Vaishnavi Akilla

UR3003

The Battle of Bezubaan

From a small fishing village to a huge metropolis, Mumbai has seen a lot of changes in its physical form due to various factors. Starting from the seven islands it turned into a single island, by constant land reclamation from the sea. However, the increase in population and the effects of policies over time has resulted in a complicated built form and the land use of the city. During this process of planning, the politicians and planners never considered the existing natural systems of Mumbai. 
Destruction of these systems and construction over them has become a constant trend for decades. Environmental protection in the current global scenario is an emergency. The rapid growth in the Indian cities requires efficient planning ways to provide basic needs to the residents as well as protect the ecological systems remaining in the city. This is a crucial time for the planners and decision-makers at the city level to start considering the environment in their planning. 
 The illustrations are a way to satirically explain the current issues that Bombay is facing. 
It is not only the responsibility of a planner but in the end, it is a collective responsibility of every citizen or resident of the city, every politician and every builder to consider the repercussion that destroying these natural systems would cause. This issue of negligence must be dealt at different scales starting from questioning the seriousness of the law taken by planners or politicians as well as the people who in the end will be suffering the human-driven disasters.


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“Let’s develop.”, said the planners of Bombay. Ignoring the ecosystems of the city; the mangroves, the Mithi river and the coastal zone, they thought interdependency between different species living on the same planet was a myth, and here we are where a new generation is experiencing all the repercussions for their mind-blowing actions. Hail Hydra! Such development that I can swim when it rains!

“It was Mithi’s mistake, we left 20 meters from the 58 meters width that it actually occupied, so it functions properly when we want it to” said a builder. Agreeing to him the planner replied, “Since Mithi thinks it can ignore its responsibilities, let’s build a wall around the area to tame it.” Because humans are the only responsible species on this planet.

“Look at London, Paris and New York”, they said, the politicians and planners as if they were the perfectly functioning cities in the world. Oh! When did they ever consider the context of Mumbai and the historical background of the western cities? Hail Hydra! Mistakes are meant to be repeated, history is for fools!

Residential Use - With Podium

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Street - Arterial with Flyover

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Open Spaces

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