Sheher #3

PHOTO CREDIT| Shiekh Intekhab Alam

While every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permssion where required, it has not been possible in all the cases. Any clarifiction in this regard would be remedied in future issues. Views expressed are that of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Editors or the Publishers. The Editors do their utmost to verify information published, but they do not accept responsibility for its absolute accuracy. No part of the issue may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the editors.

Issue #03, February 2022

New Delhi, India

Team Sheher Shiekh Intekhab Alam Toget touch with us, Please mail us at: urbanregenerationindia@gmail.com

Ishleen Dheer Anshul Abbasi Nomaan Khan

Front Cover: Nomaan Khan Back Cover: Shibli Ali Thaikkat

Wafa Rizvi Subarna Sadhu

Supported by Shibbli Ali Thaikkat STAY IN TOUCH WITH US AT

Hawin Printo Monis Naeem Abhishek Singh Yadav

SHEHER- ‘Strategies for Habitat, Economic, Heritage and Ecological Regeneration’ is an initiative by the Association of Urban Regenaration Alumini. -AURA (M.arch), Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. This bi-annual publicationhas been initiated to highlight the pressing issues existing in urban areas and provide solutions in the form of policy /program analysis, planning strategies and interventions. The aim is to create awareness and provide a platform for exchange of ideas, innovatons and forming collaborations for regeneration of urban areas.

NOTE FROM EDITORIAL TEAM........

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT| Shibli Ali Thaikkat

S

ince time immemorial, the charm of cities and social centres has travelled through art, tales and poetry shared by ancient visitors and explorers. From that archaic era to the ever-progressing digital age, the cities we live in have become an assemblage of the old & the new. The hustle bustle of cities have for long provided a premise for movies all across the world, but with social media platforms and now metaverse taking over, the cultural identity and social idiosyncrasies of cities are becoming more and more prominent. Hashtags, check-ins, a plethora of reels and millions of influencers, travellers, artists, etc.W have helped tourist spots and social hubs in cities expand exponentially. Social media has turned the entire tourism industry around, with new discoveries, the latest trends, and even cultural aspects previously unknown to people are drawing attention and creating new spaces as successful tourist destinations. Revival of previously overlooked heritage sites after increased engagements on related posts on social media by heritage enthusiasts is an appropriate example of how social media influences the interests of potential tourists. Place blogs with stories featuring local places within cities act as catalysts in establishing a connection between places and the populace, enhancing the emotional associations of citizens with the city they are a part of.

Undoubtedly social media has a tremendous say in the development of cities, especially public places which are now aimed at serving the social media crowd. Such social networking sites directly impact the urban regeneration interventions and infrastructure upgradation in a particular area as they represent the demands and likes of people visiting them. City authorities are now themselves using social media for image building and creatinng new brabds out of their cutural, economic and ecological assets. In recent times of pandemic, social media platforms became an active medium for all to ask for and provide help, as well as by response services to share information.

This increased connectivity through social networking sites has also made it possible for citizens to have a direct line with public servants and officials for suggestions, needs and changes, and highlight the issues of cities, especially for those in times of emergencies, thus enabling the development of citizen-centric services and policies.

While the impacts of online social networking are profound in our lives, the industry has been the centre of attention for a deluge of social issues, psychological complications, and pitfalls related to physical health as well.

Not only are social media giants blamed for the issues aforementioned, but they are often at the pointy end of the stick for political predicaments as well, recently being blamed for acting as a platform for major setbacks for democracy and human rights across the world. While social media has enabled better governance and has given a new lease of life to numerous places in cities, it also has its flip side. Experience of most places have been reduced to their social media appeal. The rapid growth of virtual social networks has led to a shift in the choice of people when it comes to leisure activities. Online networking activities often end up substituting for socialization in real and in some cases manipulating the sense of a place into mere gimmicks.In last few years we also observed social media providing a place for peaceful protests and awareness campaigns, but also becoming a place with unfounded misinformation at times fuelling negative sentiments.

We have come to observe that social media is both a medium highlighting its good and the dark side on not just urban life but on human existence in general. It’s become an integral part of our lives and we don’t have a switch to turn it off now, and there’s a debate on whether we should? And that is where this edition of Sheher wants you to ponder on, to reflect, on both your life & experiences with social media in the context of cities.

How it’s changing us, altering our habits, our behaviour, consumption patterns, and our interactions with the world around us. We urge you to wonder and to participate in this ever heated debate around “Social Media and Cities.”

Anshul Abbasi Editorial team (SHEHER)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. MY JOURNEY| Guest column

1

2. UNDERSTANDING SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR DOCUMENTATION OF

5

Rameen Khan

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Vedangi V. Deshpande, Upendra Joshi

3. HUMARI JAGAH, HUMARA SHEHER (OUR PLACE, OUR CITY)

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Riddhi Batra, Saleha Sapra

4. ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN TRANSFORMATION OF URBAN GASTRONOMY

15

5. SOCIAL NETWORKS THROUGH TIME

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Farheen Mustafa, Pragya Arora

Varun Sardanna

6. CONNECTION BETWEEN

PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL PUBLIC SPACES

21

Mariya, Sadia Khanam

7. USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN URBAN DESIGN Dania Irshad

25

PHOTO CREDIT| Moizuddin

8. TO CONNECT OR TO BELONG

27

9. GOOGLE EARTH

31

10. BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

33

Somi Sareen

Nataly Voinova

Anshula Menon, Benjamin John, Abhik Banerji, Hina Zia

Guest column

Rameen Khan rameenphoenix@gmail.com

MY JOURNEY I am a man of few obsessions...

A

nd it was an obsession with discovering the varied street foods of Delhi that landed me in Purani Dilli one fine august evening of 2015. The flavours, the stories, the people were enough to keep me hooked to the place for 3 years.

Yet like a fine bhalla papdi of Ashok Chat Bhandaar, this too would eventually come to an end.

The more I visited the old city, the more I seemed to be drawn to these medieval giants which were everywhere – mosques, Jain temples, dargahs, havelis, and churches. And yet I seemed to be ignoring them. It was as if I was having repeated servings of one amazing dish of the cultural buffet of Delhi and ignoring the other exceptional one.

So one fine morning of New Year 2018, after devouring jalebi and samosa from the Old Famous Jalebi Wala, I made my way to “Old and Famous” Red Fort of Shah Jahan. I hoped to force myself to spend at least 2 hours there.

I ended up spending 5.

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My Journey |

And only came out when my phone’s battery ended up immolating itself.

Red Fort was a revelation. And what blew me away was the even more layered history of Salimgarh which people hardly visited.

It was that day that I swore to myself – to visit every monument of Delhi and to always look one layer deeper than the usual tourists.

I went to Qutub Complex and spent more time at Iltutmish‘s Tomb.

I went to Humayun Tomb and whiled away hours at Afsarwala Tomb.

I went to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah and it was the baoli there which spellbound me. I was truly on my way.

Delhi, I was amazed, was a behemoth of built heritage. You could be jogging in a DDA park, stopping at a traffic red light, enjoying a dinner date in an upmarket village or giving your board exams. – a monument was always around. This city could put the Romes and Cairos of the world to shame.

And yet – so much of it was ignored and rotting away. | ABOVE RIGHT Screenshot From Instagram handle of City Tales.The page is followed by 47.1K followers currently.

So I made it my mission to talk about these orphaned souls.

Mubarakpur Kotla Masjid, Wazirabad Tomb, Kharbuze ka Gumbad, Hastsal Minar, Saket Baoli, Satpula – one after the other. Hopping on metros. North Delhi to South. I clicked them all.

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My Journey |

So, needless to say, I ended up visiting and documenting them all by the end of 2018.

What next ? Delhi was not just Delhi. It had 4 other cities appended to it.

So off I went exploring again. And a pattern emerged.

India was a treasure vault of built heritage. And much of it stood hidden in its next tier cities/towns/villages. So If one only visited Agra , Delhi, Banaras and that too only for the “cherry on cake” monuments, one ended up missing savouring the umpteen layers and the crust of the cake.

It was then in May 2019 that City Tales came into existence to document the forgotten heritage of India in one place. While the major cities could never be ignored, my focus always lay one layer deeper.

The page would display my travels to places like Meham, Sarai Amanat Khan, Sonipat, Moradabad, Hansi, Ghaziabad, and Ponda alongside known heritage giants like Delhi, Banaras, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata. In all the coverage would include 10 states and 60+ places.

Today the goals have increased.

I aim to visit many more cities and taste the heritage flavours of hidden corners of India yet untouched. Aside, the work on a YouTube channel and an interactive website is ongoing.

All my free time goes into researching newer places.

It holds me and drives me. Every day.

There’s hardly free time for anything else.

As I told you before, I am a man of few obsessions.

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It was then in May 2019 that City Tales came into existence to document the forgotten heritage of India in one place.

While the major cities could never be ignored, my focus always lay one layer deeper.

My Journey |

|ABOVE The remains of a medieval tomb in Sikandara - now part of a dairy where cows and buffaloes enjoy heritage experience, Sikandara, Uttar Pradesh Through his instagram handle ‘City Tales’ he has been instrumental in highlighting many of the dilapidated heritage structures , Rameen is not a Conservation expert and that is what makes his social media presence as a Heritagewalla more |PHOTO CREDIT Rameen Khan |LEFT The last coins of British India from 1946-1947 The first coins of Indpendent India from 1950 |PHOTO CREDIT Rameen Khan

Rameen Khan (Heritagewalla) is a Graduate of Aligarh Muslim University & Indian Institute of Management - Indore. He’s currently working as the Category Head - Mobile Accessories at e-commerce giant Snapdeal. ‘City Tales’ is his passion project to document the valuable cultural heritage of historic cities of India from cuisine to architecture to art and craft. His focus is not only on traditional heritage centres but also on the heritage of small towns of India. The page is widely popular across social media platforms and currently has over 55 thousand followers on Instagram.

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Vedangi V. Deshpande, Upendra Joshi vedangid@gmail.com

UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

As a tool for documentation of Cultural Heritage

T

he historic cities in India today, reflect the socio-cultural practices of diverse communities and provide spaces for their interactions. Cities have always played a dynamic role in the way people communicate, however, there has been a transformation in the mode of interaction in the last decade. One of the most prominent modes of interaction today is through social media, which is seen by individuals as a platform to express and reflect their perception of the city. For a long time, the idea of “heritage” was associated with protecting only the tangible heritage such as the built architectural monuments of any city, but thanks to the wide use of social media, awareness about cultural heritage has expanded. Not just limited to the built heritage, social media has become a platform for showcasing various aspects of cultural heritage and the intangible values associated with it. This article tries to address the significance of social media in documenting the cultural heritage, more specifically the intangible layering of the heritage.

Urbanization and modernization are rapidly affecting the cultural heritage of Indian cities. In an age where every aspect of life is changing, it is important to create awareness and an approach amongst the people of the communities to protect, enhance, and contribute towards the conservation of our heritage. Article 12 in Burra Charter quotes the active participation of communities saying ‘Conservation, interpretation, and management of a place should provide for the participation of people for whom the place has special associations and meanings, or who have social, spiritual or other cultural responsibilities for the place.’ The participation of the citizens and the communities can be utilized in mapping and documentation of intangible cultural heritage, which in turn will enhance the level of engagement of the communities.

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ABOVE| Cultural PHOTO CREDIT| Hawin Printo

Understanding the significance of Social Media|

Many of the NGOs and other organizations are also encouraging this approach by initiating various competitions to make the citizens aware of their heritage, culture, and cities. These competitions help us identify the perception of every individual and not just limited to that of heritage enthusiasts, urban designers, architects, or other professionals. This helps to broaden the definition of heritage and document various values associated with it.

Social Media The development of social media has been a turning point in the history of humankind. It has drastically altered the basic nature of how humans interact with each other. Social media is a term that refers to applications and computer-mediated communication technologies that allow and expect users to participate in the generation and sharing of content (Osatuyi, 2013; Shaw & Krug, 2013). This participative interaction is implemented at various layers based on the functional capabilities, such as using YouTube for video contents, Instagram for posting pictures, Twitter & blogs for articles and descriptive text, and various others for discussions, publication, etc. People traveling within their neighborhoods, hometowns, and to other tourist places have started documenting the cultural heritage through various lenses, resulting in its promotion and making it reach out to a larger audience through unconventional ways.

Mapping through Social Media The multimedia approach has become a necessary tool to help every citizen document the various aspects of cultural heritage either through photographs, text or various audio-visual tools. Starting from one’s daily rituals to festivals, to the diverse dressing styles, and the various culinary practices of different communities, people have started documenting their cultural roots and heritage. The living heritage in our historic cities contributes towards enhancing the socio-economic condition and functioning of our cities. The participatory culture of social media helps in identification of the cultural heritage and also shows the unpolished version and unique character of each city, strongly reflected through these narratives.

Social media platforms offer a space to share narratives and experiences, helping people to connect and bond with the environment and their own cultural heritage. These narratives can be accessed by the future generation, making it one of its biggest advantages.

Education and awareness are two very important facets of protecting and conserving our heritage. Social media can be used as a tool to make all stakeholders help each other understand and identify ourcultural assets and values which in turn would lead to more community participation.

Vedangi V. Deshpande is an Architect

and has her specialization in Urban Conservation. She is currently pursuing Ph.D in Architecture and her research interests are Historic Urban Landscape, Sustainable Development & Cultural Heritage. She has worked on various conservation projects and is an Assistant Professor at SOAD, DIT University,

Upendra Joshi is an Architect and

Interior designer. He has experience in the field of Interior Architecture in Australia and India. His research interests includes Architecture Theory & Philosophy, Theory of Space, Theory of Third Place, Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Urban Sociology & is an Assistant Professor at SOAD, DIT University, Dehradun.

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Saleha Sapra Ridhi Batra connect@citysabha.org

HUMARI JAGAH, HUMARA SHEHER (Our Place, Our City)

F

or centuries, cities have been an ever-evolving cluster of units situated in a lattice of space and time. They are centres of power, and places that centre a person; they shape laws and offer rights while waiting for responsibilities; they drive economies while being rooted deep in inequality; they enable innovation and progress while mirroring unsustainability. Cities demonstrate division while celebrating diversity, and respect individualism while encouraging a collective spirit. They foster resistance, resilience, hope and dignity.

Within this wide spectrum of paradoxes are questions, answers and reasons to proactively search for common ground within the complexities of the urban challenges that encapsulate our cities of today. City Sabha was established in 2019 by a geographer and an architect who came together to drive a coherent vision for our urban environment; with, by, and for the people that constitute it. As the world struggles to place regional development within a global framework, our challenges too, are rooted in the local - in the ‘making of regional place’. We borrow from the collective spirit of ‘everyday urbanism’ to co-construct places of co-existence, cooperation, and co-creation. Through inquiry, engagement and reflection, we envision a future where citizens’ right to the city is realised, and places are planned by keeping people first.

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ABOVE| A pilot participatory survey conducted at Jamun Wala Park, Saket PHOTO CREDIT| City Sabha

Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)|

As the world struggles to place regional development within a global framework, our challenges too, are rooted in the local - in the ‘making of regional place’. We borrow from the collective spirit of ‘everyday urbanism’ to co-construct places of coexistence, co-operation, and co-creation. Through inquiry, engagement and reflection, we envision a future where citizens’ right to the city is realised, and places are planned by keeping people first.

Public spaces for Delhi Over 50% of Delhi’s urban area is ‘open’, but loitering in the public realm is not a common feature of our lifestyles. The city’s open spaces need to be designed for activity, safety and inclusivity. That is to say, we require a clear distinction between ‘open space’ and ‘public place.’

We argue here that open spaces are not limited to parks and playgrounds.

They include all ‘commonly owned spaces’ streets, medians, pavements, abandoned lots, areas under flyovers, and spaces between buildings where ordinary, every-day activity forms an extraordinary mosaic of commerce, habitation, transit, socialisation and recreation, making them an intrinsic part of our urban environment. They are also ‘urban equalisers’, providing common areas for the diverse residents of a city to interact. If we view these spaces as a capital asset, we can begin to unravel the long-term social and economic returns that can emerge by investing in them strategically.

The Sustainable Development Goals that underpin the current global urban agenda, call to “provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces”. Yet, if the lack of provisions for public space in the ‘Delhi Master Plan 2021’ is to be taken as a beacon, our city is currently far from prioritising sufficient thought and action in its public spaces. To transform Delhi’s public spaces, we must radically change the way we think about them.

How then, can our city’s trajectory be altered? How can we as citizens, rise to the occasion of claiming and co-creating our urban realm?

To begin, we can consider three broad indicators to gauge Delhi’s publics 1. Mapping and measuring the quality of public space 2. The extent to which the city’s inherent character is included in development plans

|RIGHT A city at eye-level, the city at pavement level |PHOTO CREDIT City Sabha

3. Mechanisms for citizen participation in city-makingThe notion of quality can be drawn from the work of several organisations across the world that focus on public space analysis and design. Notably, the work of Project for Public Spaces, New York, Place Alliance, UK, Gehl Studio, Copenhagen, and Urban Design Collective, Chennai has helped us, at City Sabha, to create frameworks for assessing public space.

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Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)|

There are a few, key attributes that make a ‘great place’. Its uses (local businesses, land-use, property values, retail sales), comfort (crime statistics, sanitation, building conditions, environment), sociability (street life and form), and access (traffic, pedestrian activity, public transit). Enabling the conditions for one can allow several others to fall in place. For instance, improving the conditions of buildings and pavements along one stretch of road can attract local-businesses and more people, boosting retail sales.

Mixing land-use can further diversify activities and crowds. Good lighting, space for pedestrians and clean parking, could bring about a reduction in crime. With a few measures, an open space can be transformed into an active public place.

The uniqueness of Public Spaces in Delhi As a city, Delhi can be thought of as a many-layered amalgamation of cultures, languages, economies, aspirations, and spaces. The dynamism and heterogeneity of its public spaces can vary within a few metres or even a few days. A concrete flyover can have cars zooming across, with a selfbuilt, self-established community living around its grey pillars; a maidan (open field) can host a neighbourhood cricket match every day, a freshvegetable market every week, a community meeting every month, and a religious festival every year. These nuanced spatial differences are deeply intrinsic to the cultural character of Delhi’s neighbourhoods and pertinent to reimagining them.

It also presents a canvas vastly different from the cities of the Global North.

Our streets are densely populated with constant competition for pavement space by street vendors, pedestrians and two-wheelers. Walking to the neighbourhood park jangles the senses with blaring horns and pollution.

Most of our city is not equipped with well-maintained pavements, and our streets are majorly designed for cars rather than for people.

There is, however, a flip-side to Delhi’s density if we begin to consider it as a driver of development. Under the layers of disorder, we associate with informal shops and reydis (push-carts), there are clear, self-driven patterns of work and habitation. If there is a clear demand for pavement space, perhaps our job is to design pavements specific to the Indian environment.

Instead of removing street vendors and ‘squatters’, we can work together to arrive at mutually agreeable solutions for sharing city space. Instead of being threatened by the way our city lives, we could view it as an opportunity to design streets, pavements and parks that are organised, yet egalitarian, inclusive and full of life.

This, of course, is no small task, and its consideration brings us to the third indicator: citizen participation in city-making. When it comes to city design, democratic processes can ensure that citizens exert their right to their city. It also gives a voice to what people really need, rather than what authorities presume they need, allowing for a more efficient allocation of resources.

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ABOVE| Commonly owned spaces of Old Delhi(L) and modernist shared spaces of Nehru Place(R) PHOTO CREDIT| City Sabha

Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)|

When People Plan Places ‘Placemaking’ emerges here as a participative, ecosystem-based process of revitalising public spaces. It has been tested in different parts of the world and can be intelligently adapted for Delhi’s urban environment. Although Delhi’s public spaces are vibrant, energetic, and well-populated, the ‘making of a place’ is rooted in the proper management of people-centric strategies and local governance. Placemaking helps communities to reimagine everyday spaces in the city - to recognize the potential of streets, parks, markets, neighbourhoods and public buildings. As a process, it capitalizes on a local community’s assets, needs and imaginations, resulting in the creation of ‘productive’ public places that contribute to people’s health, happiness, and well-being. Such projects can act as catalysts to mobilise larger-scale change across the city.

Creating mechanisms for top-down (governments and expert committees) and bottom-up (citizens and civil society organisations) actors to work together towards a common goal is a method many cities are employing.

By decentralising city design, we can equip local governments to work with citizens. For instance, Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Association and Housing Development Board runs a participative program to revitalise their public spaces. Proposals are invited from citizens, funded by the state, and operated in collaboration with civic organisations and businesses. This has resulted in several successful public places across the city of Singapore.

Investing in Delhi’s open spaces can range across scales. We can start small, by undertaking low-cost changes to streets and parks or focus on transforming neighbourhood lots and community centres. At a larger and more complex scale, we can begin to consider derelict areas that stand to be revitalised according to multiple stakeholder groups, such as the banks of the Yamuna. The objective is to render our city’s publics safe, attractive and usable in an inclusive manner. A recent example in this direction is of Venkataramanan Group’s intervention at Church Street in Bangalore, which successfully streamlined services, and pedestrianised a 700m stretch of road.

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Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)|

Main Bhi Dilli: People advocating for an inclusive Master Plan for 2041 Every twenty years, the Delhi Development Authority focuses on organising a document which lays down land-use regulations, planning policies and design norms for the city – the Master Plan of Delhi. The next iteration, MPD-41, is due for the years 2021-2041.

The ‘Main Bhi Dilli Campaign’ is a voluntary effort by over forty organisations and individuals to inform the Master Plan of Delhi 2041 in a manner that represents and includes Delhi’s diverse population – across gender, age, religion, income, and ability. By starting public discussions on the kind of city the people of Delhi want through public meetings, workshops and advocacy, MBD is rooted in realising citizens’ right to the city.

The spatial inequalities of Delhi make it difficult to accurately gauge how ‘open, green and public’ our city really is. The stark mismatch of priorities in land use showcase that there is, in fact in 2017, more land and services allocated to accommodate vehicular traffic than to accommodate up to 30% of the city’s population in affordable, adequate and legal housing in Delhi. Demographics too, vary widely across Delhi, and the call for inclusive public spaces must cover all residents of the city. We believe that to give precedence to valuable public spaces in the Master Plan, we must work at multiple scales simultaneously (city, district, sub-district and neighbourhood), develop tools to assess the ‘quality’ of public space, and engage with local communities to enable the social, spatial and economic ecosystems that underpin everyday activity and life in our city.

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RIGHT| Placemaking process and ecosystem impact PHOTO CREDIT| City Sabha ABOVE| Row of fruit vendors at Okhla Sabzi Mandi PHOTO CREDIT| City Sabha

Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)| |RIGHT Park(ing) Day held at CR Park, Market No.2 |PHOTO CREDIT City Sabha Park(ing) Day (originated in San Francisco, a registered service mark of Rebar Group) is a global grassroots movement to reclaim private vehicular spaces as a productive space for and by people.

Urban Change involves making better places, as better people By 2030, the population of Delhi is expected to cross Tokyo’s to become the world’s most populated city. It is highly fallacious to believe that the models of growth adopted by Western cities developing in the 20th century is the same to be followed moving forward from 2020. Nowhere is a peoplecentric approach more urgently required than in the urban environments that are influential in shaping our lives. Designing sustainable cities and communities is not only about focusing on reducing carbon emissions to mitigate climate change, but about understanding how we can connect our citizens to governments, places, buildings, natural ecologies and most importantly, to other people.

Undoubtedly, plenty of our aspirations about the public realm have been borrowed from the prescribed public life and public form of the cities of Global North- the properly paved streets, the beautification of street sides with trimmed hedges, and organised ‘flea’ markets often appeal to our aspirations. While some may have access to privatized malls, outdoor sports clubs to acres of land used as a golf course in the heart of Delhi, the reality is also that 15-30% reside and work in 0.5% of the total land in Delhi. As two young women, it was not until we started reading the city outside concepts and conventions, did we realise the depth of Delhi’s urban challenges.

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Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)| RIGHT | A street signage stating Our Behaviour is Our Introduction PHOTO CREDIT| City Sabha

We need a different approach to planning. One, that encompasses the spatially disadvantaged, the forcibly evicted, the informal workers that aid care work, household chores and manage waste, and the common citizen.

We need a vernacular vocabulary. One that capitalises on the social, economic and spatial networks that underpin Delhi’s difficult densities.

To bring about inclusivity in urban change, we need to be proactive listeners and actors of our times, and this requires the practice of citymaking to be diverse, empathetic and dynamic.

With the next 20-year Master Plan of Delhi due in 2021, we stand at a point in history where the future of our city’s development could continue plodding on a haphazard path or take small but incremental steps towards long-term sustainability, resilience and inclusivity. We can begin by claiming our public spaces.

Riddhi Batra has been practising as an architect and urban researcher since graduating from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, in 2018. A firm believer in the potential of design to transform the ways in which we can live, she has been drawn towards inter-disciplinary forms of practice, with spatial design at the core. Both academically and professionally, Riddhi’s work has focused on democratic public space, housing, urban economics and the ‘human’ impact of design.

Saleha Sapra is an urban geographer, practitioner and researcher. She holds a Masters’ degree in Urbanization and Development from the London School of Economics. Passionate about documenting cities through multiple art forms, she finds herself at the intersection of the social sciences and design-centric interventions. Saleha wants to advance her value in urban change-making through action-oriented research and by considering the exchange of art and knowledge as a social practice.

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Hamari Jagah, Hamara Sheher (Our Place, Our City)|

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Farheen Mustafa farheenmustafa17@gmail.com Pragya Arora

ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN TRANSFORMATION OF URBAN GASTRONOMY

P

osts, filters, reviews, hashtags, share, and stories have become common terminologies in our vocabulary these days. It has become easier to connect and reach out to people in near and faraway places.

Ten years ago, while talking to a relative in the United States, I recalled how difficult it was to make an international call back then. While today we are just a few clicks away to get connected, it hasn’t always been this easy and cost effective. Hence with the advancing technologies the world has come closer andpeople living in cities have become more and more connected.

Cities as socio-technical systems Social media is a community which focuses on the relationship and participation of its users. Various social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter help in socialising and building relationships. There is a sharp surge in its users, especially in India where the figures are multiplying at a fast pace from 142 million users to 376 million users in 2020 (Statista 2015-2018) . It is a platform which increases communication, collaboration, conversation, experience and resource sharing. This has resulted in the formation of a system where people and technology interact in a reciprocal relationship within an environment.

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ABOVE| Kesar Dhaba, Amritsar, Punjab PHOTO CREDIT| Shiekh Intekhab Alam

Role of Social Media in Transformation of Urban Gastronomy|

Transformation in social interaction platforms

Social media is a means to facilitate social change. Apart from just being digital platforms which help people engage in online interactions and engagements, this platform provides profound changes in the urban sphere as well. With more and more people being associated with it, these sites are seen as a potential tool in transforming marketing and altering decision making processes.

Initially, one used to ask a friend over call and get information or review of an area of interest but now the traditional word of mouth (WoM) communication has shifted to electronic word of mouth communication (eWoM) through reviews, star ratings, comments and likes. The quick reach-response mechanism has attracted 70-80% of the total marketing budget of the industry on digital media instead of traditional one, which was earlier 65-70% (FICCI 2017). This has also resulted in major changes in the marketing sector and influenced the business of almost every industry.

One of the most impacted industries is the hospitality sector.

The change in the behaviour of human socialisation has affected our food choices, culture and related economy driving an urban transformation. The online world has altered the food systems from regional and more localised to globalised and varied food choices further changing the nature of our urban social spaces. To apprehend it an online survey of 100 people of different age groups residing in distinct areas of Delhi was taken and the results are reflected in successive sections.

“Social media as drivers of cultural transformation” ‘Chai pe charcha’ a very common Indian proverb reflecting the characteristic of an Indian society, food and socialisation depicts that food has always been a significant part of Indian tradition and culture. It is so deeply rooted in our customs and practices from festivals to rituals and has been a special contributor in our social cultural bonding.

Indians had a long tradition of serving home-cooked food until recently a transition from this culture is witnessed due to several factors like: · Economic liberalization and rise of middle income group, · Vast pool of work and education related migration of young population, · Women preferring work and career over home-maker, · Rise of nuclear families, · Influence of Social media and ease due to digital platforms, · Improved Access and Infrastructure.

These have become major contributors in the surge of restaurant industry and influencing food choices in India.

Influencers such as food bloggers, vloggers and celebrities having large social media presence can raise the profile of a food outlet in an instant.

Instagram has been a prime location for sharing food posts; in the survey 40% of the respondents follow more than 4 food related accounts or pages.

There are 185 million posts with the #instafood and 264 million posts with #foodporn. Brand endorsements, sponsorships on these platforms have become a new mode of advertising by companies and job creation for people.

The internet community has made it is easier to target specific groups for their certain choices and hence more effective approach to customers.

For instance, we can analyse through our survey results that people lying in the age group of 15-20 years preferred food-chains and budget friendly

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Role of Social Media in Transformation of Urban Gastronomy|

restaurants like McDonalds, Dominos, Bikaner etc. people in the age group of 20-30 years mostly preferred cafes, like Café Wink, Pirates of Grill, BigChill, Diggin’etc.; which is booming food culture among youngsters.

Likewise the older people above 35 years preferred casual/fine dining.

This niche gastronomy is shaping our cities in its own unique way with mushrooming of cafes around university campuses. Cafes in Shanti Niketan Marg in the vicinity of Delhi University, south campus; Hudson lane Cafes around Delhi University, North Campus; Safdurjung development Area market and Hauz Khas market near IIT Delhi campus; Nelson Mandela Marg cafes near JNU campus and NFC community centre, Tikona Park market near Jamia Millia Islamia campus are all such examples. As majority of our population is young, these cultural shifts are going to affect our cities differently. Apart from the examples given above same trends can be observed around other institutional areas in the city. In a way we can infer that due to this creation of ‘niche gastronomy’ the availability of facilities based on choices is reaching the target groups directly, thus decentralizing the distribution of food zones in the city. Now, the movement of people is not centric to a specific place thus, changing the flow pattern of the city in terms of gastronomy.

Gastronomy in Urban Context Eateries serve as a planning tool as food is a major driver for framing urban morphology of our cities. The survey conducted showed that 45% of the respondents are willing to travel more than 10 km to eat at a famous food outlet about which they have seen or read on social media. A city’s culinary offerings further add as a prime reason for residents and visitors to venture and further explore different parts of the city.

Apart from this, international influence through online platforms has affected our choices and behaviour towards food. People are increasingly prefering international cuisine and are more experimental in their tastes.

According to the survey, 35% of the respondents prefer fast food followed

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Unlike older times, people go out more frequently and inturn spend more on eating out. In the survey 60% of the respondents eat outside food at least once in a week and spend more than 20% of their monthly budget on eating out. Though on an average Indians eat out 4-8 times in a month we lack far behind West and some Asian countries.

According to the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Chinese eat out 60 times a month; Thai people eat out 45 times a month; and Indonesians eat out 15 times in a month.

Thus, Indian food market has huge potential for growth in future.

ABOVE | Tundey kebab in Lukhnow PHOTO CREDIT| Shiekh Intekhab Alam

Role of Social Media in Transformation of Urban Gastronomy|

by 29% who prefer Indian cuisine and 20% prefer Chinese food. In recent years the Indian food market is flooded with Chinese fast food restaurants, takeaways, and informal vendors. This has also given rise to the increase in number of International food joints in India which is expected to grow

by INR 62,000 crore by 2022 (FICCI 2017). Hauz khas village which was originally not associated with food, has now become the to go place for the young generation. A place once known for its historic significance has now transformed into a prime location for food, fun and entertainment with opening of a number of cafes, restaurants, ice cream parlours, fast food and chinese outlets.

Another interesting aspect of food’s influence on the urban setting can be defined by food inequality. For instance, two gastronomic quarters of Delhi: Chandni Chowk and Epicuria at Nehru Place depict a sharp contrast in the people they cater to. Chandni chowk being a traditional public place offers eateries for people from all economic backgrounds while Nehru Place serves mostly the middle and high income groups.

Food quarters as sites of regeneration Food outlets have been a leading force for regenerating neighbourhoods in the city as well. They serve as a key components for mixed use development and urban retail. Considering the example of Delhi, ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ a roadside eatery in Malviya Nagar run by an elderly couple received overnight fame with their video going viral and hashtags such as #babakadhaba trending on twitter. A place which largely remained quite deserted suddenly transformed as a hotspot with customers queuing up to get their plate of aloo puri.

The power of social media is such that the surrounding area has come to life. Various companies have come for advertisement and promotional drives. Small temporary counters of COVID insurance and other products have also popped up around the dhaba. The fame of the food outlet has also given lifeline to various rickshaw pullers, thus overall regenerating the neighbourhood.

Conclusion The gastronomic quarters play an important role in the strategically shaping of the neighbourhood, town, city or region. It is interesting to see how social media has impacted production, sales and consumption of food and has made it a part of the public realm which has helped in building of convivial social spaces in urban areas. The prominence of food through social platforms in providing the social dynamics required for the growth of a city is immense. Therefore we can rightly say that the most eminent way in which we reminisce about our cities after architecture is through its gastronomy!

References FICCI. 2017. Indian Food Services Industry. Tchnopak.

Statista. 2015-2018. Statista. Accessed 12 10, 2020. https://www.statista.com/ statistics/278407/number-of-social-network-users-in-india/.

Farheen Mustafa is an Architect, designer, writer and Urban regeneration specialist.

She is a young urban enthusiast and explorer working on different aspects of urbanity, environment and the people. Her interest areas include climate change and urban resilience, place making, reimagining urban mobility and making cities safer and inclusive through public participation.

Pragya Arora is an Architect and a M.Arch post-graduate with specialization in Urban Regeneration from Jamia Millia Islamia.

As part of her academic curriculum she has worked on neighbourhood, city and regional scale projects. Her areas of interest are Urban Resilience, Inclusive Planning, Research & Development, Sustainable Architecture and Design.

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Varun sardana varunsardana94@gmail.com

SOCIAL NETWORKS THROUGH TIME S

ocial networks have existed since the times humans started communicating. Firstly, they used to exchange information about food, the danger of predators and then slowly advancing to gossip. As years paased by and humans got more advanced, their social networks also got elaborated. So much so that building and maintaining such networks became hard-wired in the human brain.

After the industrial revolution, a noteworthy development was within the digital era of the 1980s, which also changed how people used their social networks, moving it to a virtual form of social media websites. These online networks were and still are an accomplishment, being adopted on a really large scale, which has also changed the way we perceive urban spaces and the way we resonate with them.

In pre-social media times, there was a smaller platform to voice opinions and thoughts of individuals, but these sites have increased the horizons and reach of these ideas. It is so diverse that various sub-industries of influencers, social media analysts have started, and even modern-day politics are now incorporating dedicated IT cells to interact with urban youth through these platforms.

My first experience of social media’s interaction with the city’s fabric was exploring less sought-after spots and eateries by random food bloggers and photography pages. But as I explored, I realised that it’s an entire lattice with unlimited potential.

With immense extents like, The Ministries of Railways and Foreign Affairs rescuing and reaching out to individuals through their tweets, winning hearts and successively, increasing the credibility of ministers. At the same time, shedding light upon malpractice being followed which earlier went unnoticed. For instance, the forceful land conversion of Aarey forests in Maharashtra was brought into the limelight through social media by residents and native whistleblowers, and they got national and international support, thus forcing the courts to intervene and stop the deforestation. Similar is being experienced in the Thano forests of Dehradun, right now.

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Social Networks Through Time|

with great power comes great responsibility, the very same social media has also shown us a mirror that as a society, how fragile and insecure we are. These platforms have not only limited themselves to communication but are swiftly replacing journalism at every level of information. Today, spreading fake news or a rumour is simply a Facebook post away.

These organizations are incorporating artificial intelligence to spot such mischievous activities, but it’s not foolproof and comes with its limitations.

Besides forming a really efficient system of communication, social media has proven that it’s a layered process of increasing the reach of every being to services and amenities. This media-generated data is now being channelized for designing more specific urban spaces, with a recent example of the city of Madrid, where Location-Based Social Networks (LBSN) were used to determine the land use throug check-ins by users on various social media networks, and sending this filtered population a very specific feedback and suggestion forms via email services to gather information. This whole exercise resulted in a very efficient system of survey and urban design rectifications to discrete problems of people and cutting down the time required to sift the survey data.

Not just data collection, we’ve also witnessed social media’s efficiency in the times of calamities. Be it the 2019 Kerala floods or the more recent Amphan cyclone. Disaster management officials were ready to reach the affected in a very swift manner for calling out distress signals, and even during the calamity, the help/aid could be called for easily via Twitter hashtags and LBSNs. These social networks are also boosting local entrepreneurship, with a recent example where a local roadside food stall, ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ became an overnight must-have on every foodie’s list, getting all the fame through just a YouTube video. Various smart businesses getting desired audience and clientele through these platforms is showing us that a virtual presence and quality service is more important than an upscale bling office. Recently all-round the globe, during the lockdowns, most of the services and jobs of companies relied upon work from home system, which has in turn proven that a lot of services can be managed from the comfort and safety of the home, and the migration of staff to metropolises or upper-tier cities is not necessary, which can surely end in reducing the load on the urban spaces and may diminish the problems of ghost towns and villages up to a great extent.

But as they assert, with great power comes great responsibility, the very same social media has also shown us a mirror that as a society, how fragile and insecure we are. These platforms have not only limited themselves to communication but are swiftly replacing journalism at every level of information. Today, spreading fake news or a rumour is simply a Facebook post away. These organizations are incorporating artificial intelligence to spot such mischievous activities, but it’s not foolproof and comes with its limitations.

So, the answer comes down upon us, the eventual users. While social media and its impact on us and our cities will keep on changing, we need to be open to innovative ideas and be liable for it.

Varun is an architect based in New Delhi. An aspiring artist who loves to curate through sketches.

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Mariya mariyazama@gmail.com Sadia Khanam ar.sadiakhanam@gmail.com

CONNECTION BETWEEN

PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL PUBLIC SPACES

P

ublic spaces are considered as places that host major social interactions, political debates, information dissipation and commercial activities. With the advancement of telecommunication, such activities have greatly shifted to the internet, transforming the functionality of public spaces of cities.

Increasing usage of apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Zoom etc. have resulted in the shifting of shopping, discussions, debates, meetings etc. to virtual platforms, hence changing the usage of public spaces such as markets and streets.

It is generally argued that excessive indulgence into mobile phones and internet is making people antisocial and aloof, as mobile phones provide people with all the fun and dopamine release through scrolling on their social media, watching and making content, and also studying/ acquiring knowledge on the internet. This argument can however be challenged by diving into the communication history which clearly exhibits that a new communication medium has never eliminated older media completely; for example, computers and internet have not eradicated television and televisions have not vanquished radios and newspapers. (Griffith, M., Pappacharissi, Z.,2009) Hence, we can say that social media will not eliminate public spaces and their physical uses in a society but may cause them to evolve.

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ABOVE| Capturing moments at Ram Kund, Varanasi PHOTO CREDIT| Author

Connection Between Physical and Virtual Public Spaces|

Content creators themselves explore hidden cultural, historic, natural gems of places to make their content unique and appealing thus making the audience want to explore the same places with their friends and families.

These content creators may not be limited to travel vloggers/ bloggers but also include daily vloggers, lifestyle vloggers and influencers who may use a specific public space for any of their videos.

Increasing engagement of people on social media while sitting at a public place does not nullify the importance and use of the place, it states about the changing culture and growing ways of social interactions. It may hinder physical participation to some extent, but also results in attracting more people to the place which people themselves have advertised on their social media. Further, it is these social media platforms that host discussions and plans for meeting and hanging out at public spaces. The phenomenon has in turn resulted in increasing demands of public spaces in cities.

A growing trend of blogs and vlogs have also greatly impacted the branding of public spaces and cities as a whole. A boost in video-hosting sites such as Youtube has made the distribution of online videos easier than ever.

Such videos about a place, city or an experience relates to the audience in a personal manner since the audience generally have been following that channel for a long time and have a personal connection with it.

Content creators themselves explore hidden cultural, historic, natural gems of places to make their content unique and appealing thus making the audience want to explore the same places with their friends and families.

These content creators may not be limited to travel vloggers/ bloggers but also include daily vloggers, lifestyle vloggers and influencers who may use a specific public space for any of their videos.

Social media is also used formally by various restaurants, events and even city municipalities for branding of these public places, events and cities.

Generally, a separate profile can be found for these various places, events and cities. A concept of paid promotion of such brandings has also emerged which consists of the respective authorities paying the famous influencers to promote the brand as part of their content. This helps the promotion reach a wider audience and make the audience pay more attention to it as it comes from their favorite influencer.

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Connection Between Physical and Virtual Public Spaces|

Since, social media and new technologies have become a part of every individual’s life; their application as services for people is also changing as they do not just provide users with what they are looking for, but also forces them into wanting what is being advertised. Commercial activities, thus, have been significantly influenced by social media and e-commerce platforms. Rise of online shopping through digital networks has increased across the world, using social media platforms as a tool to create a techno-commercial system encouraging the use of public spaces. Places to go for shopping, eating, gaming and entertainment have acquired new clarity through the social networking services based on location sharing.

These geographical locations, hashtags are shared on social networking sites and help other users to associate this information with a user’s shared pictures and likes. . Through this virtual public space information and communication has intensified the use of public space with much commercial interests. But, because of these tagged commercial spaces, the unmentioned places are left unrecognized as a place of interest for that locality and city. These public spaces can be linked with tourist routes and activities can help small local businesses to be recognized as part of the city.

Social media has also emerged as a platform for activism and outrage against what people find unjust. Social Media and society have come together discussing different perspectives on political and social issues on public and social platforms widely in 2020. People have started being vocal about what they believe in and questioning the authorities for their actions. A dissipation of information on various topics before uprisings of a protest is also carried out on the same media, which is followed by debates and planning for protests. Protestors have used hashtags, citations,

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ABOVE| Chandni Chowk Street, New Delhi PHOTO CREDIT| Shiekh Intekhab Alam

Connection Between Physical and Virtual Public Spaces|

mentions and location sharing to call upon people into action from all over the nation to these public spaces within the city. This has steered the protest of Naxal Movement to the CAA-NRC to the JNU attacks and now towards Farmers’ Protest. Adding to these few, the worldwide roar against racism is yet another example in which social media was the main player which made the upheaval possible. The nature of protests and protestors has also changed with protestors using different art forms, inspired by each other around the globe, in public spaces across the nation to convey their message peacefully. “There is a new, radically different mode of information and attention flow: the chaotic world of the digitally networked public sphere (or spheres) where ordinary citizens or activists can generate ideas, document and spread news of events, and respond to mass media.

This new sphere, too, has choke points and centralization, but different ones than the past. The networked public sphere has emerged so forcefully and so rapidly that it is easy to forget how new it is. The wide extent of digital connectivity might blind us to the power of this transformation. It should not. These dynamics are significant social mechanisms, especially for social movements, since they change the operation of a key resource: attention… Attention is oxygen for movements. Without it, they cannot catch fire.” (Tufekci Z, 2017) Social media is often referred to as a ‘Public Space’ in itself for catering to the needs that usually public spaces cater to. This became even more evident during the times of the current pandemic of 2020 whereby all activities such as education, work, parties, movies and family gatherings instantly shifted online. This does not directly negate the importance that public spaces play in binding and cohesion of society; as we can return people back onto the physical public spaces gradually as the pandemic subsides. It is however safe to say that public spaces get transformed through social media in both negative and positive aspects and so it is only sensible to utilize this newly emerged resource called social media towards a positive transformation of our public spaces and cities.

References: Griffith, M., & Papacharissi, Z. (2009). Looking for you: An analysis of video blogs. First Monday, 15(1).

Tufekci Z (2017). Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. Yale University Press.

Poell, T. et al. (2016) Constructing Public Space. International Journal of Communication 10.

Mariya is an Architect and Urbanist based in New Delhi. She has keen interest in observing and writing about cities and people.

Sadia is an Architect, with post graduate in Urban Regeneration. She belongs to Varanasi and has an indomitable spirit towards her life.

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Dania Irshad hrhdania@outlook.com

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN URBAN DESIGN The word ‘social’ dictates the link and exchange of information and ‘media’ refers to a medium to transfer such data among the people concerned in various parts of the world. To serve this purpose various social media platforms have been introduced; most popular being Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. The idea of social media came into being, as a way to connect people with each other. Developers created a medium of connection among people who are distant and for whom staying in touch was becoming difficult.

In the past few years, the usage of social media has expanded, finding its way in various fields such as marketing, business, exploration, etc. depending on the subject of study. The social media analysis strategy has paved its way even in urban planning and design . The exploitation of data available due to a user’s usage, and analyzing it to our advantage to extract relevant data has impacted the traditional design techniques in order to create more equitable spaces. Data in the form of geotagged images on location-based social networks is a valuable source. The analysis of this data provides the analysts with activity patterns, usage of resources, transportation behavior, and land use patterns of particular places.

1. Community Engagement: The desirability of humans to broadcast where they are and what they are doing has increased considerably, and is not going to easily wear off. There are approximately 60 million public uploads on Instagram, 500 million tweets daily, and 8 million check-ins on an average, available to the advantage of planners and urban designers.

2. Involvement: Lately, the Delhi Development Authority in association with the National Institute of Urban Affairs, decided to invite the young minds to express their insights in preparation for the next Master Plan of Delhi 2041. The main idea behind this was to understand the issues that the youth face and the design solutions for them.

3. Analysis:The density of posts, tweets, or check-ins from a given location provides a tool to gauge how the areas and the available resources are being used.

4. Land Use: The key locations and digital footprints of the users help analyze the land use pattern. However, the volume of data obtained through geotagged social networks is huge and unstructured.

5. Wide Range of Audience: The strategic usage of the social media platform and crowdsourcing, can attract users of all age groups to participate and contribute to digital data.

6.Human Influx:Social media is also a platform for business marketing that delivers data to its target audiences, increasing the outreach online as well as in person. This could also help in contributing to the economy, involving users to do promotions of the place themselves.

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The word ‘social’ dictates the link and exchange of information and ‘media’ refers to a medium to transfer such data among the people concerned in various parts of the world.

Use of Social Media in Urban Design|

7. Identification of issues:The issues associated with any given place can be identified by its inhabitants. The data collected from social media can be utilized by merging it with locally available data as well, such as from the police and emergency service records, traffic data, etc. These would help urban planners to analyze the issues concerning the area. They are given a sense of understanding if an area is struggling with crime, crowding, traffic flow issues, or natural disasters; which may have an impact on the supply chain management and hamper peaceful urban living.

8.Towards Collective measure to resolve:The suggestions can be easily provided by the inhabitants and users. A link between the authorities and users allows for an interactive platform.

9. Improvement of existing services:The available, analyzed information can be used to deduce what services may be needed in given areas within a city at a given time. For example, a series of blocks with a large number of geolocated check-ins on Facebook in the evenings would depict the area with nightlife. This information can be utilized to improve existing services in an area or provide a proposal for new services.

10. Opportunity to create:The advent of technology and new developments lead to new strategies to carry out the process of design.

The strategies when blended with the user interest, helps in creating a more balanced and resilient urban environment.

Technology can be a bane or a boon. It depends on the choice of the users.

For a collaborative and efficient design, the use of social media seems to be a possible solution, whereas, it has its drawbacks, one of which could be the non-uniform usage of social media in different areas. So, this could serve as a challenge if we decide to replace the traditional strategies with modern ones. The correct methodology would be to blend the modern and the traditional techniques together to design better cities and a better future.

Dania Irshad is an Architecture Student at Jamia Millia Islamia University in her own words “Am an architect to be who is neither exceptionally clever nor gifted, but very very curious. I find my passion in books and writing, traveling and exploring, and yes, food.”

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Somi Sareen khansareen8@gmail.com

TO CONNECT OR TO BELONG

There are many aspects of how social networking sites are currently being used by the people in our country, specifically varying with age and location. The usage may broadly be stratified as recreational, serviceoriented, financial, and the most amusing one, aspirational.

Before social media, the role of the internet was very specific to the purpose of information exchange. With the advent of technology, servicebased websites and then applications started being used by people for booking tickets, banking, etc. This pretty much sums up the entire purpose of the internet. However, until now, the miraculous invention of social 27|Sheher

ABOVE Mohan market, Aminabad PHOTO CREDIT| Author

To Connect or To Belong|

networking sites had not happened and the idea of a social media universe was hidden and unexplored.

Two revolutionary events happened and changed the functional and psychological stance of the generations to come. One is the ease of access to smartphones and the other being the launch of the social networking sites; Orkut and Facebook. Not that it was the first social networking site, but its contribution in shaping and equipping sites on user-oriented interface and functionality changed the game once and for all. As a result of this pursuit, numerous other social networking sites were launched having USPs of their own like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Tinder, etc.

And leveraging the reach of these apps and sites, the dimension of marketing changed drastically. The target groups are now set, advertisements are custom made and sent to the prospective users. This also broadens the horizon for other commercial groups to be active on the platform like Zomato, Swiggy, Spotify, Uber, Ola, Amazon, Nykaa, Netflix, Prime, etc. In short, the whole universe was one click away for everyone.

With this expanse in the metaphysical world, affecting one’s needs, aspirations, likes, and dislikes, the question arises, whether this tool has helped the people to strengthen or weaken the sense of belonging to their cities?

A sense of belonging is the psychological feeling of belonging to a social, spatial, cultural, professional, or another type of group. All cities have strived to become cohesive; one where all of its citizens share a sense of belongingness with the city and its spaces. So now the question arises, when a digital platform provides a far varied and tailor-made experience, is the identity as a citizen lost somewhere within their own particular city?

Many people believe social media has brought together the essence of being a citizen and reflecting its distinguishable characteristics. We happen to watch so many Tik Tok and YouTube videos, and Instagram reels where influencers and digital media companies like ScoopWhoop, Dice Media, etc have created videos addressing the identity, needs, and issues of different cities in our country e.g. debatable topic of the best metro city, a typical Mumbaikar and Delhi-ite, Lucknawi, Benarsi, Kanpuriya, Bhopali, Indori, etc.

Lately, many shows have come up which are trying to bring small cities and towns on the internet like Mirzapur, which showcased the city with a very specific lens. It talked about the carpet industry by placing a character named Kaleen and we have small-town comedians like Biswa Kalyan Rath, Zakir Khan, etc, whose anecdotal sketch comedy tells us about the life of people in the not-so-known cities of states like Orissa and M.P. The mass appeal of these shows and sketches states that people have connected with them on some basis.

This art of expressing the concerns in a comedy sketch has brought insights to the lives of people of other cities, which we may have never visited. Also, it is to be noted that only a few cities have been represented on these digital platforms. The majority of Indian cities still lack representation. However, one may say that a connection is established with these representations, but does this also mean that we share a sense of belonging with these cities?

And let us assume that people do associate themselves with the representation of places and characteristics of the city via social media.

But how does one define the sense of belongingness with the place? The whole phenomenon of associating oneself with anything is experiential Sheher |28

To Connect or To Belong|

and sensory. Watching the video and connecting with the idea that is represented is different from living in the moment and having the ‘feel of the place’. It is not just the food, the picturesque background, and the services the place offers; but it also includes the warmth, emotions, and bond we have with the city.

In the cities we live in, everyone must have one or more favorite places, and stories related to them. These stories themselves may have contradictory narratives based on how one experienced the place. It depends on the people and their perception of a place, and what makes them feel good.

Talking on a very macro scale, for some people Mumbai is all about its nightlife and people resonate with its dynamic energy whereas, the same city is perceived as calm and relaxing by others. On a micro-scale, let us take the example of Aminabad and Chowk, huge market areas in Lucknow, known for their chikan embroidery and kebabs. Only frequent visitors can differentiate between the narrow lanes and the experiences the spaces offer. On this note, sharing a perception that may sound contradictory; it is also perceived that Aminabad is a go-to place for shopping hauls and devouring Tundey Kebabs and Prakash Kulfi. But these apparent chaotic and narrow lanes have varied functions, like the Mohan Market serves as the regional catchment, Pratap Market is an unexplored section with no prime USP, yet the people who actually know the place inside-out frequently visit the complex, and then there is Gadbadjhala which is an absolute favorite for metal jewelry and the book market. Chowk, being the same kind of center, also offers these varied and physically segregated functions. There are some branched out lanes like Phool Wali Gali, Ban Wali Gali, Meena Wali Gali for shopping, and for culinary experience, we have eateries like Rahim Nihari, Idris Biryani, Makkhan Malai, Sheermal Wali Gali, etc. But there is a lack of representation of the assorted market that has not yet made it into social media and hence not many know of this place and is only frequented by city dwellers. So one may say that it is true that the keyboard warriors and hashtags do decide the fate of the city, and help people explore its different facets; but it definitely begins with the experience. Social Media can become a tool to reinforce and revitalize the image but the sense of belongingness has to be inherent.

RIGHT Mohan market, Aminabad PHOTO CREDIT| Author BELOW Social Media and our interaction with public spaces PHOTO CREDIT| freepik.com

The whole point of Social media shaping our identity and sense of belongingness is debatable. As for many people, this feeling is experiential, and no matter how much emphasis we give on ‘seeing is believing’; unless one involves a sensory and emotional connection with the tangible and intangible elements of the place, a sense of belongingness cannot be established. Social media has definitely induced a sense of connectedness and have brought desirable changes to the city by helping activists and people to voice their opinions like in the case of Aarey forest of Mumbai or Baba Ka Dhaba of Malviya Nagar, Delhi. Media channels like Quint and Brut are also helping the case of less represented cities by covering their stories

LEFT| Picture PHOTO CREDIT| Author

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To Connect or To Belong|

to reach out to the maximum number of people.

It is safe to say that Social media has evolved as an essential service in the pandemic and helped to boost the local economies. Therefore, it is fair to consider that unless you can identify ‘the place’ by closing your eyes, and be able to recognize the aroma around, listening to the hustle-bustle and differentiating the noises as specific sounds; it has not yet become ‘your place’.

Reference [1] Berger-Schmitt, R. (2002). Considering social cohesion in quality of life assessments: Concepts and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 58,403.

Somi Sareen is currently a Full-Time Research Scholar at Department of Architecture & Planning, NIT Patna. She did her B.Arch. from Apeejay School of Architecture & Planning in 2016. She is an alumnus of Urban Regeneration 2016-2018 batch.

She also rendered her services as Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Design, Integral University, Lucknow for 3 years. Her Ph.D research work is oriented towards planning of Peri Urban Areas.

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Google Earth Nataly Voinova, AIV Master Thesis Prize 2018|

GOOGLE EARTH

AIV Master Thesis Prize 2018

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Nataly Voinova

Google Earth Nataly Voinova, AIV Master Thesis Prize 2018|

Nataly Voinova’s thesis project, Google Earth, is set in a central area of downtown Frankfurt.

It comprises of three very large buildings, each covering an entire block. However, its true site is not the physical setting of respective blocks but their representation mediated on the internet, In fact, Internet is the project’s exclusive site of operation. Here is no physical representation of architecture but an unapologetic embrace of architectural representation in the form of images, the de facto dominant currency in the world of mediated information. Voinova’s sourced her images from Google earth and social media, such as Facebook and Instagram and delivered three large scale building proposals, one for each location. Reflecting how the project information for these locations was harvested on social media, Google Maps and Google Earth, Google Earth also provides images into such renderings of the final project were placed, as if they were uploaded to the platform.

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B O O K R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S

CITY PLANNING IN INDIA,1947-2017 by Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Vidyarthi and Poonam Prakash from Routledge The book is a must-read for all planning students/urbanists/activists/ curious minds to understand the post-independence planning trajectory followed with its numerous pitfalls, implementation challenges, impact of colonial legacy in the backdrop of immense socio-economic environmental challenges we face and continue to face.

-Prof. Hina Zia, Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia.

UNCIVIL CITY by Amita Baviskar Amita Bhaviskar’s latest book is a story about Delhi; one that does not shy away from taking a deeper look into the communities that live on its edges.

She teases out the diversity of stories that define the character of spaces, both public and private. Her writing evokes an image of two cities in one; an aspirational one by the city’s elite and the other one of survival for the invisible majority. It takes you on a journey through history and the city’s topography spanning from the Ridge to the Yamuna and stitches together a haunting narrative about the city’s inequity.

-Abhik Banerji, Senior Research Analyst at Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy.

ORDER WITHOUT DESIGN by Alain Bertaud Alain Bertaud brings together over 40 years of consulting experience through his seminal work titled “Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities”. Formally trained both in Architecture and Economics, Bertaud brings unique and practical thinking on urban economics and its correlations with Urban Form and City Development. The book uses simple urban planning diction showing a great clarity of thought and deep understanding of the inherent complexities of urban systems.

A must read for every student/ practitioner of City Planning and Urban Design !

-Benjamin John, City Advisor (Bangalore and Chennai) at C40 Cities.

STREET FIGHT by Janette Sadik Khan and Seth Solomonow This book is rightly labelled as the story of an urban revolution, which is written as a part memoir, narrating the struggles of Janette Sadik-Khan as transportation commissioner of New York City and part guidebook for all city officials, city planners or city enthusiasts who can be inspired by the transformation of the street life in NYC. Street fight illustrates the transformational journey undertaken to create space for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and green areas in the city. The book lays out the need for vibrant street design, NYCs road map to achieve it and how it changed the way people perceived streets as a space of public use adding social and health benefits for its citizens. This book is little about transportation planning in cities but more about reimagining streets as the life of cities.

-Anshula Menon, Research Associate with Master Master Plan of Delhi 2041 at National Institute of Urban Affairs ( NIUA), New Delhi.

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PHOTO CREDIT| Hawin Printo

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