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Recreational cohesion
The urban design studio for semester 7 aimed at enhancing and elevating street design for existing streets selected in the immediate neighborhood of students. The goal was to understand and facilitate efficient pedestrian and vehicular movement while celebrating various interactions that take place on the street. After carefully studying and documenting the transactions that take place on the chosen street, maps indicating the street network, figuring ground, building use, vehicular intensity and street infrastructure were developed. These maps along with the onsite observations further helped critically analyze the shortcomings and opportunities the existing street brought in. The site chosen in this particular case is a street in Bangur Nagar, Goregaon West. The low vehicular intensity of the street provides an opportunity for people to claim the public space for a multitude of activities such as cycling and jogging without being inconvenienced by vehicles. However, at the same time, by night, the lack of human activity creates a rather unsafe atmosphere.
To cater to the above mentioned observations, the design proposes the following elements:
Street Park: Transforming the street end into a park which could serve as a gathering space and recreational area.
Jogging track and Seating spaces: Dedicating a zone for residents to jog ,walk and sit by segregating it from the vehicular movement.
Parking Spaces: Considering the need of various user groups for parking on the street, a dedicated parking zone has been provided.
Cycle track and Pedestrian Walkway: Segregating the vehicular traffic and creating a cycling loop for residents to cycle especially during evening and night hours.
The overall objective of these elements is to activate the redundant and lesser used pockets of spaces on the street to serve the needs of the local residents. The idea is also to minimise any kerfuffle between pedestrians and vehicles. Infrastructural refinements such as raised pedestrian crossings, ramps, visual street dividers, curb bulbs and seating have also been introduced onto the street.
Pranav Chaubal
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