Civic

Placemaking is an approach to the design and management of public spaces that draws upon the strengths and aspirations of the local community. Whereas ‘space’ is a physical entity, a ‘place’ is imbued with memories and evolves as people interact with each other socially and culturally in the public realm. It is a term that Architects and Urban Planners in the western countries began to use in the 1970s to describe the process of creating parks, plazas and streets that could attract people. In India, the street was already a vibrant place with a family celebrating a wedding; the temple deities…

The past 4 days (from Saturday onward) have seen a disruption in the services of HasiruDala, owing to another protest at Karnataka Composting Development Corporation, KCDC (our destination for wet waste). The city is in strife, with the order to close the Mandur landfill site, and internal challenges at KCDC. The KCDC muddle has resulted in the waste smelling in the wee hours of morning and night, and is causing hassles for the peripheral residents. However, the only possible way out is in improving the systems at KCDC, and this is being pushed for in every possible manner. In the…

The past 4 days (from Saturday onward) have seen a disruption in the services of HasiruDala, owing to another protest at Karnataka Composting Development Corporation, KCDC (our destination for wet waste). The city is in strife, with the order to close the Mandur landfill site, and internal challenges at KCDC. The KCDC muddle has resulted in the waste smelling in the wee hours of morning and night, and is causing hassles for the peripheral residents. However, the only possible way out is in improving the systems at KCDC, and this is being pushed for in every possible manner. In the…

An INTACH walk took some of us to Avenue road last Saturday with Lathasshree KS, an archaeologist who unearthed for us the Avenue road of old times. We saw that morning a beautiful past that had been preserved for centuries, low-relief deities in the ground or a nandi that was partly submerged. One step at a time, we moved from the contemporary urban chaos to the ancient serene landscape of shrines, snake stones and peepul trees. The axial symmetry of Chikpete If we look at the map of the fort or Pettah area, there are two axes – the N-S…

An INTACH walk took some of us to Avenue road last Saturday with Lathasshree KS, an archaeologist who unearthed for us the Avenue road of old times. We saw that morning a beautiful past that had been preserved for centuries, low-relief deities in the ground or a nandi that was partly submerged. One step at a time, we moved from the contemporary urban chaos to the ancient serene landscape of shrines, snake stones and peepul trees. The axial symmetry of Chikpete If we look at the map of the fort or Pettah area, there are two axes – the N-S…

That was a typo. We are not here to save you! We are only saving ourselves. As you see, the hot air balloons have lifted off ;). Seriously, more balloons are rising, just hop on. As we celebrate one year since the day 50 of us first gathered, we have no time to reminisce. We are infact shocked to get a call from Namma Bengaluru Awards that we are a finalist. They had 71,000 entries. (Yeah all those zeroes are there). We are not even sure we should be compared with or win against others that are all doing good…

That was a typo. We are not here to save you! We are only saving ourselves. As you see, the hot air balloons have lifted off ;). Seriously, more balloons are rising, just hop on. As we celebrate one year since the day 50 of us first gathered, we have no time to reminisce. We are infact shocked to get a call from Namma Bengaluru Awards that we are a finalist. They had 71,000 entries. (Yeah all those zeroes are there). We are not even sure we should be compared with or win against others that are all doing good…

This is a fortnightly newsletter shared by bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com Metro on Sarjapur Road, in some years    Namma Metro Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has begun the spadework for a 133-km Phase III.  Engineering consultancy firm RITES is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 33-km line from Central Silk Board to Hebbal, one of the five routes proposed under the new phase. The Central Silk Board - Hebbal line will cover vast stretches of the ORR, linking areas such as Sarjapur road, Marathahalli and Mahadevapura. The four other routes: * Nagawara - Kempegowda International Airport (KIA): 25-km line*…

This is a fortnightly newsletter shared by bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com Metro on Sarjapur Road, in some years    Namma Metro Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has begun the spadework for a 133-km Phase III.  Engineering consultancy firm RITES is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 33-km line from Central Silk Board to Hebbal, one of the five routes proposed under the new phase. The Central Silk Board - Hebbal line will cover vast stretches of the ORR, linking areas such as Sarjapur road, Marathahalli and Mahadevapura. The four other routes: * Nagawara - Kempegowda International Airport (KIA): 25-km line*…

In his book, ‘Sidewalk’, Mitchell Duneier describes the lives of people who “work the street”, the book vendors, the magazine vendors and the ‘men without accounts’ who guard the door to the ATMs on Sixth Avenue in New York. It is an intensive ethnographical study of the social structure of street life in the city. As I read the book, I’m reminded of my interactions until now with the street vendors outside Russell market in Bangalore. They also “work the street” some becoming entrepreneurs out of necessity and others by choice, in many ways living the same lives as the…