Dec 11, 20205 min read

Streets: A social product..

Streets are often looked as mobility connector with function driven design. This blog provides insights of 'streets as public space' a tool to revive our cities..

Image source: Author. The images highlights outcome of street treated as public space.

Have you ever visited a street in your locality and felt revisiting it again and again? What qualities of street captivates your mind and senses to make it as your favorite place?

"People tolerate each other when they are in the market street. You might bump into each other....It doesn’t matter. You move on. In that sense you get to know people....We meet different cultures. I might be buying vegetables that I don’t know how to cook, and the lady from another part of India will tell me how to cook it." - (Dines and Cattell et al., 2006)

In everyday terminology people tend to mix up Street with roads. Let’s first understand the terminologies related to streets. Why is it often mistaken to a road? A ‘road’ is anything that connects two points within a trip. Synonyms to road are routes, highway, roadways, carriageway, arterial, driveway, etc. While a ‘street’ is a public local lane which may have buildings on either sides. Synonyms to street are lane, avenue, boulevards, trails, and alleys, etc. “The ideal street is 3 meters wide, which makes it a city suitable for walking with a lot of interesting public spaces. It is a city that truly has a human scale that is small, personal, and intimate streets.” – Jan Gehl "The social changes of our era can help explain the dramatic increase in urban recreation - premium public spaces, with their diversity of functions, multitude of people, fine views and fresh air obviously have something to offer that is in great demand in society today." (Gehl, Jan, 2008, Placemaking heroes, street & transformation in https://www.pps.org/article/jgehl).

In Indian context, Streets are often seen as a microcosm of mobility, economic and personal transactions, gazing, siting, strolling, etc. A ‘Gully’ connected with a ‘Chowk’ is typical Indian local street typology that binds city’s morphology. The processions, festivals and weekly bazaars are a characteristics of local streets with are inherent as the city evolved. The expressions of build character brings uniqueness to the street along with it function and utility.

Image source: An Exhibition of Artwork by Jane Smith. Illustration of a village street of Rajasthan called Kosana.

In the present trends of urbanization, where we currently aim for ‘smart cities’, ‘world-class cities’, ‘global cities’ include streets as a social product? Due to larger and gridded building footprints, we tend to lose the smaller irregular gully which is now taken over by brands and conspicuous showrooms that invite certain societal crowds creating social divide and ultimately turning the street dead and lifeless.

Image source: Author. Image highlights newer planning schemes with gated complexes having dead street experience.

Having understood the present trends of standardization and monotonous street life, streets more or less could act as everyday spaces, micro-space, public space, etc. These streets if examined, have a great potential for social inclusion and bringing vitality to urban form. These are eight characteristics which defines a street as a social product. There can many more but lie under these main heads.

1. Social inclusion: Streets with general and everyday use stores could ensure welcoming gestures to all income groups creating social inclusion. As Ray Oldenburg in his book ‘The Great Good Place (Third Places)’ mentions ‘A place that is a leveler is, by its nature, an inclusive place. It is accessible to the general public and does not set formal criteria of membership and exclusion. There is a tendency for individuals to select their associates, friends, and intimates from among those closest to them in social rank.’

2. Local Economy: Public events, Urban festivals, weekly bazaars that include local cuisine, handicrafts and other mediums of cultural production from different community act as a creative strategies engaging user with sense of responsibility and belongingness. This as a whole ensures local income to artisan and vendors. As one visits a bazaar, one tends to bargain and as they become a regular buyer and visitor the common personal interactions that is usually observed are “keep visiting”, “visited after long time”, “is all well at your place”, “when will you visit again?” and so on. Hence the local economy not only boosts monetary transactions but also ensures exchange of personal ideas and encounters between the vendor and individual.

3. Health & Micro-climate: Street life with lesser vehicular movement and tree cover could cut-off the noise and pollution along the street ensuring better health and cooler place to loiter. Incorporating awning details to shop frontage, street furniture, vertical garden elements that would aid desirable microclimate for outdoor gatherings. Plantations that would support cooler temperatures and provide better quality of shade encouraging larger spending time on streets.

4. Local Identity: Due to social inclusion the acceptance of newcomers engaging in street activity over the time becomes regular and is essential for continuity of local cultural and vitality of activities. As we could see streets in many historic cities of Varanasi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, etc. the streets welcomes tourist and new visitors engaging in local traditional activities through shopping, eating, siting, gazing becoming a regular in adapting to the cultures of the existing system.

5. Urban vitality: A Street with mixed-use building and activities combines three or more uses into one place such as residential, hotel, retail, parking, shops, cultural, and entertainment that could encourage multiple crowding of users. Street interface with shops like coffee shops, eateries and local handicrafts, masala and everyday usage that would ensure sensory balance as a delightful experience. Children still need opportunities for outdoor play in neighbourhood spaces – not just fixed equipment playgrounds – in order to participate in communal games, which in turn create a sense of belonging and attachment to local places

6. Diversity in uses: Diversity in physical and spatial dimension of an urban form through plot size, scale and character of the buildings could spur multiplicity, simultaneity and spontaneity in a single location at various times of the day making the place lively.

7. Active built edges: Streets with active edges with shopfronts, vending zones, pedestrian zones engages public to allow maximum visibility of activities happening within the plot. It increases porosity that create ease of visual accessibility and can ensure safety.

8. Tacticality: A quick way to maintain a street is by adding vibrant art elements through community engagement itself. These can vary from painted sidewalks to interactive art installations. People are attracted to bright colors. Art can elevate an area aesthetically and create a more inviting space.

Lastly, if we all understand the importance of streets as a part of life and routine, our future regeneration schemes and proposals for ‘streets as public space’ would be based on a better understanding of people’s use of existing spaces and places, particularly markets and traditional cultural identity. They have their own forms of value and local meaning bringing distinctiveness.