6th - 17th May 2018 | 10 Days
CEPT University | Summer Winter School
31 Students | 2 Mentors
87 Hybrid Public Open Spaces
It is a general tendency in all over the world that the public open spaces were classified based on form, function and scale. Adaptation of generalised classification is subjected to several variables such as city’s situation, climate, urban form and growth dynamics. Most of cities in developed countries also follow similar way to classify their public open spaces. However, their city councils prepare ‘Public Open Spaces Strategy’ within the framework of city’s spatial plan aiming at planning every POS with respect to their form, function, and other necessary parameters. On contrary, Indian cities tried to adopt similar approach from British town planning mechanism in early 70’s and stopped without developing strategy for POS.
Indian spatial planning mechanisms have been considering public open spaces as mandatory fill-ins with generalised standards (Sq.m per capita) irrespective of their form, function, aesthetics, spatial distribution, accessibility, quality and performance. When scenarios of urban dynamics are not homogeneous, it is irrational to follow standardized mechanism to classify and act upon on the same.
Case in point, classifying public open spaces through standardised approach in walled city of Jaipur leaves us with limited number whereas classification method adopted for this research marks 290 spaces of varying scales, types and activities; and it is well established that the performance of these non-traditional POS listed through new classification is no way inferior to mainstream spaces. Most of these spaces are adopted by people and being used as multifunctional POS based on socio-cultural limitations, trade, time, occasion and weather.
Outcome of this study is to test the hypothesis – Public open spaces are contextual and should be classified and planned according to city and its people. Positive result on this hypothesis is preamble to look into the ways planning fraternity address requirements of public open spaces in India cities.