Delhi 2050, an initiative of ArchI looks at this fast changing city and how it will be in 2050 and how we want it to be then as well. Aspects such as green cover, public transport, the garbage situation and the Yamuna etc., were addressed. We conducted a mind-map with some of the leading Dutch and Indian designers, architects and thinkers at the Ishan Khosla Design studio.
The idea of the mind-map was to conclude what were the things working and things that were not. For instance, the existing green cover was good, though its being challenged by development and how Parks are becoming Parking all over the city! The issues of road rage, traffic, potholes, dependency on the automobile, roundabouts, flyovers, the metro, VIP cars blocking trafic etc.
We also discussed at safety, aggression, honking, rash driving, noise pollution.
The conclusion was that we need people to be more Compassionate and Patient as well as more Accountable for their actions. The idea of a Community is not present. Additionally while every city on Earth focusses on a water body — London, Paris, Mumbai, Kolkata, New York etc — we in Delhi have turned our backs to the Yamuna when we should have public spaces, parks and no car zones there.
For a related article, I wrote on this topic, visit my blog: http://ishankhosla.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/design-and-the-future-of-the-city-small-ideas-big-impact-delhi-dialogue-4/
