By Savitha Hira
Hereis an urban planning endeavour that urges the common man to ‘think big’ interms of improving the quality of his civic life and simultaneously sustainsthe heritage essence of the busiest and amazingly alive metropolis – Mumbai.
Architectsand Urban Planners of repute, Brinda Somaya and Shivjit Siddu, along with like-mindedmembers from the architectural fraternity, civic authorities and citizen groupshave conceptualised an additional area of 51 acres in the heart of Mumbai city.
Aftermonths of creative research and planning, they have sought to give back to theburgeoning metropolis and its ever-thirsty populous, a slice of improved publicspace existence that will not only add on to the scenic landscape of thehistoric fort area, but befit a pragmatic conjecture in the wake of a growingeconomy and shrinking square-foot spread.
The MumbaiEsplanade Project, as itis called, is dedicated to the aam Mumbaikars,who alight in massive numbers (6.9 million every day) at the ChatrapatiShivaji Terminus (CST station) and at Churchgate stations from all over thelarge city to earn their living. These commoners generically bear the brunt ofover-crowded local commuting by trains and the hustle-bustle of pedestrianmovement rudely interrupted by intermittent traffic snarls.
Asimplistic but versatile solution seems to be the construction of a large superstructure– esplanade - that will allow smooth transition of pedestrian traffic from thestations to the surrounding Fort area up to Nariman Point, with the vehiculartraffic relegated to safe and signal-free underpasses. The two-pronged strategywill not only benefit the quality of life of the common man, but will also be aboon for the disabled and elderly commuters, who cannot climb down sub-ways.
Theplan also proposes to create 2.5 lac sq. ft. of cultural space amidstlandscaped gardens and water bodies and facilitate an additional 640 parkingspaces around Fort and Marine Lines. It significantly proposes to connect theexisting open spaces – Cross Maidan, Oval Maidan etc, into one largeholistically integrated urban core – quite analogous to the Central Parkfootprint in NYC.
It is aninitiative by aam Mumbaikars for theimprovement of the city and citizen-participationis welcome.
An exhibition onthe project is open to view at the Horniman Circle Garden from 18-20 Nov, 2011;from 10am to 7pm.
Its a great project that will save MUMBAI from the clutches of overcrowding
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