Redefining role of transforming community centres: a case of south Delhi

Abstract

Commercial areas in developing countries and specially India, constitute an integral part of the local economy as well as exhibit ethnic image of the habitat. Commercial areas in demographic settings as high as Delhi attracts large number of buyers and sellers. Recent changes in the national economy like liberalization of the economy, entry of multinational companies in the consumer sector and globalization, improved telecommunication system, increased per capita income and the purchasing power of the people, have brought about changes in the pattern of retail behaviour by the consumers. Delhi Master Plan-2021 envisages a five-tier system of commercial areas to accommodate required shopping, commercial office and other service activities like cinema, hotel and restaurant and various community services and facilities in an integrated manner. The five-tier system has at different levels, the Metropolitan city centre, District centre, Community centre, and Local shopping centre and Convenience shopping centre. On the third level is the community centre which is a government owned land, where community facilities are provided catering to a population of about one lakh with a minimum area of four hectares. In Delhi, there are different types of community centres where there are different activities (namely, retail, offices and banks, repair and services, banquet halls, markets, hotels, Cineplex, etc.) which dominate the community centres. The most common and dominant in South Delhi is the community centre whose primary identity is of a marketplace. The study is limited to the community centres which are primarily marketplaces and are presently underutilized and transforming to a derelict land. There is a trend of strong transformations on commercial and public and semipublic premises on the artery of the F-zone of south Delhi, where the function and use is being redefined to revitalize the area. The boost towards the redefining of obsolete urban functions with new ones is the key aspect for redevelopment of areas. As part of the present study, different models of redevelopment are studied where there are different strategies to different models. The inferences from these models are then compared to the existing model of a selected pilot communi ty centre, the Basant lok community centre. A detailed analysis of the pilot communi tycentre is undertaken on the following parameters. The trend and causes of the decline and transformation of the community centre is explored. The occupancy and infrastructure of the precinct is documented and analysed. It is seen that there are 40% vacant shops in the community centre and hence there is a need to redefine their role. The catchment characteristics conveys that the area is a highend residential area and it passes through the outer ring road of Delhi. For the catchment areas, a need analysis is done to understand the frequency of visit of residents to the community centre and other commercial areas. It is understood that the facilities in the community centre are less and hence is not preferred by people in the catchment. These inferences brings us to the point that there is a transformation seen in the area and redevelopment is needed to redefine the role. For redevelopment there is a need to see the perspective of residents and the developer, as any project would need to be socially acceptable and economically viable. To balance between the needs of residents and developers, tenure diversification as a strategy of ‘regeneration’ is used to bring in diverse options to fill in residents need and developers’ needs. To achieve the profitable value, but also addressing the social needs of residents, the strategy of tenure diversification is used, where a use of higher end is incorporated to gain profit and cross-subsidise the social uses. Through the pilot study, the work attempts to put forward a socially acceptable and economically viable model of redevelopment of communi ty centres, restoring the vibrancy of the precinct and serving the community in the vicinity.