Arnav Prakash

UR3003

Public Space in Disguise

The cities are made up of various stake-holders and complex systems. Amidst these nuances there exists underlying layers of multiple negotiations. The project reflects on the needs of public spaces that break the bias of being focused on the private realm, and the equation that currently exists. It highlights the importance of the social fabric within the contesting scenario where there is an imbalance of space distribution. 


Report Content

Mumbai has developed rapidly over the last few decades but the public spaces have remained the same or deteriorated. The identification of residual spaces, reimagining them as public spaces, building a support system for the existing spaces, integrating the public & private realm are some of the objectives of the project. An attempt has been made to reduce the disparity amongst the people & spaces, by carving out public spaces for them to call their ‘own’.

There should be free-flowing physical access and visual access from the streets to the adjacent properties. The first two floors should be utilised to revitalise the streets and making them more interactive. The setbacks could be carved to accommodate various activities like parking, vending and public seating. Spaces should be negotiated to avoid vehicular and pedestrian movement conflict. Relevant provisions should be made for cyclists, street utilities and motorists as it would reduce the

Site sections showing the edge conditions and mix of activities.

The site has a mix of uses and accommodates diverse user groups. There is a lot of floating population that usually access the site, further associating themselves with commercial and recreational activities. The analysis focuses on understanding the infrastructure, social realm. activities and other factors that support or obstruct the idea of a public city.

- Vehicular streets to be provided at an interval no less than 300 m .i.e. distance between the two junctions. -The vehicular streets should have slight curvature with residual space no less than 4m and not more than 6m from the plot boundary to slow down the vehicular speed. -Vehicular streets should have a clear walkway no less than 2m on either side of the street without any utilities that could obstruct the movement. -The parking activity is to be contained within the MCGM allotted parkin

-The internal streets should be made completely pedestrianized with multiple opportunity spaces. The activities could be diverse and accommodate public infrastructure within the same space. -Bicycle lanes should be provided on all kinds of streets with a minimum width of 2m and public spaces should have provisions of bicycle stations, shuttle/shared vehicles that can be utilized for the short-distance commute. -The walkway should be elevated to 150 mm with the availability of ramps at the jun

-The entire mill land is to be redeveloped in public interest. The developments would involve providing essentials like public housing, health care , recreational spaces, NMT facility, etc. -Thoroughfare to be provided to access various other opportunity spaces across the site and faster mobility. -There would be no hard edges at the plot boundaries for better porosity and visual access from the adjoining streets.

The scope of street interventions could be expanded, if incentive based negotiations of space are done with the private realm stakeholders. Their residual spaces such as setbacks and podiums which are redundant could be integrated with the streets. These would increase the amount of space available for public activities and allow more interaction amongst the users. Space would also help in reducing the stress on streets especially near commercial setups where spillover is a major concern.

The mill lands and other redundant open spaces could be revitalized for the public good. It can have a composite system that supports the lifestyle and the livelihood of people. These spaces can have varied public housing, amenities, schools, fire station, open spaces, vending, market spaces, etc. that enhances the everyday activities of the people. Connecting a variety of spaces with ease of access would reduce the stress on the barely existing public spaces that do not have sufficient opportun

Proposed recommendations.