Synergising through integrated public realms

Indian cities are growing rapidly in terms of population and therefore expanding physically. The increasing urban population and the growing urban incomes will fuel demand for more and more built-floor space in cities accompanied by a demand for infrastructure. Many urban areas within these cities are dealing with unstainable levels of stress on infrastructure, resources and public services and are becoming increasingly unliveable. As an attempt to address these concerns, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) has initiated various schemes such as AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation), SMART CITIES MISSION and HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation). These schemes enable planning for developing infrastructure in the brownfield areas through mechanisms such as Local Area Plans (LAP) and Town Planning schemes (TPS). We are working on projects that are emerging out of these initiatives defined by our studio tutors. Through the design projects, we are exploring the methods of integration of the physical design with the regulatory frameworks (TPS, LAP) in creating liveable, functional, memorable, safe and sustainable urban areas. The projects have a strong design focus on the physical setting, however, issues of private ownership and social equity, land economics, planning models, project finance, and implementation strategies are also addressed.