STREETS OF NEW DELHI | SAFETY OF CITIZENS | Gagan Sapian

RESEARCH PAPER

STREETS IN NEW DELHI

SUBMITTED BY:

GAGAN

01290701610

GUIDED BY:

AR. DIVYA CHOPRA

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY, KASHMERE GATE, DELHI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………………...…………..

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….………………

AIM/OBJECTIVE……………………………………………………………………………….......

SCOPE OF STUDY…………………………………………………………………….…………….

HYPOTHESIS………………………………………………….………………………….……………

RESEARCH QUESTION…………………………………………………………………………….

METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………………...…….…

FRAMEWORK………………………………………………..……………………………………..

ESTABLISHING THE CASE………………………………………………………………..……..

CASE STUDY……..……………………………………………………………………………………

CONCLUSION……..………………………………………………………………………………….

REFERENCE…………………………………………………..……………………………………….

ANNEXURE…………………………………………………………………….………………………

ABSTRACT

“Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs. Think of a city and what comes to mind? Its streets. If a city’s streets look interesting, the city looks interesting, if they look dull, the city looks dull.[1]” A general trend in Architecture is that we choose(have) a site, design a building on it which is safe, sound and secure, compatible to the local climate, comfortable for habitation, is in response to the context in its own particular way and style  and the occupants feel secure inside. A safe, secure, habitable, comfortable complex is now erected.

But important design aspects that we have missed are the nature and character of the way-“the path (street) to reach that complex”. These streets are not given due design consideration during the town planning process, or let’s just say, it is ignored. This design ignorance bliss towards the street design makes the user (a passerby or one who uses the street to reach the designed complex) sceptical of using the street and insecure till they reach the safety of the building complex.

Moreover, the unkempt and improperly designed streets lead to the increase in crime against citizens in the city. “Jacobs sees the breakdown of law and order in cities partly, at least, as consequence of the rejection of the street by modern planners and its replacement by large building blocks set in a sea of amorphous, unowned space – the ideal setting for the mugger and the thief.”[2] The streets should be designed such that along with the building complex being regarded safe, the way to approach that building also give positive vibes to anybody who is going to the complex or just passing by it.

As put by author Anna Minton, “People don’t just feel safer because they have locks on their doors; but, that people feel safer in environments that foster and promote “trust between strangers.[3]”

KEYWORDS :safety, street, street edge, alive, dead, waste space, ignored space

BACKGROUND

Crime against citizens is increasing, rape in the city is on an increase, and safety of citizens has become a big issue.

What is happening?

Is this an architectural issue?

As an architect (architecture student) can I do something to curb these problems/evils?

Am I as an architect responsible for this?

On first thoughts, no, this can’t be an architectural issue. It’s because of the flaws in the city’s administration, in the security forces, the ill and improper functioning of the government. Architecture cannot have a say in this issue.

[4]

Or Lets rethink. This is actually a hardcore architectural issue – these surveys, interviews tell us that the loophole of safety and incite of crime against the citizens(especially women) are the tangible elements of architecture, the STREETS, BADLY MAINTAINED streets, POORLY DESIGNED streets.

The streets are dead; don’t have any lively function on them. Moreover,  since not enough public convenience spaces are provided in the city, streets are then in turn used as an outhouse space by the public and for dumping garbage and the poor condition of street furniture(pavement, street light, benches), most of the times sprawled with beggars and bad elements leading to an increase in crime graph.

Furthermore, flyovers wherever present form a part of the adjacent streets and play an equally important role for safety on streets. They enclose a huge amount of space which is just left vacant, untouched by the designers. Specifically putting, a large amount of space is wasted.

Yes, this definitely is an ARCHITECTURAL problem. As stated by Bimal Patel, president of CEPT University, “Streets occupy approximately 20 percent of the total land area in a typical city, and they are the most important and ubiquitous form of public space. But recently, streets have been reduced to a more restricted role of serving as conduits for the movement of automobiles.[5]”

Scrutinising the pathway show big chunks of spaces which can otherwise be positive in character being ignored and in turn, wasted. We are not designing efficiently, not concerned the safety issue for citizens of the city. We are wasting spaces, which in my opinion is totally unethical in architecture.

The paper will try to understand the same in a wider perspective.

AIM/OBJECTIVE

Aim – to study the character of streets in New Delhi.

Objective – to find out ifstreet EDGES can makeany street safe,liveable and viable[6] and how.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The focus of this dissertation will be on street and street edges as design entity and the role they play with respect to safety in the city, and will be discussed on a district level/scale.

HYPOTHESIS

Edge design is related to and contributes to the safety of citizens in the city by making the street livelier.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

o   Does design of edges affect the character of a street?

o   Does it help in the development of sense of security of the citizens?

METHODOLOGY

Research for this dissertation will be done by going through the following sources :

o   Books : to understand the opinions and perspective of different authors and professionals about the issue, their views on the topic.

o   Journals/Articles : to understand the strategies(if any) taken up for the issue and the basis of those strategies.

o   Case study : primary and secondary case studies of existing street stretch in New Delhi to understand the physicality of the issue.

o   Interview and Survey : to understand the perspective and feelings of the pedestrians using the street and those working on the streets about the character/nature of the street and the relation of the street with them.

FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS

o   What is a STREET - little background/history about street and the present setting.

o   Does the design of street play a role in ensuring the SAFETY OF CITIZENS of any place/district/city?   (understand with the help of literature review)

o   TYPES of streets

o   ELEMENTS of a street – pathway, street edge, street junction, street furniture

o   Focus on EDGE – importance of designing edge in defining the character of any    street.

o   Impact of the Designing of edges on the safety of citizens.

o   Case Study  - study the street stretch from JIA SARAI to PANCHSHEEL ENCLAVE              MARKET

o   To understand the character and nature of different kinds of streets and different kind of street edge treatment.

o   Study the street stretch in Vikas Sadan by PSDA

o   Study the consequence of the implication of design in making the street liveable and safe.

o   Draw inference from the observations and understandings.

o   Interview users of both the sites and draw inference based on it.

PARAMETER for analysis

o   FUNCTION surrounding the street.

o   FOOTFALL on the street (intensity of pedestrian traffic on the street).

o   TIMINGS during which the street is used.

o   LAND USE of the surrounding area of the street. To study the context within 1km radius of the street.

o   ELEMENTS ON THE STREET(hawkers, vendors if any)

o   TYPE OF USERS on the street on the basis of age and gender.

ESTABLISHING THE CASE

What is a street?

Google define street as, “A public road in a city or town, typically with buildings on one or both side.[7]”

American Heritage Dictionary describes street as, “A public way or thoroughfare in a city or town, usually with a sidewalk or sidewalks.[8]”

A street is any path which one take (pedestrian, vehicular) to reach a particular place or destination. A Street gives one the direction to his/her destination.

“The street provides a link between buildings, both within the street and in the city as large. As a link it facilitates the movement of people as pedestrians or within vehicles and also the movement of goods to sustain the wider market and some particular uses within the street. It has the less tangible function in facilitating communication and interaction between people and groups[9] – ‘thus serving to bind together the social order of the polis, or what in current parlance would be called the local urban community. Its expressive function also includes its use as a site for casual interaction, including recreation, conversation, and entertainment, as well as its use as a site for ritual observances.’”[10]

“Streets are the stage upon which the drama of urban life unfolds every day. And this is not a recent phenomenon—streets have played this role since the beginning of towns and cities.[11]”

Everyday everybody use the streets; be it to go to work, to go out to play, to hangout, or to study. Whenever one come out of their complex, one is on a street, hence wherever one may go, (s)he uses the street to commute. When one goes out, for a walk or to wander around, the person interacts with the surroundings and the city through the streets, consciously or sub-consciously. The street (s)he walk through, their psychology and the thoughts relate to the surrounding built environment. They affect the thoughts, the mindset, and the mood of the person in the long run, and the person also develops emotional connections with the built environment.

Walking is the best medium to interact with the built environment.“Walking is also an integral part of many other matters, such as looking at shop windows, admiring the scene, or talking to people.”[12]You are on your own and not bounded by the limitation of a vehicle –traffic jams, parking, and frequent stopping. Moreover, since it’s your own body, you may walk for as long as you please to, go wherever you want to go, even in the areas where vehicular movement is not possible, standing from where you can get the desired view, without second thoughts about vehicular restrictions and passage. Like roads are the path for vehicles, similarly to enjoy the medium of walking streets are the path to use.

Now it is the sole responsibility of the architect to design the street in a way such that every user-despite of age and gender, enjoy his/her journey of walking on the street without any time constraints and as well feel safe, connected to the street and its context as (s)he is entitled to the street. If street is designed in such a way, the social and cultural decorum of the city will be maintained.

When human beings started settling in communities(Neolithic age[13]) they started acquiring the land and build houses in a random manner which lead to the coming or building up of streets which were not pre-planned or pre-designed and yet were still fully functional, crowded(people use it), and were safe.

Functional – commercial activities opening on the street making the street usable.

Crowded – due to commercial and neighbourhood interaction.

Safe – eyes on the street 24x7 due to commercial and neighbourhood interaction.

Even in today’s time(with reference to the Indian context), the approach to street designing is more or less the same in the sense that we still don’t design the streets, and ignore the fact that streets are the most used public space even if mainly as transition spaces. As a consequence our streets lack one major head : SAFETY.

As Prof. Ali Madanipour quote in his book ‘Interpersonal Space of Sociability’, “The streets and squares as social centres have been replaced by suburban living rooms and the public spaces of the city are abandoned, to become only places ‘to move through, not to be in’.”[14] at a point, streets used to be the commercial sector, act as a gathering space for communities, as a halt or pause for people on the go are now left as mere thoroughfare and pass through space with all the public activities being transferred elsewhere in enclosed spaces. Streets acted as social centres where people would come and socialise, passers-by would stop and interact on their way. “Streets should be for staying in, and not just for moving through, the way they are today.”[15]

Time has changed now, we have gone mechanical and technology dependent, number of vehicles has increased significantly.“Thirty years ago, for example, many housewives would walk to the shop, they would also walk the children to school....More trips are now made by car to the supermarket, the school and leisure outings. Whether male or female, young or old, a great number of social interactions occur at the destination rather than during the trip.”[16] A significant increase in the number of vehicles (3 fold increase, according to MPD 2021) in the last 10years has made a major impact on the character of streets in New Delhi.Therefore instead of designing the street only for pedestrians, we are to design them such that they compliment both pedestrian and vehicular traffic properly.

Delhi is the capital city and by time has now become a land of opportunities. Geographical boundaries of the city are expanding with the large scale development going on. Hence, what the citizens demands along withare the open spaces, recreational public spaces to add to the quality of life of the citizens and for the city itself to breath.Such spaces should exist in areas which people cross daily.As mentioned by Barnett, “A second element basic to any public open space plan is to recognize the importance of streets as the framework of public open space”.[17] Hence the streets can transform into these open recreational spaces as a large percentage of the city population use the streets daily and as commented upon by PSDA,“Delhi’s streets have tremendous and ever-present potential to be developed into safe, walk able and enjoyable public places. Street designs aim to provide a free flowing movement network.”[18]

Moreover, security of a citizen matter on her/his way (street) to the destination as in most cases the destinations is totally secured and we feel safe there whereas all the mishap take place on the way to it. This transformation and modification of the streets will help in developing the character of public spaces in the city andpeople will generate a new perspective on ‘the way to’ their destinations as is being a vision for Ahmadabad, “Good streets can transform the entire city. They can becomegreen public open spaces, right at everyone’s doorstep. The citywill be neat and clean—but with vibrant, pulsating public spaces.[19]”

In the process of development of the city as mentioned previously, we end up erecting buildings behind boundary walls which are totally functional inside but have no interaction with the space on the other side of the boundary wall. Such are the spaces(street) where another level of interaction takes place- interaction between the citizens and the city - where the citizens interact with the built environment, relates to the activities happening in the city, acts as a witness to the development of the city. Yet due to the inactiveness of these spaces, the citizens can’t relate to them.

The same model keeps repeating and the spaces outside the plot are left inactive and dead (from the evening time) which ultimately gives the citizens negative vibes and are many times used for inhumane activities.“Empty streets, as Jacob points out, can lead to the public domain being donated to the thug, mugger and rapist. In turn this leads to the reaction, a plea for the privatization of the public street and it’s policing by the private security force, a policy leading to the city being compartmentalized into unfriendly, highly defended private estates where the normal writ of public laws does not run.”[20]

Streets are used by a variety of people at varied times of day and night to commute, communicate, for daily activities and chores, and hang out.Street and edge are the most important design elements for the development of any city or town. They are unique to different places and are designed variedly as per the context.Each context has a different character of street, and the edge condition varies accordingly as different types of streets have different kinds of edges and should be treated differently. For instance:

Residential Street – is a street surrounded by residences on one or both of its edges. Generally, it does not have very high density (not too crowded), is easily accessible to everybody and should be lively and active filled with a variety of users(residents, non-residents) and being under the scrutiny of the surrounding residences.

Commercial Street – is a street surrounded by public spaces, offices, cafeterias on one or both or its edges. It has a high density of users of varied groups and age, is easily accessible to everybody and should be happening, the spaces should be spilling on to the streets and the users should feel engaged the entire time in and with the space.

Institutional Street - is a street surrounded by institutes like schools, college, universities on one or both or its edges. This street is the most used by a large number of teenagers and youth populations. The edge should allow permeability between the street and the institutional space to make the street engaging else it becomes a dead street.

Yet on the contrary streets and their edgesare not been given any thought during the designing or the planning process and the spaces are being wasted, ignored, overlooked.

"A well used city street is apt to be a safe street.[21]" 

"A deserted city street is apt to be unsafe.[22]"

Why in this age of 21st century the capital city is still facing problems of poverty, slum rehabilitation, citizen safety is to some extent related to the unkempt and improperly designed streets and edges of the city.“I believe streets deserve respect-they shape the form of the city and how we move through it. They accommodate building, people, vehicles, utilities, vegetation, storm water, signage, street furniture and lighting.[23]”

ELEMENTS OF A STREET

A street has the following elements which make up the street and further make it liveable, vital for the citizens :                        o pathway

                                                            O furniture     

O street edge

                                                            O street junctions       

The pathway is the ground area on which one walk and which will always be there. The street furniture includes bench for sitting, street lights, trees/greens and is most of the times poorly maintained or is not in place. Street junctions of many streets open into public squares or traffic squares with people and activity.

The boundary of any street can be called a street edge be it a compound wall of a complex or the road with moving traffic or even the space beneath the flyover.

“Edges are the linear elements not used or considered as paths1 by the observer. They are boundaries between two phases, linear breaks in continuity.[24]”

An edge is that element of a street which should be given due attention during the designing of any street. It should be the lively plane of any street so that the pedestrian:

o   Feel connected to the street and the place, feel a part of it

o   And at same time should not feel lost and unsafe in the space

“The street edge forms an important part of the trading route. The edge forms a boundary between public and private, open and closed, solid and void. It is the integration of these aspects in forming the public spaces in the street that needs to be explored. Various architectural boundaries help to form these undulating, irregular spaces of the street edge. Staircases rising up off the street floor, balconies overhanging the shop below, corner shops celebrating the junction of many streets, thresholds changing the surface texture, openings with workshops spilling onto the pavement – a constantly changing edge filled with identity and swirling confusion.[25]” thus it can be inferred that street edges are very important aspect in the designing of any positive street which makes the streets liveable, vital, are the edges along those streets.

The safety issue is somehow related to the designing of streets, more importantly the street EDGES – as previously stated, edges were open to the pedestrians as shops and veranda of neighbourhoods, houses opening on the street, children playing on the street, but in the  present scenario the functions have changed and hence nature of streets have changed – street is experienced as a different entity whereas the space around it as another elementwith no relation to each otherleading to blank solid edges bounding the streets which gets even more dull/dingy after dusk and lead to a dead street.

“Sidewalks, their bordering uses, and their users, are active participants in the drama of civilization versus barbarism in cities. To keep the city safe is a fundamental task of a city’s streets and its sidewalks.[26]” we can infer from Jacob’s statement that these edges(blank solid) should have been opening to the streets, interacting with the pedestrian to have harmony between the user(direct, visual, mental) and the built, interaction harmony is necessary – otherwise isolation will take over and the feeling of hominess, mine will lead to unsafe and crime – architecturally, wastage of space.

As seen on any street, if the edges are not designed properly i.e., are not considered during the street designing process, they either become dumping areas or outhouse spaces or are occupied by the bad elements of the society ultimately turning into crime spot after dusk.

“The way boundaries are established, articulated and related to the private or public spheres often have a major impact on the character of each side, defining many characteristics of urbanism in general. The boundaries are simultaneously means of separation and communication. Colonnades, front porches, semi-public gateways and foyers, elaborate facades and courtyards are some of the ways the boundary between the public and private has been articulated to allow interaction and communication between the two realms. These dialogues between the two realms, rather than rigid walls, promote a civilized ambivalence, which can only enrich social life.”[27]Streets play a major role in making a relation to and connection between the citizen and the built environment.

Edges are the major mediator of this relationship between the built and the user(be it the visual user, direct user or the mental user) – edges act as a physical model standing between the user and the built and hence need to be designed accordingly so that they compliment both the built and the user instead of acting as a barriers or a border wall between the two.“An edge may be more than simply a dominant barrier if some visual or motion penetration is allowed through it – if it is, as it were structured to some depth with the regions on either side. It then becomes a seam rather than a barrier, a line of exchange along which two areas are sewn together. If an important edge is provided with many visual and circulation connections to the rest of the city structure, then it become a feature to which everything else is easily aligned. One way of increasing the visibility of an edge is by increasing its accessibility or use, as when opening a waterfront totraffic or recreation. Another might be to construct high overhead edges, visible for long distances.[28]”

An open, interactive, lively edge invite people by sending positive vibes so that they feel a part of the space and connect with it while on the other hand any edge which is dead send negative vibes to the user of the space(street and surrounding area) who in turn feel  disconnected with the space and even if the space is green and gusty, it makes the user feel unsafe, alone, scared though the street does not entertain any crime issues.“ If we can develop and design streets so that they are wonderful, fulfilling places to be – communitybuilding places, attractive for all people – then we will have successfully designed about one-third of the city directly and will have had an immense impact on the rest.[29]”

The spaces divided by the edge         

private domain           public domain

As we have been discussing about the importance of edge design and its impact on the character of the street, there is another important aspect related to the design of edges and making the edges liveable: Entitlement of the edge

“Sidewalk life is crucial because the sidewalk is the site where a sense of mutual support must be felt among strangers if they are to go about their lives there together.[30]”

Look at the condition of any street and one will realise how improperly the furniture is maintained, how the edge is being used as a garbage bin, more cruelly as a toilet space, how the nature of street has changed and the street is now moving into(in some cases have already moved into) the list of negative spaces of any neighbourhood. All this mishap is because those in charge of the maintenance of street officially are not doing their duty properly and that the user (direct, visual) is not entitled to the street which ultimately makes the attitude of the user casual and (s)he become the second culprit(the first being the official duty holders) in the littering of garbage and dump on the street edges and the unofficial toilet edges. “The first thing to understand is that public peace – the sidewalk and street peace – of cities is not kept primarily by the police, necessary as police are. It is kept primarily by an intricate, almost unconscious, network of voluntary controls and standards amongst the people themselves.”[31]

The psyche becomes that since I am(user) not entitled to the space hence I am not responsible for the maintenance and therefore I can litter, booze, outhouse and do other sorts of ill activities.

This leads to a cycle/chain of filth and ill activities :

Furthermore, denationalisation of space also has a role to play. “The street in addition to being a physical element in the city is also a social fact. It can be analysed in terms of who owns, uses and controls it.”[32]Our minds have become so privatised that we don’t try to open our eyes to the spaces(street) that exist beyond our plot. Even if they are transition spaces, they are spaces, which are used by a large population everyday for commuting from one place to another.

In spite of usage of streets in such huge numbers, when we start design in our site, all the important parameters like climatology, costing etc., are incorporated in the process but an equally important factor- the effect of this design on the character of the street is not given any thought. “How we feel about and value a place has much to do with how we move around it and perceive it at ground level. A city is its streets.[33]” hence we end up designing exclusive or introvert spaces to which a user(direct, visual) cant connect so well and the street is ultimately left/turned dead with the best use of pooping and dumping along with walking.

“Great streets are symbols of a community and of its history; they representa public memory. They are places for escape and romance, places to act andto dream.[34]"

FLYOVER…as street edge

Flyovers are a great design solution, a good urban approach to the transit network of the world.They help in traffic decongestion and clear roads, smooth vehicular movement underneath as well as on grade. Along with, they help in the development of the street character on which       they are present and also affect the urban experience of the people(pedestrian, vehicular or those travelling by air) by the spectacular view they get of the flyover from different point of the street and the beautiful views which the flyover provide from various points.

Talking about the ground level, or the street level, flyovers present ample space to the city       which can be approached as per the context. Moreover, they act as a roof over that space        which is comfortable to be present in and habitable as the temperature of that space is comfortable year round.

In spite of such positive characters of the space these are not utilized and are instead left unused, fenced and ignored with the best use being as a dump yard, as outhouse space by people and in some cases encroached by squatters.

They present a very good opportunity as a space which if not used adds more to the negativity and bastardisation of the space around it leading to unsafety and misuse of the space.

Total no of flyovers in the city : 27(PWD)

Average size :  400x20m

Area :8000sqm

            =4000sqm (excluding the earth filled space + cross-road underneath)

Therefore, total area under flyover in the capital=1,08,000sqm i.e. 10.8Ha

Hence, according to these numbers, the capital city has been wasting 10.8Ha of its land(though it is spread over the city at 27 different locations) and it is said that there is not enough space in the city for the poor and the even migrants.

There have been initiatives by the government on the use of these spaces but nothing substantial has been done.For instance, ‘Neighborhood Cultural Centre’ was proposed under the Raja Garden flyover to encourage cultural activities and as a place for small gatherings, but the project never came to existence. Also, successful parking lots have been made into work by the PWD under Munirka flyover and Naraina flyover.[35]

CASE STUDY

STREET 1

Street scaping Project at DDA Headquarters Vikas Sadan, New Delhi

Client: Delhi Development Authority 
Date: 1999 - 2002
Area: 1.8km.

The streets around VikasSadan, the headquarters of the Delhi Development Authority were redeveloped as a pilot street scaping project for Delhi. This is an early example of our studios efforts in developing inclusive and beautiful streets in urban areas.

The scope of work included the following.

1.      Improvement of road geometry                     2.Traffic calming

3.      Developing additional parking                        4.Footpaths

5.      Spaces for hawkers                                         6.Plazas

7.      Landscaping                                                     8.Public facilities

9.      Directional signage                                         10.Urban infrastructure services

11.Street lighting                                                   12.Public art

The Safdarjung Bus Terminal was also redeveloped as part of the proposal.

The project played an important role in highlighting the need for designing urban streets for all users and not just automobiles.

SURVEY ANALYSIS

Sampling         15

Age                  20-30yrs, 30-45yrs, 45yrs and above

Gender            M, F

Time                9-11am, 2-4pm, 6-8pm

Resident’s say :

Yes, they feel safe. The street character affect their built complex in a certain way; bad character of street leads to bad impression of the space around and unsafety. There has been a positive effect on the street after the redesigning, as the space has been regularized and organized with separate lanes for walking, parking and driving etc., in comparison to the irregular and problematic condition of the street prior to the redesign. Kids go to play in the park, we go for walk, have an eye on the street due to the porous boundary of the park and proximity of activity area with the boundary. Although the street still needs presence of more people and activities so that the liveliness of the street is maintained. Absence of convenience spaces have created havoc as the beautifully designed street loses its character as people urinate on the streets making the space around it filthy and unusable decreasing the activities on the street as pedestrians try avoiding such space and also develop a sense of insecurity.

Worker’s say:

Yes the street seem safe due to the context (offices, residential area) and that no ill happenings have been reported in the past still the street needs to entertain more pedestrians and activities on the street to remove the deadness of the space which sometimes portray a haunted look after dusk. More shops along with public convenience spaces are required on the street stretch apart from those existing near the terminal as with the organization of the lanes, these can be readily put up.

Pedestrian’s say:

Safe during peak traffic hours of the terminal due to crowd at the terminal and shops around it. Presence of people in the park, playing, walking, chattering, the organized design of the street with dedicated lanes for driving and parking and the presence of government offices around with the building security also helps in boosting  the sense of security. But after dusk, we feel insecure on the street as it becomes  dead and one could hardly see people on the street due to which walking on the street after dawn becomes a very risky task. The street needs to incorporate activities on it so that it does not go dead and the space gets some lively character. Furthermore, the deadness of the street is complimented by the filthy smell and dirty stains in the street after every few meters of walk and the pedestrians feel hesitant in walking the street.

STREET 2

Stretch from JiaSarai till HauzKhas metro Station

Area :3km

The stretch entertains different types of edges and edge condition :

o   District scale sports complex – Kridasthala, used by neighbouring residents in a radius of 2.5km. Hold cricket match, athletic meet and various other sports meet.

o   District scale garden – Rose garden, used by neighbouring residents in a radius of around 2km. All age groups of people use the garden from morning till evening hours.

o   District scale market – SDA market, house various eating joints, car workshops, restaurants, banks. Has a large footfall, mostly youngsters round the clock with people coming from all over the city.

o   Plotted housing – high end plotted housing(500sqm average plot size) sitting right on the edge of the street.

o   Government office – PWD enquiry office covering a straight 100m stretch of the street.

o   Gated government colony – 2.5Ha gated colony covering a straight 250m stretch of the street.

o   Institution – private senior secondary school covering a straight 140m stretch of the street is present adjacent to the metro station and the gated colony.

o   Metro station – HauzKhas metro station with unplanned informal activities occupying the space around the station.

o   Bus stand – 3 bus stops present on the stretch, one along the sports complex, another along the market and the third along the gated colony.

o   Auto stand – 3 auto stands present on the stretch, one along the market, another along the PWD office and the third along the metro station.

o   Flyovers – 2 flyovers are present on the stretch, one along the sports complex, another along the housing and PWD office and the third along the metro station.

SURVEY ANALYSIS

Sampling         15

Age                  20-30yrs, 30-45yrs, 45yrs and above

Gender            M, F

Time                9-11am, 2-4pm, 6-8pm

Resident’s say:

Most of the residents have been around for almost the past 10years. They use the street daily and feel the need of activities and people on the street. Even though they do have a visual connection to the street as they are able to watch people and vehicles passing by but they don’t really consider it as a part of their built complex because of the dynamic nature of the street which keeps changing over time. Hence for privacy they have to increase their boundary walls, breaking the visual connection of the outside to the inside. At times they do feel unsafe walking on the street goes desolate. Daytime doesn’t have much problem due to people around but after dusk, insecurity increases. The street need to have people around so that the lively nature of the street remains intact all throughout the day and that the residents don’t have to fear before going out on the streets.

Moreover, the blank solid boundary walls wherever present on the street need to be made interactive as otherwise they lead to a sense of insecurity. Wherever solid walls are present they are ultimately used as outhouse spaces. Unused space under flyover which is empty also creates insecurity as one never know what one might encounter, as these are many a times acquired by bad elements.

Worker’s say :

The workers along the stretch have been there for around 10-15years. According to them the streets are safe due to the context-HIG housing, offices, market around, but along with they also have a feeling and experience that the streets do need a lively character with people around. As with only one shop on the 100m PWD office stretch, people gather around the tea stall and the rest of the stretch is dead. The edge space need to accommodate more shops and should have a maintained landscape so that there is beautification of the street along with the removal of deadness of the street character. Also, after dusk, security problem increases as the street is left with minimal number of pedestrians and the solid edges overpower the pedestrians. Along with the solid street edges, the vacant spaces under the flyovers increase the insecurity of the pedestrians, with people dumping garbage in them or using them as outhouse space.

The worker’s have the opinion that these spaces should be beautifully landscaped and should have shops so that the pedestrian does not feel overpowered and unsafe.

Pedestrians’ say :

The pedestrians, whether they use the street daily or occasionally, they do want to see people around when they are on the street and not walk alone. Except for the SDA market stretch which spill on to the street and create an engaging ambience around the space, the pedestrians miss this engaging character with the street and feel disconnected to the street as the streets don’t entertain activities and have solid walls as the street edges. Also, since convenience spaces are not present, hence the use of street edges for the purpose lead to dead pockets on the street to which the pedestrians stay at bay with. Furthermore, space under flyovers portray a very negative front sitting as a blank ill spot on the street which give negative vibes to the pedestrians who in turn feel suspicious and uncertain of the space and a sense of insecurity is aroused.

They feel that these spaces should be converted either as public spaces or some other useful viable purpose so that it does not become a grey zone and more activity and people are seen on the street.

CONCLUSION and ANALYSIS

The report reviews the effect of edge design on the character of streets in New Delhi. From the research we draw the analysis that designing the streets of the city giving due attention to the designing of the edges affect the character of the street and helps in the safety of citizens.

A Street develops a positive character when the pedestrian’s face don’t have the insecure look, when there are activities happening, when the pedestrian don’t feel overpowered by the space, where there are no solid walls overlooking the street movement but instead have eyes on the street.

Streets act as a medium between the built environment as a graphic and the pedestrian as the spectator. These should be designed such that they add to the experience of the pedestrian as it is the streets through which the pedestrian interact with the built environment.Street edge is a prime element responsible for the liveliness, security, and positivity of any street. These provide two responses for designing which affect the street character-one is the physical vertical element which is mostly found as a solid wall, and the other is the space around the edge which is mostly used as a convenience space due to the solid masonry wall. These are very crucial elements for any street to have a positive character, as examined from the case studies wherever solid street edges are present they either get converted into outhouse spaces or are used for dumping garbage or for better purpose, they are sometimes occupied as parking spaces as is the case with the solid boundary wall of Laxman Public School, the PWD office boundary wall and even the government colony’s solid boundary walls. Urinating on the street increase the negativity of the space around it and in turn affects the street character as the pedestrians try avoiding such path, leads to unhygienic conditions and makes such an impression in the mind of the pedestrian that s/he feel insecure of the space. Around 3m radius of the space around the stain spot is wasted and not used by pedestrian. This leads to the diversion of pedestrians from their designated and designed space to the one where they could sense more people and activities, hence, mostly they are found walking on the vehicular traffic edge rather than the dead solid edge with no people and function but filth, smell and insecurity. If the same street is entitled to its bounding space and the edge is so designed that permeability between the street and the bounding space increases along with the edge made functional so that the street remain alive and character of the street will turn positive. Therefore, porosity in the street edge needs to be provided for so that the positive character of the street is maintained and the pedestrians don’t find dead zones on the street, and if physical transformation is not possible, then the edge space should be incorporated with activities so that the street does not go dead and be alive and safe for the pedestrians as it will help in the growth of the street as well as the space around it otherwise the street loses its essence.

Moreover, space beneath the flyovers is another essential element of streets. Flyovers hold a huge amount of space underneath them which readily affects the street the pedestrian experience. Through the case studies it can be validated that the space under flyovers should be brought into function so that the street character lightens up and the urban experience of the user of the street also enhance along with a sense of security for the pedestrians. These are desolate spaces which need habitation so that they rejuvenate and in turn revive the street.

Furthermore, another important aspect analysed from the case studies is that straight stretch without distractions helps give a full view of the street ends and help create a sense of security as view of the pedestrian is not blocked and he has open end to run, and call out in inconsiderate situations.

The context also has a role in the character of a street and the psyche of the street user. With government offices around, the street is regarded less sceptical to walk on as the sense of security is associated with the safety and security of the building complex and the sense of being close to help rather than having private offices and residential colonies having high solid boundary walls which many a times seem overpowering and unsafe. Also, parks and market areas with different age group of crowd is present and continuous movement takes place are preferred than the tranquil and numb street edges around flyovers.

“City sidewalks bring together people who do not know each other in an intimate, private social fashion and in most cases do not care to know each other in that fashion.”[36]

References
 

Books    

o   Great Streets  -  Allan B Jacobs

o   Interpersonal Space of Sociability  - Ali Madanipour

o   Sidewalk   - Mitchell Duneier

o   The Image Of The City   -  Kevin lynch

o   The Architecture of the Renaissance In France   -France Information, 137

o   The Death and Life of Great American Cities   -Jane Jacobs

o   The Dissertation: An Architecture Student's Handbook, By Iain Borden  -KaterinaRüedi

o   The Pattern Language   -Christopher Alexander

o   Urban Design: Street and Square–Cliff MouGhtin

Websites   

o   http://ahdictionary.com/

o   https://www.google.co.in/

o   http://www.pps.org/training/info/transportation

o   http://jagori.org/category/articles-by-jagori/

o   http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/2013/un-women-survey-on-violence-in-delhi-95-per-cent-of-women-and-girls-feel-unsafe-in-public-spaces/

o   http://www.psda.in

Articles     

o   Anna Minton (Author: Ground Control)

http://books.google.co.in/

o   Better streets, better cities, A guide to street design in urban India http://www.itdp.org/documents/

o   Design of Streets, A REFERENCE HANDBOOK FOR HIGH QUALITY STREETS                                                        http://www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz

o   Our Cities Ourselves, Vision Of Ahmedabad

http://www.ourcitiesourselves.org/india

o   North Shore City Council, Annual Report 2008/09

www.northshorecity.govt.nz

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

STREET 1

Residents

1.      How long have you been living here?

2.      How frequently do you use the street? (daily, occasionally)

3.      Do you feel safe on the street?

4.      If so, why?

a)      Activities on the street 

b)      Presence of people          

5.      Boundary walls, street edge condition

6.      Do you think that the street character affects your built environment?

7.      Do you think that the street needs to be livelier with more people and activities?

8.      Do you think removing the dead boundary walls and making the edge space lively will help with the safety issue?

9.      Do you think that the absence of public convenience spaces makes the street unsafe and kills the character of the street?

 Workers

1.      How long have you been working here?

2.      What are your shift timings?

3.      During what time is the street most used?

4.      People of which age group use the street most?

5.      Do you feel safe using the street?

6.      Why so?

a)      Activities on the street  

b)      Presence of people        

c)      Boundary wall, street edge condition 

7.      Do you think that the street is safe for the pedestrians?

8.      Do you feel a change in the street character after its redesign?

9.      Do you think that the street needs to be livelier with more people and activities?

10.  Do you think that the absence of public convenience spaces makes the street unsafe and kills the character of the street?

Pedestrian

1.      How often do you use the street? (daily, occasionally)

2.      During what time do you use the street? (morning/evening hours)

3.      Do you feel safe on the street?

4.      Why so?

a)      Activities on the street 

b)      Presence of people       

c)      Boundary wall, street edge condition  

5.      Do you feel that the street needs to be livelier with more people and activities?

6.      Do you think removing the dead boundary walls and making the edge space lively will help with the safety issue?

7.      Do you think that the absence of public convenience spaces makes the street unsafe and kills the character of the street?

STREET 2

§  User(pedestrian)

1.      How often do you use this street?(daily/occasionally)

2.      During what time of the day do you use this street?

3.      Do you feel safe on this street? 

4.      If no, why?

a)      No activity on the street

b)      Dead Street with no people

c)      Blank solid boundary walls

5.      Do you feel that the street needs to be livelier, with more activities and people on the street?

6.      Do you think removing the dead boundary walls and instead open those to the street will help with the safety problem?

7.      Do you think that unused vacant spaces under the flyovers promote unsafety?

8.      If yes, why so? (occupied by bad elements, vacant land)

9.      Do you feel a need of recreational spaces in this area?

10.  Do you think that space under the flyovers should be converted to the same?

§  Worker

1.      How long have you been working here?

2.      What are you shift timings?

3.       What age group of the pedestrians use this street the most?

4.      Do you feel safe on this street?

5.      If so, why?

6.      Do you feel this street is safe for pedestrians?

7.      If so, why?

8.      What is the condition of street(in terms of usage) during different hours in a day?

9.      Has there been any change in the course of time of your workmanship?

10.  Do you think removing the dead boundary walls and instead open them to the street will help with the safety problem?

11.  Do you think that unused vacant spaces under the flyovers promote unsafety?

12.  If yes, why so?(occupied by bad elements, vacant land)

13.  Do you feel a need of recreational spaces in this area?

14.  Do you think that space under the flyovers can be converted to the same?

§  Residents

1.      How long have you been living here?

2.      Do you use the street? If yes, how frequently?

3.      Do you feel safe on the street?

4.      Do you feel connected to the street?

5.      Do you consider it as a part of your built complex?

6.      Do you think removing the dead boundary walls and instead open them to the street will help with the safety problem?

7.      Do you think that unused vacant spaces under the flyovers promote unsafety?

8.      If yes, why so?(occupied by bad elements, vacant land)

9.      Do you feel a need of recreational or community spaces in this area?

10.   Do you think that space under the flyovers should be converted to the same?

[1]Jane Jacobs(Author: The death and life of great American cities)
[2]Urban design:street and square, pg130
[3]Anna Minton (Author: Ground Control)
[4]The Delhi government's women and child development department, NGO Jagori and international organisation Unifem conducted the survey. 
[5]Bimal Patel, Environmental Planning Collaborative

ShreyaGadepalli, Institute for Transportation and

Development Policy

July 2011
[6]capable of working successfully
[7]google dictionary
[8]American heritage dictionary
[9]Urban design:street and square, pg131
[10]Gutman, Robert, Op cit, pg250
[11]Bimal Patel, Environmental Planning Collaborative

ShreyaGadepalli, Institute for Transportation and

Development Policy, July 2011
[12]Urban design:street and square, pg132
[13]In the Neolithic period(mid 19th century) farm animals were first domesticated and agriculture was introduced
[14]Ali Madanipour (Interpersonal Space of Sociability, pg124)
[15]Norberg-Schulz, C. Existence, Space and Architecture, Studio Vista, London, 1971, pg21
[16]Urban design:street and square, pg131
[17]An Introduction to Urban Design, Harper & Row, New York, 1982, pg168
[18]http://www.psda.in/commonwealth.asp
[19]our cities ourselves, vision of ahmedabad
[20]Urban design: street and square, pg133
[21]Jane Jacobs(Author: The death and life of great American cities)
[22]Jane Jacobs(Author: The death and life of great American cities)
[23]Andrew Williams, jp October 2009, mayor of north shore city
[24]Kevin lynch(The image of the city)
[25]The Dissertation: An Architecture Student's Handbook, By Iain Borden, KaterinaRüedi
[26]Jane Jacobs(Author: The death and life of great American cities)
[27]Ali Madanipour (Interpersonal Space of Sociability, pg240)
[28]Kevin lynch(the image of the city)
[29]Allan Jacobs, Project for Public Spaces, ‘Streets as Places: A Training Seminar’, 2008, accessed at http://www.pps.org/training/info/transportation_training_course on 16/01/08
[30] Sidewalk, By MITCHELL DUNEIER.
[31]Jane Jacobs(Author: The death and life of great American cities)
[32]Urban design:street and square, pg131
[33]Phil jones, jp October 2009, co-author of manual for streets
[34]Allan B Jacobs (Author: Great Streets)
[35]http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-22/delhi/28145294_1_flyovers-parking-lots-outer-ring-road
[36]Jane Jacobs(Author: The death and life of great American cities)