be identified as a ‘red zone’. It changed the rules of the urban environment, without asking first”

Google maps has colonised our location and movements[4] in more ways than we can imagine. We serve as a data point that is infinitely mined, in exchange for visibility and way finding. The relationship seems transactional and consensual.

“In early April, my house became a part of a containment zone[5] in Bangalore. A couple, few houses down the street, had

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Once a containment zone is identified, its streets are cordoned off. Barricades and sentries, the architecture of containment, is in place by the next day morning. A white line on the ground is no longer sufficient. An area of 100m radius with involuntary prisoners of urban containment is established. Essential services are allowed to pass through.

What are the new rules? A WhatsApp group is made of all the households in the containment zone, managed by the police. All the phone numbers for essential services is shared in the WhatsApp group and shall be available at the doorstep by delivery. The residents

await for the manifesto of containment, to be delivered in the WhatsApp group.

Not all sentries are policemen. The contained public keep a suspicious eye on each other. The exercise of containment has given a reason for the people within to look outside their windows, with fear and vigilance. Each move is noted. Each window is a lookout point and WhatsApp group is the reporting ground. The neighbourhood is a panopticon like no other. The urbanism of containment is one of fear, surveillance and control. Fear, however, has a shelf life.

Map of the containment zone, with the infected house marked in red. Image credit: Author CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

The barricade at the containment zone. Image credit: Author

Reporting Neighbourhood watch. Image credit: Author

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FEATURE ARTICLE

“NOSTALGIA HAS NEVER FELT SO CLOSE” “Today I woke up with heavy sense of nostalgia. I had dreamt of the life in cohesive middle class neighbourhoods from the 1990s. The scenography of the dream was a combination of the social atmosphere in Sai Paranjpye’s film ‘Katha’ and Phani Ramachandra’s Kannada film ‘Gaveshana maduve’. As I woke up, I realised I had nowhere to go. I, was marked ‘red’ on the map and the stark reality of the neighbourhood came rushing by. The nostalgia shifted immediately from my childhood to a time

that was three months ago. A moment that what we now appreciate as ‘normal times’. Nostalgia has never felt so close.

Can one feel nostalgic about a pandemic? I wonder if there will be a time when I will go and stand in a white box on the side walk, once all this is over? White boxes that made you feel secure and distant from your neighbours, who were probably feeling the same in the adjacent box, 6’ away. Though transitory, the white boxes serve as a layout of refuge. The notion of security, albeit imaginary, is comforting.”

Chawl from Sai Parnjype’s film ‘Katha’. Image credit: Sai Paranjpye’s Katha | Devki Chitra CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

“SHOW ME 15’ WALL AND I’LL SHOW YOU A 16’ LADDER” “Two days into the containment, the barricades and the walls seemed negotiable and less formidable. ‘A watched barricade, never resists.

Probably, becomes negotiable.’ The residents approached the wall in the evenings to test its formidability. The police at the chowki had stopped frowning at this. We looked at the other side of the wall, where ‘urbanism’ unfolded, while we remained ‘contained’.

People were out on a walk, with masks and empty grocery bags. The middle class neighbourhood was still compliant with the rules of containment.

But the rules, apparently, were not absolute. There were a few people who weren’t playing by the rules at all.

The barricades, apparently, were less formidable than the sand castles on a beach. A group of 20 labourers from a construction site within the containment zone, were jumping across the barricade early morning and late evening on a daily basis. It turned out that the containment was an illusion. The barricades at the other end of the road (without the police chowki) had turned out to be mere props. The barricades and the police chowki, were complicit in an act of security theatre[7]. Who were the audience? Were we the unaware citizens of Dogville?”

‘Maze of barricades and razor wire’. Image credit: AP Photo/ Mukhtar Khan

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The banality of the barricades is real.

This begs an introspection into the methods that are employed to maintain a city under containment. If legal codes of conduct and all architectures of containment are meant to fail, the systems of enforcing containment of a city must be outside of the rulebook.

INVOLUNTARY PRISONERS OF URBAN CONTAINMENT The city as we knew has changed and its architecture is re-purposed. The popular thesis of architecture, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;form follows functionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is dismissed, for all forms are now dedicated to the same function, to contain patients of the pandemic at safe distances. Anything with a roof, from stadiums to spaces below the flyovers are now make-shift hospitals.

Meanwhile, the people who are tucked into the blind-spots of the city, forming the heaviest social footprint, are insecure. In times of social distancing, density is demonised. City as a place of opportunity and refuge for the migrant workers is no longer so. The city cannot be a home for everyone, it has proved to be another place of transaction. When the transaction stalls, the morphology of the city seems to contract, squeezing out an exodus of a large population.

All roads, now, lead away from the city, which is bleeding itself of the people it cannot sustain. The exodus presents a moment of transition for the city where its urbanism becomes existential. Whose city is it? And what is the urbanism of a city that gets abandoned? Is the city dead or alive?

Bombay Municipal Corporation workers prepare an isolation centre for COVID 19 patients at the NSCI dome during the nationwide lockdown, imposed in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, at Worli in Mumbai. Image credit: PTI Photo/Kunal Patil CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All roads are leading away from the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Image source: Google Maps

Outpatients shifted to temporary facility under the Hindmata flyover to avoid overcrowding. Image credit: PTI

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“WHO AM I?” “Using Face ID in the iPhone is seamless in unlocking the phone and other transactions, until you wear a mask.

Which, is now as common as wearing footwear. The masks have become such a common attire, that I forget I’m wearing it. I constantly find myself looking at the phone, thinking “its me.

You don’t recognise me?”. Its a while before I realise that it is the mask blocking my face and not the angle of my hand, holding the phone towards my face. All of this act in one scene, is performed in front of a store owner is who is busy washing his hands before he ‘facepalms’ himself.

PS: Fingerprint recognition will be rendered pointless once wearing gloves become mandatory” The internet recognises multiple identities of a person and provides various worlds to inhabit. The mode of consuming fiction is now thriving in video games, after going through literature, graphic novels and films over the past few decades. The boundaries between the real and the virtual have probably never been so blurred. If online gaming was active before, it has now ‘increased CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

25% more in February on a popular online gaming website called Steam’ under lockdown conditions. [8] When everyday normalcy becomes a figment of imagination, the internet offers an alternate choice. The ‘free roam’ feature in the SpiderMan Playstation 4 version, allows you to roam around New York City, when the lockdown doesn’t allow for it in the real world. Within the matrix, the flaneur is still alive, social gatherings are possible and the urbanism, through long lines of code, is extremely immersive.

“In a touching and unexpected show of community, thousands of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn players gathered on April 11 within the digital world of Square Enix’s online role-playing game to pay tribute to the player known as Ferne Le’roy, who recently died from complications related to COVID-19.” [9] ‘WHERE AM I?’ OR ‘WHICH FILM ARE WE LIVING IN RIGHT NOW?’ The imagery of the urbanism in a lockdown is extremely polarising. The city is a witness to many unprecedented and surreal events unfolding simultaneously that it becomes hard to comprehend the times we are living in.

Spiderman roaming free in New York City in Playstation4. Image credit: Insomniac games/ Sony Interactive Entertainment

Final Fantasy 14 players pay tribute to a fellow gamer who died after contracting COVID-19.

Image credit: Square Enix

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Are we living in an urbanism we see in Dogville? White lines on the ground being absolute forms of inhabiting a place. It used to take time for the morphology of a city to settle down and become its finger prints. Will the white lines, over time, settle into a stage for other urban performances?

Or, does the authoritarian nature of the white lines, surveillance and containment propose an Orwellian urbanism of 1984?

Or, are we in the Matrix? Constantly plugged in, with the possibility to defy gravity, but choosing not to for the yearning of normalcy.

Or, is it Escape from New York? Where an expendable (or an ‘essential worker’, within the context of the film) is the protagonist within a narrative of escaping containment?

Or, are we witnessing an anti-thesis to the Rem Koolhaas’ essay called ‘The voluntary prisoners of architecture’?

The Instant city by Archigram, proposes an urbanism that is generated from the residue of a large event that descends upon a city and then leaves. What does the pandemic leave behind on the city?

What is the evidence from the current times that the city decides to preserve?

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Who inhabits the city that’s left behind?

The essential workers? The migrants? Or ones who have enough social capital to be neither. Probably the best definition of the times we live in is…

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” A tale of two cities - Charles Dickens …or is the paragraph the best definition of all times present?

REFERENCES: 1. https://online.ucpress.edu/abt/ article/35/3/125/9833/Nothing-in-BiologyMakes-Sense-except-in-the-Light

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines

that make people feel more secure without

3. Gamification is the application of game-

doing anything to actually improve their

design elements and game principles in

security. - Bruce Schneier. - https://www.

non-game contexts. It can also be defined

schneier.com/essays/archives/2009/11/

as a set of activities and processes to

beyond_security_thea.html

solve problems by using or applying the characteristics of game elements.

4. Census, Map, Museum - Imagined

8. https://www.technologyreview. com/2020/04/07/998552/why-thecoronavirus-lockdown-is-making-the-internet-

communities - Benedict Anderson - http://

better-than-ever/ - https://steamdb.info/

jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/AndersonCensusMap.

app/753/graphs/

pdf

9. https://globalnews.ca/

5. https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/

news/6832247/coronavirus-video-

Containmentplan16052020.pdf

game-funeral/?fbclid=IwAR2poVQ-

6. https://www.academia.edu/42772502/ It_will_be_a_long_howling 7. Security theater refers to security measures

y2a3g-sCTsAalKVIQMIKRQQILDRN_ AL5LkuBSFZZHe6uA3uxmY0 - https://youtu. be/19g85-kSONM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Naveen Mahantesh is an Architect, Curator & Urban Designer. His practice lies at the intersection of art, architecture and the city. He is involved in creative research with a love for urban life and everyday phenomena. His past projects includes, working with teams of artists, philosophers and curators in generating projects about built forms, human settlements and the public realm, while considering the city as a studio. His projects provide alternate perspectives for the banal routines, take inspiration from urban myths, and engage within the ecologies that the city thrives upon. His recent curatorial projects include an exhibition about speculative-urbanism called ‘Could be urbanism’’ at KHOJ-International Artists Assc., New Delhi (2018) and ‘Backstage of Biology’ - on the institutional archives of NCBS-Bangalore, called(2019). Naveen has been the City as Studio fellow at Sarai (2013) and a recipient of INLAKS-ISCP Curatorial Fellowship in Brooklyn, New York City (2015). His propositions have been part of Sarai Reader Exhibition ‘09 and INSERT-curated by Raqs Media Collective, Mediating Modernities at Srishti School of Design, FOA-FLUX-art|life|Technology Symposium at Swissnex among other platforms. Naveen was one of the curator for Students’ BiennaleKochi Biennale (2016) and has received project grants from various institutions like KHOJInternational Artists Assc. and India Foundation for the Arts. Naveen Mahantesh is critic for architectural design at design schools and the principal architect of design firm based in Bangalore called Cresarc Studio.

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REMEDIATE MADURAI 2030 Exploring Principles of Climate change, Spatial Justice and Placemaking

SIVASUBRAMANIAM AND JINU LOUISHIDHA KITCHLEY J

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

The Masters in Architecture program at the Department of Architecture, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, runs a studio for the first two semesters focusing on an integrated approach to architectural design. The studio is called Integrated Architectural Design, to encourage the integration of interdisciplinary working methods into the architectural design process. During the academic year 2019 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2020, an experimental studio program aiming to bring together disciplines that exist separately was conducted. The Department of Architecture collaborated with the Remote sensing lab of Electronics and Communications Engineering and Water systems of the Civil Engineering Department, to initiate a meaningful dialogue and expertise sharing, and to facilitate a comprehensive holistic approach to design. Twenty students who are architects with professional practice, academia and fresh graduates of Architecture made up the strength of this Integrated Architectural Design part I (Aug â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dec 2019) and II (Jan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; April 2020).

Map of Madurai Image credit: Authors

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BEING AND BEYOND ARCHITECTURE This studio explored three peculiar windows, or principles, that are considered relevant to the city-making process in India.

Integrated Architectural design studio 2019-2020, established Climate change, Spatial Justice and Place-making as principles that demanded students to ponder the question – how can architects be better enablers to realize the translation of meta-propagandas such as resilience and sustainability from the UN strategic goals for the built environment? For example, what does climate change mean to architectural professionals, other than wealthy sponsors who add the word ‘green’ to their existing products in the market? What does the quality of a space mean to a daily wager who is the invisible, omni-present user in most Indian cities? The students of this program were advised to explore an evidence-based approach to argumentatively put forward ideas of change.

CAN URBAN DESIGN BE PROCEDURAL? Building cities from scratch has gone out of fashion; power structures have become more decentralised, more than ever before in human history. The task of building an entire city, often referred to as Total Urban Design (Lang, 2005), is not quite plausible or affordable today in the 21st Century because of stronger labour laws. In theory, Urban Design involves a long process that evolves over time and allows community consultations that lead to effective negotiations between state and the people. Cities are therefore a delirious collage of multilateral decisions like a palimpsest; an urban environment is an ever-changing by-product of social,

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

economic and political factors. In a city like Madurai, the urban environment is now in a mĂŠlange as defined by L. Alan Eyre. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The speed and spontaneity of development both planned and unplanned, have given rise to a mosaic of subunits with diverse social and physical characteristicsâ&#x20AC;?. These subunits are susceptible to economic/ geographical/

cultural dominance of their neighbours and face inequality in access to basic utilities, social amenities and well-being of the residents. A park/open space is not a group of trees in a random place, but should be either a result of a policy/ bill in a region that witnessed a demand for public space or a planning regulation that adheres to protect or conserve

Jon Lang Cuboid - Principles, Procedures and Product Types Image credit: Authors

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significant ecological entities in our regions for the collective good. These two scenarios carry a predestined brief to a designer in a project. Variably, they call for a street, channel revitalisation, river front or even a special economic zone where an architect plays a role of an enabler in the process of production of space.

FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDIO The studio began with a brief to examine larger urban decisions that are made – decisions that are detrimental to any architectural outcome of significance that the city hosts – perhaps a hypothetical case of urgency called ‘Remediate Madurai 2030’. What does Madurai need in the next 10 years?

Ten years is considered a tight time frame in infrastructure building and city building. Prioritising projects to certain regions of a city over others involve extremely critical processes and a diligent understanding of data gaps in empirical study. The studio was structured to allow the students to read the city, understand its evolution over time, analyse statistical data and provide recommendations to prioritise

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

and establish a planning pathway with substantial strategies. Strategies, made up of project components, could be thought of as ‘Capital Projects’. The goal was to engage students in three levels of study and intervention- Macro, Meso and Micro level. Tasks that are prevalent in the fields of strategic planning, urban planning and urban design were provided to encourage exploring many placebased economies in the city.

The three different degrees of intervention had different scopes of learning and reflection for each student.

They worked as teams in their first semester from macro to meso level, carrying it over to the second semester from meso to micro level. Towards the end of their second semester, reaching the micro level, all 20 students were allowed to choose one individual project from the set of ‘Capital Projects’, which would enable translating the core principles into the design of built environments.

Macro Level Study To understand a multilayered and multi-dimensional city, a broad and

People and Places - studying the city through cinema Image credit: Authors

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unconventional method was envisaged by the studio coordinators. The student was first led to do an exercise of understanding the city through cinema – to identify the ostentatious/modest and flamboyance/ simplicity of the city’s spaces and culture that is reflected in popular perception and media i.e, Image of the city. At the next phase, groups of students were asked to study the same city through empirical methods to define a more ‘objective’ reality. The following were the research stages involved in the macro level study.

1.

Cinematic space

2.

Urban Growth Analysis

3.

Vulnerability Assessment

CINEMATIC SPACES: STUDYING THE CITY THROUGH CINEMA Three contemporary movies set in Madurai, were taken as study materials.

Teams analyzed the movies through five sequential exercises aiming at understanding the city, which is not a conventional urban study. Cinematic spaces is an inquiry into storytelling and narrative that chooses to show

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

various aspects of a culture/region by framing spaces. Cinema is the most tactful artform that can distort the sense of time and place unlike a painting or a photograph. It can create a pseudoreality that still makes a plausible story.

Tamil regional cinema through its moving frames tells a seemingly convincing story weaving through conversations, the climax fight scene, the peppy eventful number that has flash mob dancers in the street, and the chase scenes that happen in a crowded market, giving a form to a socio-cultural image of a city.

Reading cinema through its spatial configuration also allows us to see portals creating spatial paradoxes (we have all seen that regional cinema where people fall from the roof to a dance number). This creative absurdity in Indian cinema is itself an experiment to test the thresholds of imageability, making the cinematic space farther from reality.

Every pixel of information in a movie frame was intended to be. This meticulous curation sets the stage for us to examine the concept of Mise en Scene. Movement and time require a

Analysis of Cinematic Space- Spatial Imagery. Image credit: Authors

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Analysis of Cinematic Space - Timelines and Themes Image credit: Authors

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

place of focus to navigate through the

This short run of exercises was

moving images. As professionals in the

completed in the first two weeks, leading

domain of constructing space, we can

to an understanding of city’s narratives.

examine spaces in a cinema medium with a relevant methodology as a tool to decipher the concept of Cinematic

URBAN GROWTH ANALYSIS

Spaces. The five sequential exercises for

Studying a city also involves studying its

the studio included:

change in form, morphological evolution

1. Time line and Themes: Teams were

of the built against unbuilt. Today’s

asked to understand the time line and theme of respective film in order to extract context.

2. Mapping Events: Teams indulged in creating a map of events from the movie, giving rise to certain patterns of activities associated with a space consistently.

3. Mise en scene: Study of activities at places against their age group. The ‘Who?’ and ‘Where?’ of the city.

4. Spatial Imagery: Understanding the film through the lens of Kevin Lynch’s five elements of imageability.

5. Spatial Pattern: Associating to

technology in image processing allows us to classify built regions of a city in various time spans. The teams classified satellite images of Madurai across three decades, 1990-2000-2010 using USPS satellite images and an image processing software, ENVI 4.0. Using such classified raster images, where all pixels account to a spatial equivalence the study became more empirical.

The major spatial classifications were built areas, water, waste lands and vegetation. The city has been growing aligned with major networks. The teams were able to identify the shrinking of

activities and their relationship with

water systems that Madurai is historically

urban built form and its spatiality.

known for.

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Analysis of Satellite Imagery. Image credit: Authors

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Grain analysis Image credit: Authors

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Urbanised footprint on a water system has cascading effects not only on the ecological footprint but on food production and the periurban setting that used to strengthen the local economy of Madurai.

Growth is inevitable, more and more green field sites are being built or promised to be built on the fringes of this city. It is very important to understand the pattern, grain and the typology of growth through indicators such as infrastructure, built form and scale. Teams looked into magnitude and direction of growth identifying and analysing the above indicators.

Infrastructure, especially in the case of Madurai’s rail and road networks, are the web of the supply chain for the city.

Madurai is a predominant market city that exchanges goods and commodities between the northern and southern districts of the state. Teams mapped

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the flow of commodities in and out of the city by perishable goods and nonperishable goods. An important drawing from this exercise was that Madurai has a predominantly non-perishable goods flow fed into the centre of the city (what is called as the ‘core’ city).

Around the Meenakshi Amman Temple, the concentric grid appears to be the lubricant of business since historical times.

Teams also inquired into the importance of certain infrastructure projects through a cause-effect relationship. This inquiry was placed against the growth of the city to identify the intent and priority of the City Corporation.

Expansion of Spatial Governance Image credit: Authors

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MESO LEVEL ANALYSIS Vulnerability analysis for Madurai Madurai is made of 100 wards covering a political boundary of 150 sq km, to decentralise projects that get erected as grand gestures of political identity (the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mattuthavani bus terminusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was recently changed into M.G.R Bus Terminus) with Periyar Bus Terminus being rebuilt as a part of smart city funding, flyovers built through random parts of the city with not enough feasibility studies.

The foundation for rationalising an

automobile-oriented infrastructure more than a policy/people-centred project is to build something that is visible. How do we account for a vulnerability study that is fair in its evaluation? Location of a ward or a place is always in relation to its geographical region. Beyond the features of urban geography and socio-economic factors arise major concerns such as the vagaries of climate change, and the need for spatial justice and place-making.

Can this be demonstrated? Do we have ample data?

Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Image credit: Authors CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

To narrow it down, the top four vulnerable wards of the city of Madurai were identified using statistical data base to get started with prioritising strategies.

The 15th Census of India undertaken in the year 2011 is a far too distant database from the vantage point of the studio in 2020. Trajectories were therefore applied for demographic data such as population, age, sex and mortality. For sensitive data such as literacy, employment and ownership that are not being updated at the time of study, a lot of gaps in the data were reviewed by the studio as a group. locking ourselves inside an audiovisual room for hours projecting excel spreadsheets on the wall. Gap analysis was also done through projections and first-hand data collection with government organisations. We were grateful for assistance in formulating this methodology from Ar. Meenakumari.

Madurai only had 72 wards covering a 98 sq km area until 2011. The expansion of the city has led to several issues of governance and gaps in data. For example, if two wards are agglomerated from two different municipalities into one one ward under the new Madurai Corporation post-2011, most of the

wards that were expanded were stuck in between government bodies and so did their data. Although obsolete, we had to stitch several sources together even to draw trajectories. What are we stitching this assemblage of data sheets for? Vulnerability could be a product of economic positions, accessibility and social capital. How do we measure vulnerability? We do have methods.

One of the most inclusive methods is understanding vulnerability through exposure and sensitivity and adaptive capacity.

Exposure defines areas that have populations who are vulnerable in a city. Urban Heat Island concentration, groundwater contamination, accessibility to drinking water, informal settlements, elderly population, Illiteracy and unemployment become indicators of vulnerability.

Sensitivity defines the degree at which the exposed areas are affected. The intensity of impact is calculated by standardised values of presence of open spaces, presence of water body, industrial establishments that are extractive to resources, lesser street widths, high density etc.

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Vulnerability Assessment - ward heat map Image credit: Authors CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Adaptive capacity is defined by certain characters that would help the region in time of crisis; the elastic stretch that gives more room for resilience. Adaptive capacity is calculated by certain factors such as informal labour, sense of community, overhead tanks and other infrastructure facilities.

So how is Vulnerability Index (δ) calculated empirically? When a region is exposed to higher cooling demand for its streets/dense houses what we call as heat stress happens over the region.

But the same region will be evaluated as lower vulnerability in comparison to another region that does not have water supply services or deteriorating ground water resources with moderate heat stress. Exposure(e) and sensitivity (e1) sum up to a gross number (e+e1), a number that is cumulative. Adaptive difference(d) is deducted from the gross sum of exposure and sensitivity in order to have the actual vulnerability. All data was standardised, to provide a leveled calculation.

δ =(e+e1)-d

The result was a bit mixed. Wards that showed higher vulnerability were predictably near the core city, significantly on the southern banks, with dense neighbourhoods, along the river. There were also other spectrums of vulnerability around the fringes of the city that also needs to be addressed.

The studio decided to split up the focus and invest equally on projects of Urban Renewal and projects of Strategic Growth Planning. Two groups focused on projects inside the city, primarily brownfield operations. Two other groups focused on wards on the peripheries of the city that anticipate growth.

In conclusion, the vulnerability analysis done through an empirical approach, with aid of critical thinking to see data in its nuances has shown us four vulnerable local government bodies. These wards need to align their strategies with the corporation to avoid subjecting the inhabitants, stakeholders to be vulnerable. The four teams moved to study the wards individually. A ward in Madurai on average spans 1.8 sq km.

Into the ward, micro level study was done under the lens of the three principles of Climate change, Spatial justice and Place-making.

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Trade Flows - Non-perishable commodities. Image credit: Authors CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Trade Flows - Perishable commodities. Image credit: Authors

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THE MICRO SCALE / CAPITAL

factors of alignment with conserving

PROJECTS FOR REMEDIATE MADURAI

ecologies, human-centric streets and

2030

diverse building typologies do make it a

There were several further prompts to be explored and addressed in the micro scale of operation. For example, speculation on urban growth leads to a spike in land values. Unregulated growth is the usual impact that can be expected, with more and more greenfield agricultural land turned into private plot

desirable model to adopt. Polycentric, transit-oriented urban districts assure distribution of wealth equally, slowly catalysing jobs, local economy, and a culture on its own. In addition, they would require strong place-making strategies to ensure a sense of identity and to create attractive urban places.

developments. This results in a city of broken grids, with illegibility affecting

Inside the city amidst busy bustling

movement and circulation. Movement

streets and socially stronger

through streets needs to be defensible,

communities, development pursuits

to create secure neighbourhoods.

are arrested for land holders because

How can legibility be instated through

of the height limits. Small plots that

growth? Can place-making establish

hold many tenantable residential units

place-based economies that virtues

with statutory transgressions turn out

new centralities? And how should

to be the density hotspots of these

development co-exist with ecological

neighbourhoods. How do we establish

zones that are detrimental to the impacts

a convincing case for development

of Climate Change such as drier droughts

that benefits both residential areas

and warmer heat waves that haunt the

and commercial establishments on its

city every year. How can cities grow

periphery? Urban renewal requires a

responsibly?

comprehensive approach to planning.

It involves active participation of

Furthermore, several solution-oriented

stakeholders, to liase for a commonly

questions were explored at this scale. Are

agreeable strategy, beyond a principle-

the principles of New Urbanism valid in

based argumentative Urban Renewal

a context that is informal? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essential

plan.

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Fig13 A-B: Urban Renewal Interventions Image credit: Authors

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The table here lists Capital projects (translated as city building components through Jon Langâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s typology of projects) and their positions with principles of Climate Change, Spatial Justice and Place-making, that were developed by the studio. Can Urban Design be procedural?

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

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TEACHING URBAN DESIGN

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

Anticipating Growth Interventions Image credit: Authors

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TEACHING URBAN DESIGN

CITY OBSERVER | June 2020

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. LANG, J. T. 1987. Creating architectural theory : the role of the behavioral sciences in environmental design, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 2. LANG, J. T. 2005. Urban design : a typology of procedures and products, Oxford ; Burlington, MA, Elsevier/Architectural Press.

3. LEFEBVRE, H. 1968. The sociology of Marx, New York, Pantheon Books.

4. HARVEY, D. 2003. The right to the city.

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 27, 939-941.

5. SOJA, E. W. (2010). Seeking spatial justice.

Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.

6. District Census: Census of India, 2011, https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/ dchb/3322_PART_B_DCHB_MADURAI.pdf 7. Madurai Smart City Proposal: Smart City Mission- DPR. https://www.mygov.in/sites/ default/files/master_image/Smart%20 City%20Mission_DPR_Final.pdf 8. Sustainable Development Goals, UN Habitat: https://sustainabledevelopment. un.org/?menu=1300

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Sivasubramanian works as an assistant professor with the Department of Architecture, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai. He was part of the Integrated Architectural Design studio program in 2019-2020 as studio coordinator. Siva specializes in spatial data analysis and Environmental behavioural studies. Siva engages himself in reading the informality in Indian public domain systematically as urban behaviour repositories, trying to develop a framework for understanding informality in relation to balanced urban growth. There by endorsing teachings around human centric cities through evidence-based approach.

Jinu Louishidha Kitchley is an Architect, Educator and Researcher, who has been associated, as Professor and Head, with the Department of Architecture, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, for the past 11 years. Her professional journey has been a process of learning/unlearning the biases induced by the environment and the systemic application of knowledge to achieve a sensible and sensitive built environment. Her Ph.D. research was aimed at capturing the vigour and life that complex organic settlements have in them, and which are conspicuously absent in a designed settlement. The multidimensional variables involved were traced and digital technology was used to help the designer make informed decisions to achieve a holistic settlement design. This acumen has helped her to lead and navigate an archaic learning environment to an adaptive, interdisciplinary and robust establishment. She is currently researching adaptations of the built environment to adverse climate conditions and crisis situations.

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CLOSING SCENE

IMAGE CREDIT: VISWA DHARANI

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