Central Park!

Me and Ashlesha decided to spend some time at the central Park this evening to understand more about the social logic of open spaces in our city. Central Park is a city level open space in the new town of Navi Mumbai. It is placed in Kharghar next to a Krishna temple ( ISKON) and opposite to the Golf course. Our first observations of course were that it is gated and has no entry fee. And yes we had a baloonwala and the bhelpuriwala right there thus retaining the informality! It has an expansive parking area. Today being a holiday it was filled with people of all ages, kids and adults all alike enjoying being in this vast open space. 

So back to our question, What makes a public space successful in this city? Is it the scale? Is it the amenities, like parking, public toilets? Is it the natural settings? Or is it the mere existence of a city level open space? One thing about the city and the country is that we are full of people and we like being in the open. Be it a tobacco shop, a small tea corner, a community garden next to the house or a city level public space, we are full of people. This does not stop us from appreciating the goodness of the park. It is indeed an interesting place to be with an impressive amphi theater, play area for kids with innovative play equipment  good air and brightly lit as the sun sets. 

Comparing Central Park to several parks and open spaces in cities across India like Bhopal and Hyderabad; we realize that there have been constant efforts to create good public spaces across the country. The problem is as time passes, it becomes hard to maintain. Is it the economics or lack of interest. We don't know! Be it the lumbini Park or the lake side at Bhopal, why do places lose the dynamism they posses. Why go that far? What happened to Sagar Vihar and Sarovar Vihar. These were once beautiful edges of the city. 

So is the success of a public space really a design issue, a social issue or a political issue? We are still wondering? What really makes a public space successful?

Great Streets in Mumbai

Through the study of streets in Mumbai; conceptually it would be unfolded that how the concept of living  life changes depending upon the changing time and space thereby change in the social , cultural and economical environments and how this total change influences human life  and  activities. Realizing and understanding these changes means actually working out design criteria’s for new man made environments. 

There are going to be a series of lectures to understand the process of critical mapping of  evolution of streets in the city and will be followed by a workshop  from 28th April until 3rd May. The outcome of the workshop will be exhibited at Horniman circle - one of the historic open spaces of the city. 

Strolling through the Streets of Mumbai!

At present staying in Navi Mumbai and have stayed and travelled to other parts of the country I have been observing the growing urbanization and increasing congestion, I want to pause and understand the true essence of life in our Indian cities. 
During my tour to Madrid , Paris , Hongkong, Beijing I could observe the best of open public piazzas in the city. Since then, my eyes are looking for similar spaces in the city of Mumbai.Walking on  the streets of D.N.Road with the small shops is a very lively experience. I wonder why I like walking through tulshi baug street and along vishram baug Wada to Appa balwant chowk?  And why do I feel like an alien on the streets of vashi? What is it that instigates this feeling? Need for a great street which does not have vehicles but has only people walking on the streets ,probably some cafes......Streets where people interact with each other and has paving patterns which are interesting to look at. Probably a balloonwala, panipuriwala ......

I am not romanticizing but this kind of a place is actually present in Granada, Madrid, Paris, Beijing square, shanghai and also in our old Indian cities like manekchowk in Ahmedabad, chau par in jaipur, any plaza in a temple complex eg: Dakor ,along the ghats in haridwar.....

A friend in the U.S. once exclaimed, " Oh the cows and cars are on the same street in India". Very true, I say! The complexity of the open spaces in Indian cities is intense due to the co-existence of  the pedestrians, hawkers, cows and the vehicular traffic, parking and so on thus making it very challenging yet extremely dynamic.There exists a component of simultaneity on the Indian streets, bazaars, vegetable markets which needs to be explored and studied in detail to get a thorough understanding of what Indian cities are truly made up of?