In post-Covid Indian cities, how do we design inclusive public spaces? In this project ‘Vulnerability in a Pandemic City,’ 11 undergraduate students from CEPT University attempted to answer this question.
The project was on display at the annual CEPT Winter Exhibition, which began in hybrid mode on Monday.
Students from CEPT University’s Urban Design and Faculty of Planning used the case of street dwellers under a flyover in Pakwaan Junction, one of Ahmedabad’s busiest intersections, as a model for the project.
Between August and December 2021, students conducted mapping of the junction-infrastructure development from a timeline starting in 1915, when the first town planning was made, until 2020, covering nearly 200 pavement dwellers mostly under the flyover at the Pakwaan junction. Then they prepared a detailed map of proposed designs for public space prioritising identified groups as per their needs.
“We looked at the various levels of vulnerability they face on a daily basis. “It was observed that communities from Rajasthan and other parts of Gujarat migrated there due to precarious circumstances,” Anushka Mukherjee, one of the eleven undergraduate students, explained..
Based on access, infrastructure, and livelihoods, the students mapped their movements and activities across the site. The analysis revealed the residents’ post-pandemic conditions, which included multiple threats. Health, security, livelihood, and homes all become serious threats to the pavement dwellers when families live in filthy conditions.
“According to the women interviewed, Pooja, a 10-year-old beggar, expressed her desire to go to school and learn with her friends who live on the streets. Tejal and Joshna, both 21-year-old mothers, have reproductive health issues but are unaware of them. “As we interviewed more people, they became more eager to discuss their problems with us in the hopes of finding homes,” Anushka added.
“Most of the families migrated from small villages of Rajasthan into bamboo craft making who earlier would migrate to other cities like Delhi but after Covid they came to Ahmedabad,” said Naved Ahmed, one of the undergraduate students.
However, due to the pandemic they lost their livelihood. “They left for their villages and returned but they faced issues in returning to their business as they had lost their direct buyers who are now hesitant in rolling down their windows. Many even shifted from bamboo items to selling toys and masks,” he added.
“One pertinent observation was the existing unsanitary practices by the vulnerable throughout the site. The project ‘Leisure and Lavatory’ focusses on understanding the ongoing sanitary practices, on site ground conditions, needs of the pavement dwellers in terms of safety and access, and thereby to design a space that serves the purpose of a cleaner, safer and more accessible toilet and several gathering spaces with provision of education on sanitary practices and disease risks, for them to socialise,” said Aryan Iyer, the teaching assistant for the project.
The studio ended with each of the students formulating strategies and designing public spaces such as training centres, play spaces, and vending areas to cater to vulnerable groups and instil a sense of awareness in them.
This design includes a children’s area, accessible and affordable health care facilities, particularly for the elderly and disabled, more trees and sitting areas, green space, a bamboo craft centre, a cycle track with various vending spots in between for various vendors, and a learning centre for women and children who live on the sidewalk.
“‘Public’ should be a broad term that excludes differences based on caste, religion, or income.” Even though, hostile architecture is a modern urban strategy that is used to make public spaces inaccessible to large groups of people, such as pavement dwellers. “Using elements such as walls and plinths, the proposed design creates a space that encourages non-normative engagement,” Namoshi Basu, one of the eleven undergraduate students, writes in her project brief.