Re-imagining Public Spaces for Sustainability: Ranchi, India

Abstract

A city is an agglomeration of activities that exist because of its users and must respond to their needs. The essence of a city lies in its ability to cater to public life and make the interactions between the users and the public spaces worthwhile. Local spaces like streets, markets etc. are the spaces used by the citizens regularly. To make the city a better place to live in, it is important to focus on the details of public spaces more than the designing of iconic structures. The Built Environment of urban areas has been experiencing constant growth as well as change over the years, but the poor ability of the built environment to adapt and sustain itself through the changes is leading to degradation of the cities. An ideal public space must be sustainable and adaptable to the changing environmental, social, cultural and economic patterns. Built environment comprises of various attributes which act as performance indicators for analyzing a chosen area. This paper identifies these indicators, using the literature studies conducted and uses them to study and evaluate a typical Indian market place in the city of Ranchi - the capital city of the state of Jharkhand. The study is focused on exploring the ways in which the public spaces of an urban area can be made sustainable socio-culturally, economically and environmentally.