Category: Urban Transformation

  • SHADOW-LESS CITY

    Photo Credit: Manoj Parmar Architects Architecture and cities have metaphysical presence in us. We experience them differently depending on the state of worldliness that we inhabit, willingly or unwillingly. As a result of the recent global pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, architecture and the city appears to be a dream sequence of inconsequential collapsed time. The…

  • CULTURE FOR URBAN TRANSFORMATION

    Culture is the key to our cities and it makes cities more livable, responsive and adaptable. History of urbanization demonstrates that culture is also a key to several urban trans-formative processes, enabling the formation of key civic architectural precincts, monuments, heritage, traditions and largely vibrant public realm. The public realm of the cities breaths through the social…

  • ENTREPRENEURIAL URBANISM

    “Cities often manifest, distilled and condensed activities experienced in sudden jerks and revelation. Such phenomenon often remains incomprehensible at large, especially for the academic purpose. The formal and informal market streets across the city of Mumbai are examples of such phenomenon characterized by sudden splurge of activities juxtaposed in sharp contrast to its surrounding context.…

  • UNDERSTANDING RESILIENCE: WATER RESOURCES & HISTORIC CITIES OF INDIA

    Water bodies are physically and spiritually an integral part of several historic cities of India. The presence of water bodies within the cities, not only added a symbolic value but also addressed the water needs of the city. The water as an urban system in context of supply and waste water are beyond the engineering domain and…

  • KRVIA Masters + BreUCom (Erasmus+ program) | Urban Resilience

    Quality of life is an idea that is often being discussed in various studies as a response to many issues and complexities that have recently emerged within our cities in the process of transformation. Along with that, the quality of life is also connected with the question of vulnerability and resilience. The city of Mumbai,…

  • SMART CITY MISSION: New Urban Paradigm of Imagination or Perception

    The recent time has seen the shift in urban planning concerns of our cities, especially second tier cities. The emerging paradigm of SCM  is aspired to be moving towards formation of  reactive, reflective and knowledge-oriented society. The SCM is expected to move from functional, hierarchical formation of our cities to networked form. The stated goal of…

  • THE OTHER CITY

    This thesis brings my earlier reading on “FORMLESS URBANISM” city of Chanod. The formlessness condition that exist in the city are valuable tradition of soft urbanism and festivals are one of them. There was time in academic world that the cohesion is a formal property and essential one for cities. The uniqueness of urban form…

  • METRO-LOG: EAST WEST DISCORD.

    The ongoing infrastructure development aspiration has taken few noteworthy steps. The first being eastern freeway from Indian Oil Nagar to  SVP road, near Pricess Dock, the second being Santacruz East to Chembur Link road via Kurla and third one is Mumbai first Metro Line (Versova- Ghatkopar) The most sought out project of Mumbai Metro finally began with interesting statistic:…

  • DEATH OF PLANNING COMMISSION

    The Urban-ism is often spoken in line of inclusive accent, however in democratic India; the inclusiveness principally represented the view of liberal elite, assuming the authority on aspiration of proletariat mass.  The most triumphant political transformation in recent time, the dramatic & historic change at center sees the surfacing of yet another class, that so far lay…

  • EASTERN WATER FRONT

    The proposal for eastern water front development needs re-consideration especially harbor line is also going though tremendous transformation and needs to wait for reality that shall surface, few years down the line, after actual transformation of redeveloped harbor line. It is very often seen that such opportunity are not seen as an asset rather as…

  • DISPLACED URBANISM & SHIMLA

    This was my second visit to Shimla & each visit had different intent and different impact. The duality or dichotomy that has surface now is that WHO to conserve for and WHO to construct for. This has been the most difficult visit as witnessed the glaring reality of social life that has literally engulfed the entire topocentric urban-ism of…

  • ONE WAY VOYERISM

    The quite evening stroll through the inner lanes on designated footpaths, cross junctions at ease of traffic and two kilometer of stretch visible to naked eye in the early winter evening. The superficial feel of fresh early winter wind was penetrating as it never was. The casual greetings on roads became less dense and suddenly one could celebrate the anonymity engage…

  • SKYWALK :SANTACRUZ STN.

    The kilometer stretch of dark and deserted serpentine nature of walk is layered on the busy street. The street known for its retail activity and famous for its Thursday market. The street double sided shopping stretch iced with informal shopping outside. After construction of sky-walk  it offers four layer of informal shopping, almost making the parody of its…

  • SOME WHAT WE KNOW- (URBAN DESIGN JURY AT NAVI MUMBAI)

    Although various institutes are assembling their master’s program (Urban Design) in the same city but situational conditions are determining the nature of approach. The sudden rise of awareness in Urban Design is noteworthy & experiments are mending the tedious path of establishing distinct institution’s approach towards the same. The distinct approaches can clearly be rationalized…

  • RED TRANSFORMATION

    Alley no.1.. near Bachu Seth Ki Wadi of Kamathipura witnessing the systematic attack of real estate transformation. The entire district en-mas to about 40 acre & has history dated back to Britisher time when they developed port trust.  The red district may soon become the blue collar district. The transformation of precious precinct is inevitable…

  • TACTICAL

  • URBAN-SUBURBAN

  • EASTERN RHAPSODY

    EASTERN RHAPSODY As metro rail moves from Nana Nua towards north bound station one intrigues by the way the metro has been carved out of dense fabric. It appears like serpent, scalping & negotiating through hashes. It sometimes appears precarious, sometimes entertaining as new high rises are lined up across the metro with plazas facing…

  • SURAT: LOGO-CENTRIC URBANISM

    I have visited Surat on numerous occasions knowing the orientation preciously from the point of view of stranger in the city without slightest clue of the existence of various layers that has shaped the city. Its assumes the city to exist with specific signs & symbols that normatively structures the images and results in to…

  • LECTURE AT TUNG HAI UNVERSITY

    As i arrived in Taiwan; did not have enough understanding of past experiences of our exchange programe. However to my surprise i was asked to give talk on traditional cities of India. I am definitely not an expert on this subject matter but tried my best of eight hours of preparation to put to gether.…

  • FORMLESS URBANISM

    There are several ghat cities in India associated to myth, religion & rites. The city close to Bharuch know as Chanod is perhaps less unknown among Indians compare to Banaras, Nashik & Dwarka although it has similar significance related to last rites. The only difference is that Chanod is known for performing last rites for…

  • CITY OF 69

    The city of oxford had not changed as mush as people. The city was predictably different: it was bigger: the cars: and shops were numerous and more garish: and the streets were more crowded. But the predominant characteristics of the place was still the cream- coloured stone of the college buildings: with occasional glimpse through…

  • TRANSFER OF DE-GRADABLE RIGHTS

    The time is about to come for new convenient associations, for old betraying habit, for new convenient relation, for ideological disguise. Nowhere in the world one may find parallel example of political alignment of convenience than in India, perhaps that’s the ideological stem of democratic root. It’s fascinating to see donkey’s trading for power, where…

  • SURAT

    SURAT ARCHITECTURE COLLEGE RIVERSIDE ARCHITECTURE INNER CITYRIVER SIDE SATURDAY FLEE MARKET

  • INFRASTRUCTURE INFATUATION

    The recent statistic shows that BMC spends only 30% of the cost on infrastructure development in Bombay. However the quantum of work carried out do not justify that or the statistics are underplayed. The whole argument is not about the expenditure but rather about the planing issues related to the infrastructure for the city. The…

  • CHANDNI CHOWK

    The bizarre advent of new wave of metabolism group in sixties, proclaiming the need to change the approach to way we design our cities. The city is like a giant block constantly negotiating to forces that being exerted on it, changing it tactics, adopting new realities, & transforming the living conditions. Perhaps the movement was…

  • NORWAY 2008

    Year 1990: I have visited most of the European countries on my way from US to back home. The visit lasted almost a month through comfortable E-rail First class unlimited pass. The last day of my visit was Amsterdam, where I drew my plan for next visit to Scandinavian Countries sometime in future. This is…

  • SUB- URBANIZATION

    CASE OF SANTACRUZ- WEST MANOJ PARMAR The morning walkers take walk at ease within the by lanes of Santa Cruz, west like Tagore road towards Madhu Park via Ramkrishna Temple complex or Derasar Road, via Main Avenue towards Arya Samaj. The common destination is park or public place scattered around the locality namely, Lions garden,…