Urban Governance, diversity and social action in
cities of the South
N-Aerus Annual Conference, 15 – 16 September 2004, Barcelona,
Spain
Public Space and its potential: small-scale city in
North India
Manu Goel
Architect, Planner
Abstract
The Topic of this conference is very open ended and
wide in scope. However, I would like to structure this paper along my
experiences of working with the local authority in a small city of North India
during the past few months.
So far,’South[1]’ has had relatively many more no. of cities, more so
million plus cities. These cities in India are gaining more importance by the
day, as its resident is becoming more exposed, literate and ambitious. With the
saturation of the metropolitans, these cities are becoming like small
megacities. They have thriving markets, local activity and social diversity,
though the governance and city management are still undergoing a process of
upgradation.
However there are many aspects relating to their
social and physical nature, in this paper, I would especially like to highlight
the need for secular and democratic institutions in them. How I define such institutions is where the
city comes as a whole, identities merging. True urban environments offer such
institutions in the form of public libraries, art galleries and city halls,
public gardens etc. Do these small cities offer any such oppertunity, and what
is the potential in them?
This paper draws references to my last project, which
involves analysis of an Urban public space for Bareilly city in Uttar Pradesh.
This exercise ended with providing the local authority a detailed urban design
proposal to modify a market square and enhance its potential as a public space.
In short the issue that this paper addresses is that of lack of physical space in the city that
offers equal opportunity as a public space. Thus, it is on these lines that
this paper would address the key issues being faced by southern cities of
small-scale and their tremendous possibilities.
Background
The complexity of a city lies not only in its
demographic but also in its physical manifestation. There has been enough
research on the diversity and complexity of the city and so on. This paper will
focus on the issue of nature of physical space in the city that can be called
as ‘public’, and that in essence provides equal opportunity to the city
resident, rich or poor, to come together. To my mind, however there are few
social institutions that do so. Let us discuss one such social and democratic
institution that the city entails. We will discuss the marketplace- the market
square as the essential physical urban public space in the Indian city, which
is undergoing tremendous transformation in character and form. However it is
one entity, whose potential has remained understated and undermined. This paper
advocates, alongside stating a live example, about how this tremendous
potential could be chanelized.
Urban Public space in India
What is ‘urban’? The Census of India defines ‘Urban’
predominantly as a population category. In urban areas stratification is done
on the basis of size class of the towns/cities. The towns/cities are grouped
into five classes, viz.: - (a) towns with population below 20,000 (b) towns
with population of 20,000 and more but less than 50,000 (c) towns with
population of 50,000 and more but less than 100,000 (d) towns with population
of 100,000 and more but less than 500,000, (e) cities with population of
500,000 and more but less than 1,000,000 and (f) each city with population
1,000,000 or more, treated as a separate entity.
The sheer sizes of each of these categories speak of
the scales of ‘urban’ one is referring to. There are 384 Urban Agglomerations
in India, of which 35 are million Plus. Each of these Urban Agglomerations is
centered by a city, which serves as its headquarter, as well as for the nearby
rural catchment area. This city is hereon being referred to as ‘small city’
through out the paper. The entity called
the small city is an ad-hoc mixture of population of natives and rural migrants,
giving rise to complex entity that is more ‘occurred’ then ‘designed’.
The term ‘Public’ has
variety of meanings, from popular usage of designating everyone and anyone to
political definition of collective people. The term ‘space’ refers to the
physical dimensions of a particular location, that is connected not only to the
volume but also to nature, it is wide open. Architectural historian and critic
Roger Scruton(1984) said that the term public space is used to designate a
location that has four characteristics. It is designed, everyone has right to
access, encounter between individuals are unplanned and unexceptional, and
their behaviour towards each other than those of common norms of social
politeness. This concept can be combined with the features and functions of
different locations ranging from privately owned but publicly used spaces such
as clubs, to publicly owned and publicly used ones. From the categories above
there are many places in the city that could qualify as public. Infact even
Temple as a centre of religious lifestyle and interaction is one of them.
Traditionally, the built
fabric in the cities in India has been compact, with occasional clearings in
the built fabric to give way to squares and market places. Cities in India have
thriving market places. However, with time the element of change has started to
show its mark. In almost all of the Indian cities, the market place has become
dual in character, with two faces, the old and the new. There is an old market
street, in most cases, narrow and winding, and congested, whereas, there is a
‘new market’, which is along the wider street, has bigger shops, and a larger
public square, which is also a multi-utility space. However neither of them is
a controlled space.
As discussed by Scruton(1984),
public spaces are designed, bearing an imprint of human intervention in the
creation of boundaries, which define the space, naturally occurring spaces are
beyond social definition. Being conserved by design, they are constantly
subjected to changes and encroachments as a result of other space demands. The
market place in this case is usually a series of shops along a demarcated
street. However, what is designed is the square, the ‘chowk’. Traditionally, this square was invariable supported by
a religious institution, and the associated market activity. In some cities
this was accompanied by a large open space where people could be gathered and
addressed, or where certain city-level activities could be organized.
With time, the older chowk has been taken over by the
city development, encroachments and new developments. The needs and the roles
have changed with the changing lifestyles. The urban square is now used for
parking purposes, by vendors, by shops to advertise. On the other hand, its
potential lies in the fact that this square is still an activity hub. It caters
to the rich and the poor, the old and the new equally.
The public square today, essentially comes across as a
series of encroachments, the key issue being that of structuring the same. The
character of this urban space is rooted in the new lifestyles. The new city’s
new look comes with an attached lifestyle, of eating out, of shopping for
branded items flanking this marketplace, of hoardings and advertising elements
conquering the visual space.
It is to be understood, that here the image of a
market square is very different than its counterpart in European countries.
Here the traffic is characterized by mixed modes of transport bearing different
speeds. The roads are not streamlined to differentiate between parking space,
right of way and pedestrian space. Also the usage of spaces changes
tremendously from morning to night.
Case
Study: Introduction to Bareilly city
Figure1.
City Map of Bareilly
Bareilly is an
important industrial, commercial as well as education centre of western Uttar
Pradesh in North India. It is located on National Highway NH-24 connecting
Delhi and Lucknow. The city is situated about 252 kms east of the Indian
capital city of Delhi and about 255 km northwest of the state capital Lucknow.
It is also well connected by railway line.
The city of Bareilly is known for its traditional Zari-Zardozi crafts industry and cane furniture industry. The city
has remained an important cultural and trading center for centuries.
Bareilly city with a population of over 7.3 lakh is
one of the larger urban agglomerations in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the seventh largest city in the state..
There are number of important institutions and administrative agencies are
located in Bareilly. Bareilly houses the divisional headquarters of police
zone, headquarters of UB area of army, headquarters of NER division, national
level institutions like IVRI (Indian Veterinary Research Institute) and CARI
(Central Avian Research Institute). Bareilly is also an important educational
center with prominent universities and schools.
Lately, the city is becoming a medical facilities center with several
public and private sector medical facilities in the form of specialty hospitals
and nursing homes being established.
Table 1: Population Trends in Bareilly Urban
Agglomeration
|
No.
|
Year
|
Bareilly
Municipal corporation |
Bareilly
Urban Agglomerations |
||||
|
Population |
Decadal
growth rate (%) |
CAGR
(%) |
Population |
Decadal
growth rate (%) |
CAGR
(%) |
||
|
1 |
1901 |
133,167 |
- |
|
133,167 |
- |
|
|
2 |
1911 |
129,462 |
-2.78 |
-0.28 |
129,462 |
-2.78 |
-0.28 |
|
3 |
1921 |
129,459 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
129,459 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
4 |
1931 |
144,031 |
11.26 |
1.07 |
153,883 |
18.87 |
1.74 |
|
5 |
1941 |
192,688 |
33.78 |
2.95 |
204,850 |
33.12 |
2.90 |
|
6 |
1951 |
208,083 |
7.99 |
0.77 |
221,487 |
8.12 |
0.78 |
|
7 |
1961 |
272,828 |
31.11 |
2.75 |
286,033 |
29.14 |
2.59 |
|
8 |
1971 |
326,106 |
19.53 |
1.80 |
344,376 |
20.40 |
1.87 |
|
9 |
1981 |
449,425 |
37.82 |
3.26 |
475,382 |
38.04 |
3.28 |
|
10 |
1991 |
590,661 |
31.43 |
2.77 |
617,350 |
29.86 |
2.65 |
|
11 |
2001 |
720,035 |
21.90 |
2.00 |
729,800 |
18.21 |
1.69 |
Source:
Bareilly Nagar Nigam (Revised Population) and Primary Census Abstracts, Census
of India, 1991
Bareilly is one of the five identified counter magnet
cities identified as part of the NCR[2] policy to decongest and regulate the growth of the
national capital region. The other counter magnet cities are Kota in Rajasthan,
Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Hissar in Hariyana and Patiyala in Punjab. This plan
intends to divert Populations migrating to Delhi to these conter magnets, by
equiping them with better infrastructure and oppertunities.
The centre of activity in Bareilly is it marketplace.
The trends of urban economy of Bareilly reflect its dependence on the tertiary
sector. The City is popularly know as a ‘trader’s city’ as the impetus of its
early growth was based on providing services to the colonial establishments –
the cantonment area. It later on became an important trading hub for the Tarai
region and also for the surrounding hinterland. Industrialization in 70s and
80s resulted into large scale urbanization and rural migration to the city.
After the closure of large-scale industries in 1990s, the growth of the city is
mainly depending upon trade and commerce, transport and other sectors.
Table 2
: Occupational Pattern in Bareilly
City
|
Category |
Percentage
of Workers |
||
|
1971 |
1981 |
1991 |
|
|
Primary
Sector |
4.57 |
2.90 |
9.05 |
|
Manufacturing |
26.01 |
26.47 |
17.08 |
|
Construction |
3.60 |
4.48 |
4.77 |
|
Trade
& Commerce |
17.22 |
18.65 |
21.36 |
|
Transport,
Storage & Communication |
17.40 |
15.52 |
9.61 |
|
Other
Services |
31.20 |
31.98 |
38.14 |
|
TOTAL |
100.00 |
100.00 |
100.00 |
Source: District Census Handbook,
1991
Note:
Census 2001 data for occupation pattern in Bareilly city is not available yet.
Case study: Urban Public space and its potential
Figure2.
A typical street section
Having established the importance of the marketplace
in Bareilly as an urban public space, let us look into the character of this
space. I have chosen the most important market stretch‚ Motilal Nehru Marg for
this purpose. This traffic stretch lies between two large traffic junctions.
Both sides of the road ae bound by shops of diverse order, largely garments,
shoes, furniture, utensils, and cosmetics. It is a retail market. The most
significant part of this stretch are the important institutions that are
located here. The road is divided into three sections due to a Hindu temple, a
Cinema Hall and a Mosque. All three institutions are visited by several city
residents everyday. Both sides of the street are used for parking, in a
haphazard manner. Through the day the street is overcome by vendors,
fruitsellers, and parked vehicles. At night the space is transformed, as the
roadsides are taken over by food and snack stalls.
This stretch of road is one of the few links between
the old and the new city. As a result, more than half the traffic on this
street is thorough traffic, which is fast moving. There are several accidents
between them and those vehicles which are being parked. The Hindu temple on the
street is part of the encroachment and stands in the middle of the road (refer
drawing), blocking one side of vehicular flow, whereas the mosque also juts out
onto the road. The cinema hall also demands its own share of parking space.
Figure
3. Plan illustrating the designed street layout.
Besides this physical configuration of spaces, the
parking on two sides of the road also expands onto the road limit when there is
need (refer existing road sections). As a result, a public space, which has the
potential of being the city’s most happening place results into a congested
traffic bottleneck. A lack of street furniture, and adequate footpaths and
hawker space surface as the key problems.
Figure
5. Plan indicating the built mass and the proposed urban plaza space Figure
4: Suggested street section
As part of the design exercise, several meetings were
held with the mayor of the city, to discuss and list out the needs of the place
and how this stretch could be developed into an effective urban plaza. The
result of this exercise was a complete design proposal of reorganising the
physicl making of this road stretch by giving a servise lane and parking
provision on one or two sides of the roads, and to pave and develop the spaces
adjoining the religious and recreational institutions. Adequate hawker space
was earmarked, which would allow the hawkers to legally occupy the area for a
limited time of the day, without having the fear of being removed. A clear
seggregation with the thorough traffic has been made, where there is a no
stopping zone. Street furniture and pavements were designated.
Urban Governence issues
The Development Authority in Bareilly was established
in the year 1976 to carry out the functions of a nodal agency for physical development
and growth management of the city. The agency however is under severe
corruption and mismanagement. There cost recovery mechanism is poor and there
is a dearth of financial planning for capital works. There being a provision
for regularisation of illegal construction through submission of compounding
fees, the authority does not carry out timely demolition of encroachments.
While in discussion, the authorities do not seem to value the potential for
developing urban spaces. The key focus was still on paving the Right of way and
at best providing a footpath, without giving attention to details for a better
design.
Conclusion
Cities are engines of growth. They are both social and
physical structures and can be analysed from many perspectives. With
urbanisation on a rising trend across the world, the city is perceived as a
happening phenomenon, a development agency[3], fast changing roles as it no longer depends only
upon the urban region for partial fulfillment of its needs but also links the
populations to the globe thus entailing a critical application of concepts like
that of ‘sustainability’.
What then is that a city in a developing nation needs
to strive for? Planning for the city in the developing country– thus remains a
challenge to strategically manage the environmental, economic and social
change. The past decade has witnessed a remarkable attention and international
consensus over the urban development, largely because of the unprecedented rise
in the populations and a realization of the resultant forthcoming problems. A
majority of city dwellers, particularly those with subsistence incomes, no
security and very little power, however gain little stake in the future of
their cities.
Cities cannot be successful – economically, politically or culturally –if the
they keep growing into the directions that their predecessors have taken. The
divide/ relation between the developing and the developed world comes ahead in
the face of structural adjustment and economic reforms that are channels for
their differences. Thus one finds cities have become more powerful and now have
multifaceted roles to play. Thus the questions regarding their functioning,
growth and governance are of key importance. They have tremendous potential as
agents of change.
The paper thus argues that while
planning the city has been a uniform process, enough attention has not been
paid to the designing of the urban public space in the Indian City. Where
bigger cities like Delhi and Mumbai, have received attention to this aspect,
where revitalisation schemes have been undertaken, or where otherwise
alternative urban plazas exist for the common man to interact, it is the small
city, which is in the worst situation. Low financial capacity, and bad urban
governance add to the insensitivity with which urban projects are executed.
Attempts have been made in some cases to take up isolated projects[4]
Part of these projects have been self financing, and the rest has been
recovered through the design, for example selling of advertising rights.
The
scale of the problem not being realised, is quite big. 384 small cities of a
population between 0.5 to 1 million are facing a situation such as this. In a
decade from now, the worse may happen. The small city lack both initiative and
means to follow such examples. Since implementation of our planning mechanisms
is poor, there has to be an alternative way to arrive at common grounds. Or
else, our cities will just be a cluster of haphazard growth, with fragmented
urban space. There would be no common grounds for the rich and the poor, for
the old and the young. The marketplaces and the inner cities would soon reach a
situation that they would have to be revitalised not developed.
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