‘Urban planners aren’t contractors. We create’

In 2019, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), in collaboration with the World Resource Institute (WRI), invited urban planners to join hands with its engineers to redesign the citys streets to make them safer and inclusive. Mumbai Street Lab was the first-of-its-kind project in which five arterial roadsSV Road, Nepean Sea Road, Vikhroli Parksite Road No. 17, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road and Rajaram Mohan Roy Roadwere selected for improvements that included pedestrian-friendly interventions, walking and cycling paths, and ideas for smooth vehicular movement. Each winner was promised a R5 lakh prize money. Nothing came of this initiative. Last year, Kalpit Ashar, co-founder of architecture design firm, Mad(e) in Mumbai, which was chosen to redevelop Maulana Shaukat Ali Road in Grant Road East, received an email informing him that his firms services were not required anymore. The BMC first agreed to take on our designs, and later said the project was scrapped. All five firms that were chosen have received this communication. It was a hogwash. The roads were re-constructed without following the drawings of the consultants and same problems of our existing roads were repeated that too after spending a huge amount of money, says Ashar. Soon after, they received another rude surprise when they heard that the BMC had floated a new tender for street retrofitting. This time, however, there was a difference. The stringent conditions laid down by the civic body for the empanelment of architects for redesigning Mumbais streets meant none of the urban planning firms would be eligible. The conditions [to apply for the tender] included a deposit of R1 lakh that would be retained for three years, a turnover of R2 crore which was later changed to Rs 50 lakh, and liquid cash of Rs 25 lakh, among other things. We are architects not big ticket contractors. Instead of looking at talent and experience, the authorities are interested in bank balance. Over a hundred Mumbai architects and urban designers have now written to the Deputy Chief Engineer of roads department (planning), highlighting the problematic terms of the tender. Rahul Kadri Street design is the basis of town planning, says Pranav Naik of Studio Pomegranate, a Lower Parel-based architecture firm that was chosen in the 2019 plan to develop Nepean Sea Road. In urban design, we take it as a given that a person has to walk a certain distance before they take up a mode of transport. If a city is designed for walking, it will automatically work well for public transport. For instance, its a breeze to walk a kilometre to reach MRT stations in Singapore; it takes just about five minutes. But, in Mumbai, that same one kilometre feels long because the footpaths are narrow and broken, they are blocked by illegally parked vehicles, he explains. Both Naik and Ashar, who have collaborated with various municipal bodies on several projects, believe that footpaths are complex social systems and designing them requires contextual planning, along with a sound understanding of movement of people and ecology of the neighbourhood. You have to customise your plan, especially in a metropolis where you have hawkers, shanties, and diverse elements to take into account, believes Ashar. Last year, the civic body proposed to spend Rs 1,600 crore on the improvement of roads. Pranav Naik and Dikshu C Kukreja Rahul Kadri is an adviser on NSRCF-VISION 2020, an initiative undertaken by the NSRCF (Nepean Sea Road Citizens Forum) with IMK Architects to revamp the existing stretch of Nepean Sea Road. The plan hopes to focus on solutions for footpath connectivity, pedestrian safety and convenient crossings, hindrance free pedestrian movement, organised bustops and lay-bys, traffic calming techniques, installation of tree grates and a scheme for organised street vending. According to him, the success of an infrastructure project depends on negotiation with local residents. The last time when the BMC and WRI floated the project, it didnt work out because they did not anticipate the hurdles in implementation. The process of design cannot be linear because it requires adjustments on the ground. Research shows that Mumbai is dreadful for pedestrians. The city ranked 27 among 30 Indian cities that were evaluated on their ‘walkability by the Clean Air Initiative, an organisation involved in assessing ease of walking in Asian cities. Urban walkability is determined by continuous and safe walkway networks that are accessible toall people. Its important to differentiate between streets and roads, says Dikshu Kukreja, urban planner and principal architect of CPK Kukreja. While roads are primarily for vehicles, streets prioritise people. Id say they [streets] are the nerves of a citys system. A well-designed street can bring about the best in its citizens. Because we are infatuated with vehicles, we have neglected streets and focused only on road design. Streets are shrinking and roads are getting wider. Kukreja feels Europe has done a better job than the US with walkability. Think Vienna, Paris, Berlin and Rome. Kukreja believes we can achieve this too if the civic bodies, for starters, engage urban planners in town planning. We create cities forpeople, enabling balanced urban development. Architects therefore must not be equatedwith contractors. Nepean Sea Road street revamp proposal (Left) Existing condition with tree-pit at the centre; (right) proposal Footpath connectivity The NSRCF-VISION 2020 is an initiative undertaken by the NSRCF (Nepean Sea Road Citizens Forum) together with Kadri Consultants to revamp the existing stretch of Nepean Sea Road. Pic courtesy/imkarchitects.com Existing case 1Break in connectivityEnding the footpath with abrupt curbs Existing case 2Lowering the footpath to the level of the carriageway can lead to waterlogging of entrances Ideal solutionProviding vehicular access ramps ensures connectivity in footpath

‘Urban planners aren’t contractors. We create’

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