Exploring the tools for social empowerment

Abstract

A good public space must be accommodative for everyone included the marginal, the forgotten, the silent, and an undesirable people. With the process of development, the city leaves behind the marginalized section of the society especially urban poor, who constitute about 20-30 percent of the urban population and are majorly involved in informal settlement like slums and informal economy in which they face the everyday social, physical and economic exclusion. Thus, the informal sector and the marginalized becomes the forgotten elements in urban space. „Cities for the Citizen‟ a slogan described by Douglas address the same issues of democratization, multicultural/gender difference and human. These people share a unique pattern for movement in the city which makes a city a dynamic entity. The lack of opportunities and participation to such section leaves the city divided and generates the negative impacts in the mind of victims which further leads to degradation of city life because of their involvement in crime, unemployment, illiteracy and unwanted areas The physical, social, cultural and economic aspects of space should accommodate the space needed for the forgotten and provide them with inclusive public environment to be a part of the city. Thus, as a society should be educated to learn and share, to respect the rights of other users in the city and by design ideas the physical quality of the visual city would be better by minimizing the annexation of space and overlapping activities. The idea of social urbanism talks about development of cities aiming to the social benefit and upliftment of the citizen. The social urbanism strategy uses specific projects to inject investment into targeted areas in a way that cultivates civic pride, participation, and greater social impact. Thus, making the cities inclusive and interactive for all the development.