Divith Y Savarkar
816133
Abstract
India is the 7th largest country in the world with the 2nd highest population. It is under the process of urbanization and is changing at a very rapid, alarming rate in order to contend with the global trends. In 2015, the Indian economy was the world’s seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. However, it continuous to have it’s share of developing problems that have been caused by the rate of development. Are we not entitled to be accountable for the future generations as they are only going to be inheriting further complications? And how can we make it easier for them to deal with these issues based on the footprints we leave behind?
India has seen the bigger picture in terms of development but not addressing smaller issues that may collectively lead to break down in a system. This system has been designed and implemented basically as an evolving facet of changes that may appear and disappear based on the situational requirements. This type of a complex, changing system is unique and has to be dealt with on an experimental basis, as there is no pre-prescribed path.
The 2015 Paris Climate Conference saw the country’s leaders publicly striking a hardline on many of the most divisive issues in climate policy defending a principle that developed countries should have more stringent responsibilities than their developing counterparts- a concept known as “differentiation”. As righteous as this may sound, it is impossible to rule out a sense of negligence involved in the underlying tone suggesting “ lets focus on development today and save the environment another day”. This coming from the 2nd most populated country in the world can be a cause of worry.
Urbanization is inevitable and India needs to develop its infrastructure and governance in order to increase productivity and to evolve into a dominant power in world economy. It is also clear that climate change and environmental impacts are real and threatening and so it is here where the project tries to strike a balance in the system and its functioning. The project bases itself on the underlying idea that any attempt of rejuvenation of the urban environment is beyond the scope of preventive measures alone and requires careful employment of certain cure measures. The project aims at investigating the possibilities and potential of a new urban green infrastructure, that can effectively be used as a cure to strike a balance in the ecology and try to put things into the minds of people in terms of perspective and behavioral change. The urban system also serves as a unifying characteristic to an urban form which otherwise presents itself as a collage of multiple timelines.
The project is developed in the city of Bangalore located in the South of India. The city is the fourth largest metropolitan in India and is undergoing rapid economic, socio cultural and urban reforms and has a staggering urban population growth of 60% due to its booming I.T industry. A recent government body studied the growth pattern of Bangalore and drew a conclusion that if it follows these current trends, it may be unlivable in 5-10 years. It is in this alarming context the project finds its relevance and point of departure.