On the flight in to Delhi, I read Ranu Aggarwal's 1991 Masters Project on Urban Redevelopment in New Delhi. Ranu works with Rob and me in the County of Santa Clara Planning Office. Her study examined the development of and in the British established area of New Delhi, called Lutyens' New Delhi, which lies at the heart of the contemporary metropolitan city. According to Ranu’s study, Lutyens' New Delhi was not just a layout of road network and various land uses to serve administrative, institutional, commercial, residential and recreational functions when established in the early 1900s. It was a political statement. The city design employed principles of Baroque design, and physical elements of the Garden City and City Beautiful to create a socially insular enclave, set in the historic and living landscape of the Delhi area, to symbolize the power and structure of the British colonial rule at that time.
The 1991 urban design study examines existing conditions in three areas of Lutyens' New Delhi – Connaught Circus, Central Vista, and Janpath, as well as the districts' urban design and the features that connect the districts. She follows up on the existing conditions analysis by putting together some recommendations based on the analysis. Since I expect to see most of the same conditions during our days in New Delhi, I thought I would write down my expectations first, based on her work, then compare it to what I see during the day.
The first district described in the report is Connaught Circus, a commercial node consisting of two concentric rings of buildings around a central park, separated and accessed by three concentric roads. Ranu describes Connaught Circus as having a well thought out sense of place, with the whole circle defined by a consistent look and architecture of the buildings around the large circular open space (we learned later that lot development on Connaught Circus was subject to precisely defined design guidelines for height and facades). According to her study, the busy inner circle, having been widened over the years, limits pedestrians' ability to use the central park. There is so much traffic that people cannot cross to the center to enjoy the park.
My expectations for Connaught Circus are for a wide road chokes with traffic, with the former architectural consistency to have been disrupted by new development. Our Hotel, the LaLit, is supposed to be on Connaught Circus. I thought that meant I would be able to see the central park from the hotel room, but all I see from here is smog almost as thick as Nanjing's. The Circus is probably big enough for us to be in the Circus at the LaLit and still be a mile away from the central park.
Janpath, which means the ‘People’s Way’ in Hindi is a major arterial roadroad linking Connaught Circus and Central Vista. Ranu describes this road as providing a great transition from the busy commercial nature of Connaught Circus to the peaceful and contemplative Central Vista. The Janpath itself is divided into three parts: a commercial area, an office area, and a recreational area.
The part of Janpath nearest the Circus is supposed to have over the years developed a bazaar-like character, with lots of small shops and even more shoppers. The study describes problems in the area as encroachment of pedestrian sidewalks by shops and parked cars, lack of places for pedestrians to sit and relax, and lack of parking.
The next section of Janpath are offices and businesses. Two historic buildings, the Eastern and Western Court, define this section of the Janpath. The Courts and other buildings' architecture provide a foundation for creating a sense of place and a plaza-like setting for public gatherings and recreational use, but their potential is not fully realized. Boundary walls, a characteristic feature in the city for defining properties, are somewhat obstructive of the architecture and frontage of public buildings, particularly of the Eastern and Western Court. Also, the architecture and orientation of more recent developments in the area fail to contribute to the districts’s potential to develop a sense of place.
The third part of Janpath is residential followed by Institutional/civic and recreational as the street crosses through Central Vista. In this section, pedestrian-friendly streetscape features such as paved paths and park benches are lacking, which causes pedestrians to use other features of the stretch of road in ways that make it look haphazard instead of cohesive. Trees lining the street and large open space frontage and yards for residences (bungalows) create a open and leafy feel unique to Lutyen’s New Delhi in the contemporary metro. However, very low density housing in close proximity to employment centers presents planning challenges that the study suggests could be addressed through densification sensitive to the open and green character of the city. We later heard that any proposals for densification of the area are met with strong protest, as a threat to the district's identity.
I saw some signs for Janpath on our taxi ride from the airport to the hotel last night, but could only notice the boundary walls. It was too dark and too late to have experienced any other aspects of the Janpath. Even traffic was not that bad.
The last district described in the report is Central Vista. Central Vista is a large open space strip running east-west through the breadth of New Delhi. A broad avenue,called ‘Raj Path’, running perpendicular to Janpath, bisects the open space in two. The open space is anchored by the President’s House Complex and the National Sports Stadium at either end. It connects major government buildings and monuments, much like the Washington DC mall or even a bit like the Champs Elysees. The Central Vista is where military parades take place on the Republic Day parade which takes place on 26th January, the day the Indian Constitution was adopted in 1951. The district is characterized by large open spaces and monumental architecture at the major traffic nodes. The report says this area is underutilized, and activity along it is not well distributed. The report shows concern that newer, taller skyscrapers near the area could disrupt the open feel of the Central Vista. According to the report the city design initially envisioned the Central Vista extending all the way to the Yamuna River, a plan that was later abandoned due to cost. Today the National Stadium, a landfill, and a railyard are all in the way. According to the study, even as it stands, the public open space potential of Central Vista is not fully realized due to inadequacy of landscape features to address functional recreational needs.
All together, New Dehli the road networks, potential for vistas, landscaping, and architecture based on Baroque design principles laid down a good foundation for a memorable city. The biggest challenges are to maintain the strengths of the original physical design and build upon them to address and respond to the needs of a burgeoning democracy, and not let careless development chip away at these districts' potential.
The 1991 urban design study examines existing conditions in three areas of Lutyens' New Delhi – Connaught Circus, Central Vista, and Janpath, as well as the districts' urban design and the features that connect the districts. She follows up on the existing conditions analysis by putting together some recommendations based on the analysis. Since I expect to see most of the same conditions during our days in New Delhi, I thought I would write down my expectations first, based on her work, then compare it to what I see during the day.
The first district described in the report is Connaught Circus, a commercial node consisting of two concentric rings of buildings around a central park, separated and accessed by three concentric roads. Ranu describes Connaught Circus as having a well thought out sense of place, with the whole circle defined by a consistent look and architecture of the buildings around the large circular open space (we learned later that lot development on Connaught Circus was subject to precisely defined design guidelines for height and facades). According to her study, the busy inner circle, having been widened over the years, limits pedestrians' ability to use the central park. There is so much traffic that people cannot cross to the center to enjoy the park.
My expectations for Connaught Circus are for a wide road chokes with traffic, with the former architectural consistency to have been disrupted by new development. Our Hotel, the LaLit, is supposed to be on Connaught Circus. I thought that meant I would be able to see the central park from the hotel room, but all I see from here is smog almost as thick as Nanjing's. The Circus is probably big enough for us to be in the Circus at the LaLit and still be a mile away from the central park.
Janpath, which means the ‘People’s Way’ in Hindi is a major arterial roadroad linking Connaught Circus and Central Vista. Ranu describes this road as providing a great transition from the busy commercial nature of Connaught Circus to the peaceful and contemplative Central Vista. The Janpath itself is divided into three parts: a commercial area, an office area, and a recreational area.
The part of Janpath nearest the Circus is supposed to have over the years developed a bazaar-like character, with lots of small shops and even more shoppers. The study describes problems in the area as encroachment of pedestrian sidewalks by shops and parked cars, lack of places for pedestrians to sit and relax, and lack of parking.
The next section of Janpath are offices and businesses. Two historic buildings, the Eastern and Western Court, define this section of the Janpath. The Courts and other buildings' architecture provide a foundation for creating a sense of place and a plaza-like setting for public gatherings and recreational use, but their potential is not fully realized. Boundary walls, a characteristic feature in the city for defining properties, are somewhat obstructive of the architecture and frontage of public buildings, particularly of the Eastern and Western Court. Also, the architecture and orientation of more recent developments in the area fail to contribute to the districts’s potential to develop a sense of place.
The third part of Janpath is residential followed by Institutional/civic and recreational as the street crosses through Central Vista. In this section, pedestrian-friendly streetscape features such as paved paths and park benches are lacking, which causes pedestrians to use other features of the stretch of road in ways that make it look haphazard instead of cohesive. Trees lining the street and large open space frontage and yards for residences (bungalows) create a open and leafy feel unique to Lutyen’s New Delhi in the contemporary metro. However, very low density housing in close proximity to employment centers presents planning challenges that the study suggests could be addressed through densification sensitive to the open and green character of the city. We later heard that any proposals for densification of the area are met with strong protest, as a threat to the district's identity.
I saw some signs for Janpath on our taxi ride from the airport to the hotel last night, but could only notice the boundary walls. It was too dark and too late to have experienced any other aspects of the Janpath. Even traffic was not that bad.
The last district described in the report is Central Vista. Central Vista is a large open space strip running east-west through the breadth of New Delhi. A broad avenue,called ‘Raj Path’, running perpendicular to Janpath, bisects the open space in two. The open space is anchored by the President’s House Complex and the National Sports Stadium at either end. It connects major government buildings and monuments, much like the Washington DC mall or even a bit like the Champs Elysees. The Central Vista is where military parades take place on the Republic Day parade which takes place on 26th January, the day the Indian Constitution was adopted in 1951. The district is characterized by large open spaces and monumental architecture at the major traffic nodes. The report says this area is underutilized, and activity along it is not well distributed. The report shows concern that newer, taller skyscrapers near the area could disrupt the open feel of the Central Vista. According to the report the city design initially envisioned the Central Vista extending all the way to the Yamuna River, a plan that was later abandoned due to cost. Today the National Stadium, a landfill, and a railyard are all in the way. According to the study, even as it stands, the public open space potential of Central Vista is not fully realized due to inadequacy of landscape features to address functional recreational needs.
All together, New Dehli the road networks, potential for vistas, landscaping, and architecture based on Baroque design principles laid down a good foundation for a memorable city. The biggest challenges are to maintain the strengths of the original physical design and build upon them to address and respond to the needs of a burgeoning democracy, and not let careless development chip away at these districts' potential.
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