City Creative Redevelopment Part 4 – A New Paradigm

…(There is) need for non-western cultures to define their own future in terms of their own categories and concepts and to articulate their vision in a language that is true to their own Self. - Ashis Nandy           

In the existing paradigm, our planning methods, laws, and traditions have relied on the structures and dynamics of the west in the last 50 to 70 years. At present, professionals who carry out urban planning in India are trained in methodologies created by and for the west.

In the new paradigm, the emphasis is on the locality because these are more human-scale, close to the individual, family and neighbors. The locality-focused approach is about getting under the skin of what is happening in the city. Any change in localities would have a major impact on the quality of life of urban residents - a sort of maximum effect with minimum means.

Technology is combined with democracy to produce transformative solutions for localities from the bottom up. Empowered with evidence-based knowledge, people become capable of designing localities in a way that addresses their needs.

Participatory planning moves a theoretical discussion to practice. Citizen-produced ideas and innovative initiatives provides solutions to urgent, everyday problems.

‘Loose-fit, light-touch’ policies incorporate the local in the way we plan and build our cities. The locality-level plan becomes more of a local strategy, action rprogram, or a political articulation.

The tactical nature of locality-based projects integrates strategy and operational knowledge. At the locality-level, design is as important as provisions of core infrastructure. The locality-level design is an example of collaboration and its importance in constructing an interest of different types of individuals (“publics”).

The participation of people is naturally tactical in nature and produces operational knowledge through design of strategies that change localities over short timeframes.

This does not mean that we do away with large-scale visions and long-term objectives. In fact, we take into consideration the interconnections between the citywide scale and the locality, infrastructure and digital applications, urban form in localities and infrastructure, and the real needs of citizens and their willingness to change.

The planning process is amenable to scaling up by cooperating with larger strategies - a practical mobility between micro and macro scales. This sort of planning ensures that the macro was always kept in mind in the picture, as the macro represents action by the State and the Centre. Not all projects would have a strategic vision but would have a strong tactical character: implement a set of operations each targeting one problem.

The distinct feature is to continue to construct buildings and bridges but emphasize process. Process is paramount. The process responds to the complexity of Indian cities and, in this way, enable cities to move beyond deterministic models. People suggest projects in response to issues that directly affected their lives. By and large, people know exactly what needs to be done (context is important) and they call the shots. Solutions to problems germinate in localities and cities, not in meeting rooms.

During implementation, mechanisms and operational models provide feedback into urban planning. The implementation strategy is multi-functional and arises from local debate and is designed around varied interests, wishes and needs. Local strategies are produced collaboratively and designed to accommodate patterns of the local built environment, rather than the other way around.

Creative redevelopment is not about identifying a successful formula and using it as a cookie-cutter elsewhere. Generally, the creative redevelopment of a city is unique and one-off and only be replicable elsewhere after adaptation to local conditions. This site specificity has the potential to reconceptualize theoretical planning principles and create a repertoire of tools to shape Indian cities. This is the paradigm shift that has the potential to become an Indian way of urban planning.