We took the Metro to the Delhi Old Town. It was just as dense as we expected, and just as crowded and messy as we expected. There were miles of electricity cables hanging from the buildings, garbage swept into reasonably neat piles on the side of the street, and zero cars. We walked through a mile of winding urban canyons ten feet wide and thirty feet tall, passing homes stores, and temples all along the way. The first floors were consistently retail - I have not seen such a dense concentration of retail except in San Francisco's Chinatown, and this urbanity comprised an entire town, not just a district. Only once we made it to Chandni Chowk, the main street of Old Town, did the area begin to look the least bit familiar. At least here the storefronts were at least as wide as they were tall, the street had two lanes and cars and buses to fill them, there were usable (and well used) sidewalks.
While on the main street of Old Town, we got two surprise invititations. One was from the owner of a Hawali. It was beautiful. It was full of antiques, had 12 foot ceilings, was three stories tall, had several courtyards, and had a usable roof that connected to the neighboring rooftops. Once in the Hawali, everthing seemed peaceful, even though we were still only 50 feet from the hustle and bustle of Chandni Chowk. The owner has been fighting the town, his family, and pressure to convert to commercial space for decades.
Our second invitation was from the Redevelopment Agency of Old Town. They want redevelopment without damaging the character of the area. They want to expand the pedestrian walks, and have an open tram that people can just hop on and off of. They want it to still feel like Chandni Chowk. They wants to avoid gentrification, and avoid moving wholesale trade outside of town (as the Master Plan would like) because that would reduce the type of activity that is a central feature of and purpose for Old Town. The acknowledge that goods movement in Old Town is difficult, even thought they are only using hand carts, and would like to try solving the difficulties through introducing one-way streets, public transportation, the tramway, and creating parking within walking distance of but just outside the core area. Tradition should play a role in which uses "belong" in old town and which can be comfortably moved out of town. The traditional balance of residential and commercial has been lost (since the indroduction of the two nearby railway stations in the mid 1800's), and that has caused some of today's problems. The Redevelopment Agency might support moving warehousing uses.
To support their redevelopment plans, they did a survey on the uses of every plot of land in old town. They are trying to identify the activities that should stay in Old Town, and which could be moved. They know it will be difficult to convince people and communities to relocate, so they are trying a two-pronged approach. First, they will try to move entire business clusters at once, so that related businesses and existing relationships can be maintained. Second, they are trying to demonstrate the benefits of relocation to those that might benefit from relocation, highlighting how better and newer infrastructure, and less traffic, might help them earn more money.
Old Town itself will get an upgrade, with possible undergrounding of utilities, and repair and upgrading of existing dilapidated buildings. The mentioned rent control as a reason for their being so many dilapidated buildings: Owners can't charge enough rent to cover repair costs, and tenants can't recover the benefit in the form of rent for any repairs they make. The result is that the owner's best strategy is to let the building deteriorate until the tenant moves out, at which time the owner can then build a new structure.
While on the main street of Old Town, we got two surprise invititations. One was from the owner of a Hawali. It was beautiful. It was full of antiques, had 12 foot ceilings, was three stories tall, had several courtyards, and had a usable roof that connected to the neighboring rooftops. Once in the Hawali, everthing seemed peaceful, even though we were still only 50 feet from the hustle and bustle of Chandni Chowk. The owner has been fighting the town, his family, and pressure to convert to commercial space for decades.
Our second invitation was from the Redevelopment Agency of Old Town. They want redevelopment without damaging the character of the area. They want to expand the pedestrian walks, and have an open tram that people can just hop on and off of. They want it to still feel like Chandni Chowk. They wants to avoid gentrification, and avoid moving wholesale trade outside of town (as the Master Plan would like) because that would reduce the type of activity that is a central feature of and purpose for Old Town. The acknowledge that goods movement in Old Town is difficult, even thought they are only using hand carts, and would like to try solving the difficulties through introducing one-way streets, public transportation, the tramway, and creating parking within walking distance of but just outside the core area. Tradition should play a role in which uses "belong" in old town and which can be comfortably moved out of town. The traditional balance of residential and commercial has been lost (since the indroduction of the two nearby railway stations in the mid 1800's), and that has caused some of today's problems. The Redevelopment Agency might support moving warehousing uses.
To support their redevelopment plans, they did a survey on the uses of every plot of land in old town. They are trying to identify the activities that should stay in Old Town, and which could be moved. They know it will be difficult to convince people and communities to relocate, so they are trying a two-pronged approach. First, they will try to move entire business clusters at once, so that related businesses and existing relationships can be maintained. Second, they are trying to demonstrate the benefits of relocation to those that might benefit from relocation, highlighting how better and newer infrastructure, and less traffic, might help them earn more money.
Old Town itself will get an upgrade, with possible undergrounding of utilities, and repair and upgrading of existing dilapidated buildings. The mentioned rent control as a reason for their being so many dilapidated buildings: Owners can't charge enough rent to cover repair costs, and tenants can't recover the benefit in the form of rent for any repairs they make. The result is that the owner's best strategy is to let the building deteriorate until the tenant moves out, at which time the owner can then build a new structure.
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The blog is so interesting--I feel almost like I am there myself. I liked the blog on the Rome of Asia to realize the connections between all the cultures.
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