Tuesday 31 January 2017

The City We Deserve


It is estimated that over 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas and that this will rise to 70% by 2050. Cities are without a doubt, the future of mankind. As someone who has been a curator of fine living and views architecture through a magnifying glass - the most important question I ask myself is "what goes into making an ideal city"?

Strong infrastructure and innovative design, i.e sustainable architecture, is imperative to the creation of an ideal city. However, the liveability aspects of the city, i.e, those facets that result in an ideal community, are just as important to create the city that we deserve.

Today, the most important concept of a good liveable city is its high streets. How successful a high street is in a city will indicate how healthy a city is, how lively a city is. The city sidewalks, the city footpaths, the city pedestrian walkways provide the soul and life to a city, not enclosed areas where pedestrians hang out.

Cities are here to grow. Designing public spaces benchmarked to the best cities in the world is the need of the hour. Central Barcelona has a higher density of population than Mumbai. It also has less green spaces than any Indian city. It has the same rainfall pattern as India wherein there is a lot of rain for a few days and is water stressed the rest of the year. It however creates superb hardscape public spaces with few trees interspersed in the city. The word green spaces need to change to public spaces.
Our ventures in South India are all about contributing to the creation of such a city. Whether you look at Devanahalli or OMR, we are always striving to create an engaging locale, an ideal community in which style meets substance because of a healthy high street culture and public spaces. Where the community brings to life an ideal metropolitan experience in harmony with nature that magnifies the way we live.

However, a beautiful house is of no value if it leaves a massive carbon footprint on the surrounding environment.  The ideal city demands a sustainable setup with a high street culture and innovative concepts like hardscaping. The end goal of an ideal city will always be its residents’ joy and happiness. The best way to attain this goal is to create a sustainable and liveable city.