Abstract:
Urban transformation as a result of urbanization and internationalization has changed our cities and its public spaces. The public spaces of 21st century are fragmented, inaccessible, or privately owned as a result of changes in their function and spatial structure. The increasing mobility of contemporary society has challenged the notion of public place. The inhabitants must now travel to specific destinations to find space for public life. In a time when the so-called public space in cities such as parks, gardens, plazas, waterfronts, malls, etc. are transforming into a privatized pseudo-public realm, one of the most universal public spaces, ‘streets’ is yet overlooked.
“Streets and their sidewalks, the main public spaces of a city, are its most vital organs.”
-Jane Jacobs
Throughout the centuries, street has evolved in terms of its role and design. It was designed for pedestrians and tailored to their needs such as marketplace, town meetings, and military parades. The improvements in technology and social organization resulted in streets being main thoroughfare for vehicles and with shared mobility systems like the metro being introduced, attention to infrastructure development has sidelined the pedestrians who are no longer the main users. This change in transportation has affected the essence of street as public space.
In Indian cities, vehicular circulation has become the primary focus for street design and public transportation systems have failed because ridership was lower than anticipated, due to poor last-mile connectivity. Cities have been affected by congestion and segregation as a result of reducing streets to transit networks, which has reduced spaces for public life.
The intent is to understand the role of streets as public spaces with the advancement in mobility networks and the missing social life along sanitized streets of the city. The thesis will argue how the street as a public space can be developed at street level while the metro intervenes smoothly in our mobility network to provide a healthy user experience and rethink street as a play to stay.
