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The fundamentals of why public spaces need
to be developed
What makes you choose the city you live in? An ideal city to settle
would be one which is welcoming, makes you feel happy and content, and lays
down a comfortable balance between your professional and personal life.
If not for my academic and professional engagements as an urban
practitioner, I wouldn’t really have gauged the depth of the significance of
developing public spaces and the vital role it plays in molding our lifestyle
and the identity of a city. It is no
hidden fact that a well planned city with an intact infrastructure system in
place, highly benefits its people. When cities are designed rationally and
sustainably, it functions with utmost efficiency, impacting positively on one’s
mental and physical wellness. Let me elaborate on this.
In terms of attaining physical fitness, one needs to maintain a regular
routine of exercise. Not everyone can afford to pay for a gym to keep their
fitness in check, and so, outdoor spaces become a necessity to take a stroll,
run or ride. Taking the scenario of specifically Indian cities, it evidently
does not favor the best of outdoor spaces or the weather to be outside. A city
with well planned streets, put in hierarchy, with extended green covers
offering shaded paths, kept clean, and abiding by guidelines with demarcated
boundaries for motorized and non motorized vehicles, mandatory footpaths and
cycle lanes, and intermittent spaces for street vendors, would make people
voluntarily take out time to get outside their house and work out.
In terms of attaining mental well being, it is important to have human
interactions and equally important to dedicate time for oneself. Interestingly,
unlike closed spaces, public spaces can offer you both. Being in an enclosed
space for a long period, without any doubt, messes with one’s mental health. I
am sure we have all briefly experienced this during the dreaded lockdown phase
of COVID-19 outbreak. Public spaces such as gardens, parks, waterfronts, or
even green corridors, connects one to the nature, bringing in peace and
serenity that helps you have a refreshed mind. They extend as recreational spaces
to meditate, rejuvenate and meet and greet your fellow beings, when desired.
Doing so induces a self of belonging and emotional connect to the spaces around
you. Public spaces are hence essential in activating spaces and unifying beings.
However, people are unaware about the benefits offered by these spaces in their
daily lives. In recent times, malls and other multiplex complexes are being
taken over as the preferred leisure spaces. This is primarily because of the lack
of efficiently functioning, safe and comfortable public spaces, and they are
often left unmaintained, without giving much of an importance.
As public spaces cater to a large and varied audience, while spatially
designing the urban realm, there needs to be profound focus on how it can be
kept clean and safe, how they can be universally friendly, how they can make
people feel at ease, and how people would want to keep revisiting them. For creating
such spaces, there are certain elements to be implemented, that cannot be
compromised upon. These mainly include street furniture such as street lights,
benches, and dustbins, signage boards and security cameras. Other elements
which aren’t entirely a necessity but adds value and vibrancy to the space
includes, wall graffiti, and installations. The interesting thing about human
behavior in public spaces is that, it is never constant and changes with time
and space. There can be a clear shift observed in the behavioral pattern, when
designed in a manner considering the above factors, as they get habituated in
utilizing the space, as it is intended to be.
Public spaces also include the immediate region around where we reside. These
spaces are as relevant as your indoor spaces, and assuredly another aspect that
contributes to identify the location of your abode. Ever heard of 20-min
neighborhood? It is a concept of living locally, where you have reach to all
your basic amenities in your day-to-day life, within the near proximity which
can be accessed by walking or cycling for a maximum of 20 minutes. Imagine how
exciting that would be? This means that the use of private mode of transport
gets immensely cut down and you can reach your destination by commuting in the
most seamless and sustainable way possible. This also implies that your carbon
footprint drops to a lower rate without even having to put conscious efforts,
and that is definitely a huge deal. Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases,
mainly carbon dioxide
that is released into the atmosphere by a specific human activity. Every
individual generates a carbon footprint and lower the footprint, the more
sustainable your lifestyle is.
At a time where the world is deprived
of recourses and is in the verge of getting destroyed through climate changes
caused by actions of human beings, it is each of our duty to step back and
ponder upon how we have been living so far and how we should be living further,
respecting nature, space and other beings. Climate change is not a joke. Unsafe
surroundings and people having to fear to step out of their house, is not a
joke. Unhygienic spaces are not a joke. Unhealthy lifestyle is not a joke. Physical
health and mental health are not to be taken casually. It is not okay to not be
okay. You are important. People around you are important. The space around you
is important. And the impact it creates on you is important. A city designed
for its people with physical and mental health as the extreme priority, is a
major win for every individual, and should be the most important criteria to
settle for. This very thing is the fundamental of why public spaces need to be
developed in the most efficient way possible.
- Anna Mariya Lukos
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