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Team SSDA
The dichotomy of Indian Public Spaces
The dichotomy of Indian Public Spaces
Urban spaces in India are a distinct case of ephermalism and constancy. The rich diversity of the country funnels down to vibrant yet intriguing public spaces that have timelessly molded into the numerous requirements of the citizenry. The definition of public spaces in India has changed time and again, with older, established public spaces morphing into the needs of the current time. What served as a chowk in earlier times serves as an informal market space today. A typical case example of this can be the Kapaleeshwara temple tank area of Mylapore. The roads around the temple tank were designed strategically to accommodate the temple car in which the presiding deity is taken on a procession from time to time. Today the area around the temple tank is a bustling market selling all varieties of kick knacks. While the wide roads have been bifurcated into smaller roads and parking areas, the core areas around the tank are now places for smaller informal establishments to set up shops. While religion and customs have been a strong binding factor in older Indian public spaces, gender had often taken a back seat. As the traditional public spaces evolved, the essence of the space remained preserved owing to the strong cultural background they came with. But it is a common sight to see generations of gender bias and issues also trickle down with them. This has led to an adverse situation of the supply gap, leading to a case of inequitable public spaces.
The implications of time and globalization on public spaces have been largely overridden by the sociocultural landscape of public spaces. Tradition is a key factor in them and often acts as a binding factor between people and their associated activities. The downside of this is the permanence of traditions, leading to the retainment of deficiencies as well throughout centuries. The integrity of public spaces is a key factor in the loops of permanency, which binds the space, people and function.
The accepted standards of what each human being is entitled to upon his birth constantly adapt and change as society progresses with time. Society vaguely dictates the fundamentals of equality on tangible aspects in which disparity is felt consciously. But as with the case of spaces, intangible factors like scale, perception etc. largely influence the language of public space. This leads to implications that remain largely unseen to the common eye. But unfortunately, it is felt the most by marginalised communities such as the trans community.
The terminology Trans community is used to refer to people whose gender doesn’t conform to the sex they are assigned at birth. The trans community has remained to be one of the most marginalized communities in India and has been for centuries subjected to discrimination in various spheres of life. Years of continuous prejudice and disparity in the public sphere, especially in public spaces have harmed marginalised communities and further downplay their role in society. Lack of social sensitization in addition to prevailing prejudice has rendered the community constricted in terms of accessibility to basic needs and rights. The lack of societal acceptance has led to a multitude of consequential adversities like access to public transportation, spaces, and cultural avenues. This is particularly reflected in the design of public and private spaces as well. It is commonly seen that space tends to be binary i.e., it is dominated by the dominant gender, rendering it powerless for the discriminated community to stake a claim in it. Similar to trans, there are various other communities such as Dalits, who face the issue of unacceptability in public spaces, out of unconscious bias. As designers, there is a need to formulate newer methods of design to overcome this hurdle.
The disparity arising out of a lack of rendezvous between the need, stakeholder and the product can be dealt with using a participatory planning approach towards design. PAR refers to participatory action research. It is a method that is closely linked to social action through research. It involves collaborative interaction between the researcher and the subject, often from marginalized communities creating a forum for in-depth qualitative knowledge. Traditionally, the understanding of user requirements has risen out of conventional research methodologies. These design methods are based on quantitative factors. What is often overlooked is the fact that marginalized communities have faced disparity in all walks of life including education. So, the ability of the community to be able to articulate their needs on quantifiable terms is debatable due to the formality of the nature of the research. Hence arises the need for a qualitative approach. Marginalized communities like the trans community are often seen as adept in performing arts. It is can be seen as a response to the years of suppression hence adapting Arts as a tool to express themselves. Research has shown that this methodology often warrants more voluntary participation than conventional methods, an important aspect to be considered in marginalized community research. This can be used as an important factor in the design of public spaces wherein understanding of the user needs can be determined by qualitative analysis as well and then quantified into design variables.
One such example is the case of the rangoli art centre in Bangalore which was designed for marginalized communities, with marginalized communities. The design addresses key issues of gender neutrality, Scale and diversity of spaces which has led it to be a successful case of public space. One crucial concept used in the design is the fragmentation of spaces into smaller chunks, which aids in avoiding authority over a space by a dominant gender group. The scale of the spaces has been kept human-friendly leading to more interactions.
The design also displays a certain amount of informality and flexibility in the arrangement and layouts of the spaces, which enables any community to choose and mould it according to their requirements. The case study also highlights the importance of addressing issues of gender and sexual inequality at the micro and macro levels as well.
Equitability in space is deeply rooted in experiential factors that influence how a person perceives their environment. An inclusive approach while establishing the language of the spaces will go a long way in achieving a just environment for all.
Urban spaces in India are a distinct case of ephermalism and constancy. The rich diversity of the country funnels down to vibrant yet intriguing public spaces that have timelessly molded into the numerous requirements of the citizenry. The definition of public spaces in India has changed time and again, with older, established public spaces morphing into the needs of the current time. What served as a chowk in earlier times serves as an informal market space today. A typical case example of this can be the Kapaleeshwara temple tank area of Mylapore. The roads around the temple tank were designed strategically to accommodate the temple car in which the presiding deity is taken on a procession from time to time. Today the area around the temple tank is a bustling market selling all varieties of kick knacks. While the wide roads have been bifurcated into smaller roads and parking areas, the core areas around the tank are now places for smaller informal establishments to set up shops. While religion and customs have been a strong binding factor in older Indian public spaces, gender had often taken a back seat. As the traditional public spaces evolved, the essence of the space remained preserved owing to the strong cultural background they came with. But it is a common sight to see generations of gender bias and issues also trickle down with them. This has led to an adverse situation of the supply gap, leading to a case of inequitable public spaces.
The implications of time and globalization on public spaces have been largely overridden by the sociocultural landscape of public spaces. Tradition is a key factor in them and often acts as a binding factor between people and their associated activities. The downside of this is the permanence of traditions, leading to the retainment of deficiencies as well throughout centuries. The integrity of public spaces is a key factor in the loops of permanency, which binds the space, people and function.
The accepted standards of what each human being is entitled to upon his birth constantly adapt and change as society progresses with time. Society vaguely dictates the fundamentals of equality on tangible aspects in which disparity is felt consciously. But as with the case of spaces, intangible factors like scale, perception etc. largely influence the language of public space. This leads to implications that remain largely unseen to the common eye. But unfortunately, it is felt the most by marginalised communities such as the trans community.
The terminology Trans community is used to refer to people whose gender doesn’t conform to the sex they are assigned at birth. The trans community has remained to be one of the most marginalized communities in India and has been for centuries subjected to discrimination in various spheres of life. Years of continuous prejudice and disparity in the public sphere, especially in public spaces have harmed marginalised communities and further downplay their role in society. Lack of social sensitization in addition to prevailing prejudice has rendered the community constricted in terms of accessibility to basic needs and rights. The lack of societal acceptance has led to a multitude of consequential adversities like access to public transportation, spaces, and cultural avenues. This is particularly reflected in the design of public and private spaces as well. It is commonly seen that space tends to be binary i.e., it is dominated by the dominant gender, rendering it powerless for the discriminated community to stake a claim in it. Similar to trans, there are various other communities such as Dalits, who face the issue of unacceptability in public spaces, out of unconscious bias. As designers, there is a need to formulate newer methods of design to overcome this hurdle.
The disparity arising out of a lack of rendezvous between the need, stakeholder and the product can be dealt with using a participatory planning approach towards design. PAR refers to participatory action research. It is a method that is closely linked to social action through research. It involves collaborative interaction between the researcher and the subject, often from marginalized communities creating a forum for in-depth qualitative knowledge. Traditionally, the understanding of user requirements has risen out of conventional research methodologies. These design methods are based on quantitative factors. What is often overlooked is the fact that marginalized communities have faced disparity in all walks of life including education. So, the ability of the community to be able to articulate their needs on quantifiable terms is debatable due to the formality of the nature of the research. Hence arises the need for a qualitative approach. Marginalized communities like the trans community are often seen as adept in performing arts. It is can be seen as a response to the years of suppression hence adapting Arts as a tool to express themselves. Research has shown that this methodology often warrants more voluntary participation than conventional methods, an important aspect to be considered in marginalized community research. This can be used as an important factor in the design of public spaces wherein understanding of the user needs can be determined by qualitative analysis as well and then quantified into design variables.
One such example is the case of the rangoli art centre in Bangalore which was designed for marginalized communities, with marginalized communities. The design addresses key issues of gender neutrality, Scale and diversity of spaces which has led it to be a successful case of public space. One crucial concept used in the design is the fragmentation of spaces into smaller chunks, which aids in avoiding authority over a space by a dominant gender group. The scale of the spaces has been kept human-friendly leading to more interactions.
The design also displays a certain amount of informality and flexibility in the arrangement and layouts of the spaces, which enables any community to choose and mould it according to their requirements. The case study also highlights the importance of addressing issues of gender and sexual inequality at the micro and macro levels as well.
Equitability in space is deeply rooted in experiential factors that influence how a person perceives their environment. An inclusive approach while establishing the language of the spaces will go a long way in achieving a just environment for all.