Redesigning old commercial street market to enhance the shopping experience – a case of sultan bazar, Hyderabad

Abstract

In the current scenario, the definition of public space has changed according to the needs of the people, in the form of commercial streets, food joints and coffee shops etc. These kind of public spaces evolved and still surviving only because, there is a shrinkage in time and space in the urban areas. Unlike the traditional setup of places like streets, bazars and markets are the arena of social expression of the cities. The new technological innovations are welcoming with the new cultures and giving a new definition to the public spaces. The streets, markets and bazaars are not just a transitional spaces, but essentially they are feast for the senses. These are the kind of spaces where each individual possesses as his own space. One should understand that protecting and giving some measures to retain the old commercial streets is vital. Sultan bazar is one of the old commercial street market in the city of Hyderabad. The elevated metro is coming up through the Sultan bazaar street market which is going to disturb the whole street market built fabric and there are numerous external factors like, conflicts between vehicular and pedestrian movements, no legibility for open, green, cultural and social spaces, congestion and street disconnectivity, hence all these factors are contributing for the degradation of shopping experience of Sultan bazaar. So the main objective of the thesis is to understand and analyze the above mentioned layers and try to resolve those layers in terms of urban design context to enhance the shoppers experience and also to benefit for the trade and commerce of Sultan bazaar. Methodology is the key factor In order to resolve the problems which are facing by the Sultan bazar. So firstly, understanding the site briefly in order to have an overall view of the site. Then one has to look into deeply about the urban design elements and characteristics of the site and conduct the interviews to understand the issues which are facing by the primary stakeholders which are vendors and consumers, conducting the traffic surveys and studying the effects of metro as an urban insert. Later it is important to have multiple layers one upon another and try to understand threats and opportunities of the market and then giving probable intervention and guidelines for the site. The study results in making street pedestrianization, enhancing legibility and imageability of the social, open and green spaces, diverting the vehicular movements, creating formal parking spaces and at the same time to introduce the last mile connectivity would really enhance the shopping experience therefore which would make experience is memorable and enjoyable. Key words: commercial street, enhancing shopping experience, open spaces and Shopping culture.