Street For All- Pimpri Chinchwad Urban Design Competition

The Social Act….. Impromptu Street

Livability in our towns and cities improve with improving the streets and its relationship with the block and buildings. It also has an impact on the public realm. The heart of this design proposal lies at empathizing with the users and engaging various levels of stakeholders at different phases to carefully blend the tangible elements with intangible modules that recharge the streets and its public realm. One of the major intents of the design proposal is to induce a sense of identity to the street both tangibly and intangibly. Using the 5 Cs – Commute, Commerce, Conversation, Celebration and Convenience, an effort has been made to address and enhance the streets. This has been developed as a phased and a tactical design proposal, using tactical and sustainable materials. Economic viability has also been taken into consideration in order to explain the overall sustainability of the design proposal.

Commerce being one of the main elements of the street in the form of informal vending, has been used as a catalyst to demonstrate how standardization of the same can impact the character of the street and thereby the locality. Public spaces such as plazas, social seating spaces along the street are used as points that encourage Conversation within the community, thereby enhancing public realm. The concept of “Eyes on the street” and aspects such as thermal comfort have been achieved through design. Celebration of life and livelihood is considered as an important element of public realm. Ideas for celebration of the street for the people of the locality has been worked out through the concepts of open street art competitions, photography exhibitions, festivals and trails to name a few. Convenience of street, an important driver for the user comfort, is one aspect, the other being economic viability. Use of various facilities such as parking, street lights, solar power, sanitization, have been tied to an economic structure that enables users to contribute to its sustenance. A viable and thorough model has been worked out to give a certain dimension to Commute. Cycling, an integral part of the design, has been thought as a practice rather than just as a mode of transport. Dedicated spaces for parking have been worked out such that an uninterrupted commute system is brought about.