POLICY

A day-long workshop has been organised on how we can envision alternatives to the smart city and challenge the top-down and exclusionary nature of such policies. The workshop includes a number of speculative and participatory design activities through the day and encourages participants to contribute as part of this conversation, which will particularly focus on how those marginalised by gender, caste, disability and other vectors might propose alternatives that are realistic and constructive for these communities. ‘Gendering the Smart City project’ is led by Professor Ayona Datta, UCL, and Dr Padmini Ray Murray, Design Beku. Event details: Date & Time:…

While there have been attempts to formally plan the growth of a city, this has not proved to be successful in many parts of the world. Informality does play a significant role in several cities, especially those that are in the emerging economies. For those working in the informal sector, access to capital is limited and resources are not plentiful. The informal worker or the street vendor therefore borrows from the public spaces of the city where no price or a small price can reduce or eliminate the overheads related to rent or ownership of a space. In a study…

In some neighburhoods, citizens are vexed by an increasing number of bars and pubs, and the dramatic change in the surroundings as a result. There have been various instances of conflict between residents and these establishments, and also a demand that BBMP should address this properly. This is doable, but only if we correctly identify the problems. (a) The first challenge is that people who want to set up the establishments are themselves property owners in the area, which causes discord between the neighbours in terms of what they themselves want. (b) The second is that often those letting their…

In some neighburhoods, citizens are vexed by an increasing number of bars and pubs, and the dramatic change in the surroundings as a result. There have been various instances of conflict between residents and these establishments, and also a demand that BBMP should address this properly. This is doable, but only if we correctly identify the problems. (a) The first challenge is that people who want to set up the establishments are themselves property owners in the area, which causes discord between the neighbours in terms of what they themselves want. (b) The second is that often those letting their…

Akrama Sakrama is a complete fraud. There are many things wrong with this scheme. Sadly, Congress, BJP and JDS appear to be united in their attempts to destroy the city. Regularisation may be unavoidable, given the scale of what has happened so far, but if it's not done right even now, that will be an open invitation to let things carry on as they are in the future too.(a) The proposal does not include any penalty for the officials who connived in the illegalities. In fact, they have not even been identified.(b) There is virtually no transparency. Which are the…

Akrama Sakrama is a complete fraud. There are many things wrong with this scheme. Sadly, Congress, BJP and JDS appear to be united in their attempts to destroy the city. Regularisation may be unavoidable, given the scale of what has happened so far, but if it's not done right even now, that will be an open invitation to let things carry on as they are in the future too.(a) The proposal does not include any penalty for the officials who connived in the illegalities. In fact, they have not even been identified.(b) There is virtually no transparency. Which are the…

How about starting 2014 with a walk for gender minorities? Praja Rajakiya Vedike along with other organizations is conducting "Freedom Walk – ​​E​​nd Violence on Sexual Minorities" tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan-1-2014). This is an effort to facilitate interaction between sexual minorities and the society at large, in the context of the December 2013 Supreme Court judgment on IPC Section 377. ​The Freedom Walks are an initiative to make the public understand the issues of disadvantaged sections of our society.​ Participants will gather at 5:00 PM near the Radhakrishna Theatre (in Matadahalli) and start walking at 5:30 PM. They will pass through…

How about starting 2014 with a walk for gender minorities? Praja Rajakiya Vedike along with other organizations is conducting "Freedom Walk – ​​E​​nd Violence on Sexual Minorities" tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan-1-2014). This is an effort to facilitate interaction between sexual minorities and the society at large, in the context of the December 2013 Supreme Court judgment on IPC Section 377. ​The Freedom Walks are an initiative to make the public understand the issues of disadvantaged sections of our society.​ Participants will gather at 5:00 PM near the Radhakrishna Theatre (in Matadahalli) and start walking at 5:30 PM. They will pass through…

Our urban planning framework has totally misunderstood the management of parking. Starting with building bye laws to on-street parking to off-street, pretty much EVERYTHING we do around parking is wrong. And the examples that people point to as 'successful' are often very good examples of failures. The goal of the municipality should be to manage mobility, not parking. And this focus should prioritise mobility of public transport vehicles, and also facilitate good quality infrastructure for pedestrian movement. Look at the example of every major city in the world. They don't go around telling builders that for every square foot of…

Our urban planning framework has totally misunderstood the management of parking. Starting with building bye laws to on-street parking to off-street, pretty much EVERYTHING we do around parking is wrong. And the examples that people point to as 'successful' are often very good examples of failures. The goal of the municipality should be to manage mobility, not parking. And this focus should prioritise mobility of public transport vehicles, and also facilitate good quality infrastructure for pedestrian movement. Look at the example of every major city in the world. They don't go around telling builders that for every square foot of…