Urban Planning and Regulations: Intent, Manifestation and Design

Indian cities are plagued with, to mention a few, a lack of good quality public realm, insufficient green cover, lack of inclusive pedestrian infrastructure, unaffordable land market, and an over regulatory development framework. Many of these are resultant of an archaic idea of city planning and design but can also be attributed to the effect of multiple city stakeholders and their interactions. These stakeholders (politicians, citizen groups, slum dwellers, architects, engineers, administrators, urban planners/designers, etc.) and their competing views towards city design and planning materialize in the form of national/State level policies, city-level development plans, city-level building regulations or outcomes of a judicial proceeding. All of which culminate in tangible change. The course “Urban Policy and Regulations: Intent>Manifestation>Design” aims to understand the competing process of city-making with a specific focus on land markets, public realm, and built form. Which will be explored in 2 modules at the City and Area level. The studio is based in Mumbai, owing to a long history of planning and design interventions.