URBAN PLANNING

On the afternoon of 28th april 2014, I had set myself the task of observing two street corners at either end of Noronha road at Russell market in Shivajinagar - a corner at the Broadway street end and a corner at the St.Mary’s Basilica end (Fig.1). I am reproducing here what I noted and what I sketched there. These were ordinary activities. They probably happen everyday. I observed the urban space – how the vendors create their informal selling spaces on the street and how walkers/shoppers enter these selling spaces and engage in a bargain, a conversation or a purchase.…

In well-planned cities, the government makes the plans and the builders respond to that with project proposals - to build residential communities, commercial facilities, and so on. In our cities, the builders and individual plot owners make their proposals first, and the city then scrambles to figure out how to plan the city around that. The order in which we do things is itself wrong. Within this error, looking for solutions to 'manage' the way things are done is pointless. Which is why making the planning body for the city work - as per law - is important. People sometimes…

In well-planned cities, the government makes the plans and the builders respond to that with project proposals - to build residential communities, commercial facilities, and so on. In our cities, the builders and individual plot owners make their proposals first, and the city then scrambles to figure out how to plan the city around that. The order in which we do things is itself wrong. Within this error, looking for solutions to 'manage' the way things are done is pointless. Which is why making the planning body for the city work - as per law - is important. People sometimes…

Today marks my 12th day in Bengaluru and I am proud to say my desire to take pictures of every single passing cow has subsided. Since arriving the weekend before last, I filled my phone’s camera roll with photos of cattle, likely confusing many passersby who have shared the roads with these guys their whole lives. I laughed out loud on several occasions, like when a large group of them walked right past my gate one evening, or when I moved out of the way of one only to have it move the same way putting me right back in…

Today marks my 12th day in Bengaluru and I am proud to say my desire to take pictures of every single passing cow has subsided. Since arriving the weekend before last, I filled my phone’s camera roll with photos of cattle, likely confusing many passersby who have shared the roads with these guys their whole lives. I laughed out loud on several occasions, like when a large group of them walked right past my gate one evening, or when I moved out of the way of one only to have it move the same way putting me right back in…

The Samosa Mela at Shivajinagar is a study conducted as part of a CEPT-CPP Summer school on The Everyday City that was held in June 2016 at the IIM Bangalore campus. It was a collaborative effort between CEPT University, Ahmedabad and the Center for Public Policy, IIM Bangalore. As part of the two-week workshop, the participants worked in groups to identify & analyse the everyday activities on the streets in different locations in the city. The Samosa mela project was done by Drashti Amin, (Anant Institute of Architecture, Ahmedabad), Akshata Bhandiwad (CEPT University, Ahmedabad) & Suyash Bhardwaj (NIT, Surat). The…

The Samosa Mela at Shivajinagar is a study conducted as part of a CEPT-CPP Summer school on The Everyday City that was held in June 2016 at the IIM Bangalore campus. It was a collaborative effort between CEPT University, Ahmedabad and the Center for Public Policy, IIM Bangalore. As part of the two-week workshop, the participants worked in groups to identify & analyse the everyday activities on the streets in different locations in the city. The Samosa mela project was done by Drashti Amin, (Anant Institute of Architecture, Ahmedabad), Akshata Bhandiwad (CEPT University, Ahmedabad) & Suyash Bhardwaj (NIT, Surat). The…

With the rains on their way in, it's a good time to clean up our rainwater filters, sumps and recharge wells.Lately we have received a lot of queries on how to go about with ground water recharge. Groundwater recharge can be achieved by digging recharge wells and redirecting rainwater into them.  Below are the phone numbers of some of the well diggers who can dig wells upto 40 ft deep Krishna : 99862-03022 Pedanna : 97424-23145 Antony: 80507-95139, 90357-10920, 9100691501 Kanthappa: 99169-85003 Muniyappa: 94485-70684 Mohan: 99869-22193 This brochure also provides some information on the process of locating and digging the…

With the rains on their way in, it's a good time to clean up our rainwater filters, sumps and recharge wells.Lately we have received a lot of queries on how to go about with ground water recharge. Groundwater recharge can be achieved by digging recharge wells and redirecting rainwater into them.  Below are the phone numbers of some of the well diggers who can dig wells upto 40 ft deep Krishna : 99862-03022 Pedanna : 97424-23145 Antony: 80507-95139, 90357-10920, 9100691501 Kanthappa: 99169-85003 Muniyappa: 94485-70684 Mohan: 99869-22193 This brochure also provides some information on the process of locating and digging the…

Kaikondrahalli and Kasavanahalli lakes have been in the news for disturbing reasons lately - the rampant real estate developments in the valley zone that may lead to drying up of the downstream lakes and massive flooding in the next rainy season. There is an ongoing petition to raise awareness on this issue. However, it is business as usual at the government offices. Authorities seem to have been quietly sanctioning one project after another. While there is Shriram Chirping Woods project that has been sanctioned in the valley zone, there is also Bren Imperia that has partly been built on the valley…