As Mumbai witnesses rapid and ever-increasing growth of its built areas, it simultaneously observes a decline in existing and new open spaces. Many remaining areas lack inclusivity or suffer from poor accessibility. This is an integral part of an urban city encompassed by tall high-rises and massive infrastructure development, creating a claustrophobic environment.
In this dense urban forest, revitalising the landscape through transitional spaces by way of pocket open spaces has become essential for the general public. While other major global cities have maintained a fair equilibrium between the built environment and either organised or informal open spaces – including parks, fringes, gardens, waterfront activities, promenades and plazas – our city lacks the governance to bring about this physical, visual and social change.
Given the deficiency of open spaces across the length and breadth of the megapolis and a fragile ecosystem with reducing green cover, the need for inclusive social communicative spaces for every neighbourhood within the city becomes a must. There is an urgent need for satellite open spaces which act as an urban catalyst to stimulate surrounding development without disturbing the urban fabric. Two notable international projects to be noted as part of readapt and renewal projects provide a blueprint for what is possible.
The High Line in Manhattan, NY: An elevated 1.5-mile linear park walkway created on an abandoned railroad, repurposing it into a vibrant urban park. Originating at the Meatpacking District and passing through Chelsea, it includes multiple entry points, art installations, street furniture and vantage viewing points. This has inspired cities throughout the US and other countries to pursue adaptive reuse while advocating for the preservation of public open space.
Jurong Lake District Waterfront, Singapore: A new development extension in progress based on the concept of Live, Work, Play. It creates a self-sustainable hub with its own gardens, parks, riverfronts and walkways. It is also defined as a second-largest CBD paralleled to Singapore. In contrast, our own city waterfront developments are far from offering a visual treat at eye level to the passer-by. These are often obstructed by visual barriers of infrastructure growth like coastal roadways or connectors.
Existing beaches have reduced to bare size caused by erosion, and some are losing identity due to negligence. Besides miniscule development of new walkways and green patches alongside the coastal road, the city’s interior regions remain void of noteworthy public open spaces, except for a few maidans and parks that have retained their original identity. The urgent need for creating pocket open spaces is felt as a requirement for areas of pause and social interaction, offering a tranquil environment disconnected from urban chaos.
These could be formal organised spaces like gardens and recreation areas, or informal ones like squares, chowks and open markets. Leftover or neglected open spaces must be revitalised as green zones before they are used as dumping grounds or occupied by slums.
